The Hamburg Cell (Channel 4 docu-drama)

Here's a link to the internet movie database, offering information about the TV Drama:
www.imdb.com/title/tt0398093/

Here is another link, provided by the same channel who televised the production back in 2004
www.channel4.com/programmes/the-hamburg-cell

Islam websites

Here is a website offering information into the radical movement for everyone to view:
http://www.revolutionmuslim.com/

Here is another, demonstrating a very inclusive method of webpage:
http://www.islam.com/

The following is a link to a website of an Islam channel which is broadcast on television:
http://www.islamchannel.tv/

Representaion of Youth Culture in Fish Tank (2009)

The film Fish Tank offers an experienced, fun, and a quite depressive representation of the youth culture in Essex. Mia -a 15 year old girl living her younger sister and mother- is often seen drinking in film, whenever she feels the need to relax (much like that of adults) or simply to have a good time. This shows Mia's exposure to adult life, which occurs throughout the film; For instance, when Mia has sexual intercourse with her mum's boyfriend (who was passed out upstairs).

Her child-ish side is juxtaposed throughout the film too, for example when she calls her sister a f**k-face when she practices dancing, when she goes fishing and gets a piggy-back from her mum's boyfriend and when she 'makes friends' with lonely horse - so much so she tries to set it free.
This contrast creates, and gives Mia hope. Hope = that she will get the dance audition, hope - she doesn't get abused by her mum anymore, hope = that she doesn't get shipped off to a boarding school.

The film explores Mia's inability to express herself through word of mouth, apart from shouting things she doesn't mean - this evidently causes frustration and stress -hence her frequent consumption of alcohol-. One way Mia can comfortably express herself is by dancing, which is represented in both a child-ish way (having fun) and a professional way (getting a dance audition).

In the film, the youth culture provides some funny moments, which act as a relief from the stress Mia is encumbered with. These moments are interrupted by aggressiveness; which emphasizes Mia's frustration with life. For instance, when Mia deliberately starts a fight with a group of amateur dancers trying to impress some boys, ending up head-butting one of the girls. This, again, reflects her ways of expressing herself, causing the audience to lift an eyebrow at her actions.

The horse is a significant sign in the film, as it shows children's love and enthusiasm for animals. The scene where Mia is trying to break the horse free for the first time is significant because she is doing something which she feels is right, but the reality is that she is trespassing and effectively stealing someone's horse. Which is where the audience begins to familiarize themselves with the protagonist, and begin to sympathise with her slightly.

Vulnerability is explored in this film, and it ties in with contemporary youth culture. Mia's vulnerability is shown when the owners of the horse physically tease her menacingly, this forwards the sympathy coming from the audience to Mia.

The film explores dysfunctional relationships within families in urban Britain, for example, Mia's frustration with her mother and and the ambiguous situation of Connor having an affair and entering a completely different lifestyle.

The audience is placed in Mia's shoes when she realizes that Connor has a wife and child, her confusion and frustration are portrayed through the distorted camera effects.

It is thought that youth often make a situation worse, this is reflected in the film when Mia has sex with Connor. To her, it can be seen as breaking through a barrier and getting her mum back for apparent years of abuse. To him, it is either a drunken mistake or a desire he has had for a long time. The tension leading up to this point is spread throughout the film, for instance - When he puts Mia to bed (everything starts to seem very slow), when he gives her a piggy-back (again, the camera goes in and out of focus and seems almost dream-like) and when they're hugging in the dark on the sofa.

These dream-like moments in the film reflect childhood experiences which Mia presumably didn't have; being tucked in by a father-figure, getting a piggy-back from a father figure, and towards the end of the film you see Connor's daughter running along the seaside. However, that moment is the complete opposite of a great childhood experience; Mia is attempting to kidnap her.

Andrea Arnold chose the title of the film very carefully, it reflects Mia's fairly repetitive lifestyle (just like a fish's) and certain boundaries that she must not cross. However, these boundaries are never quite clear throughout the film; It could be her estate (but she leaves it), it could be where the horse is chained up (but she later goes further than that) or it could be the fields she passes through towards the end (but she reaches the seaside) She then drives away with her newly-found friend at the end of the film- Which poses the thought that the boundaries could be what she does, not where she goes. However, this is also doubted as breaking and entering seems like a good place to stop, but instead Mia goes further and pees in Connor's living room. (This is not a normal action for any person - mirroring her thinking that she is doing something right, but is in fact wrong.

She goes even further than this by attempting to kidnap Connor's daughter, this takes the audience out of their comfort zone as again, Mia thinks she is doing it for a good cause (like a lot of contemporary youth).

Her boundary is explored toward the end of the film where she pushes Connor's daughter into off a ledge and into the sea. She realizes she has just crossed this boundary and saves her.

Roland Barthes: Myths

Their function is to naturalize the cultural - in other words, to make dominant cultural and historical values, attitudes and beliefs seem entirely 'natural', 'normal', self-evident, timeless obvious 'common-sense' - and thus objective and 'true' reflections of 'the way things are'

- Taken from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem06.html

I am going to try an apply the concept of myth to this advertisement.

Language system: Signifier - The picture of the shoe.

Signified - The picture of the shoe is made to look as if it's falling from a great height at a very high speed.

Sign - The image is instantly associated with a falling meteor

Myth: Signified - This shoe is falling to, say, earth. Nothing can stop it (It's already been made, and it's very quick - which is in itself a selling point)

Signification - Unlike an ordinary meteor, this shoe has a destination; shops, which ultimately means the consumer's feet.

Working Title Films production company

Working Title Films is a film production company that produces both films and television programmes. Founded in 1983, it made it's debut 'The Man Who Shot Christmas' and went on to produce mass amounts of successful and enjoyable films; such as Fargo, Billy Elliot, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Romeo Is Bleeding, Bridget Jones's Diary, Frost/Nixon, United 93, Shaun of the Dead and many more.

Signs that have significance in Urban Britain

The image of a hand grasping a knife can be representative of the increase in knife crime in Urban Britain. The red finish can symbolize a consequence of the knife crime; blood, which in itself is associated with death.

At a connotative level, the fact that the knife is white is almost a contradiction of itself; as white is usually associated with innocence and purity (e.g. wedding dresses, angels, etc).

The image of the wall covered in graffiti can symbolize Urban Britain's struggle - on a denotative level they're putting their controversial message on a wall, this may be a message to the government, who isn't listening - Like talking to a brick wall, literally.

Roland Barthes - Cultural Mythologies

Barthes would often interrogate pieces of cultural material to expose how society used them to assert its values upon others.
For example - Portrayal of wine in French society as a robust and healthy habit would be an ideal perception contradicted by certain realities (i.e. that wine can be unhealthy and inebriating).

Shane Meadows

"When I am not happy with my work, I am like Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now."

Shane Meadows was born on the 26th December 1972 in Staffordshire. When he was younger, he enroled at a Performing Arts course at Burton College, where he first met friend and future collaborator Paddy Considine (Dead Man's Shoes) - featuring a terrifying and intricate performance from Considine.

His enthusiasm for British culture was made clear when he ranked #40 in the Telegraph's list: the 100 most powerful people in British culture. This enthusiasm is also made clear in his films such as Dead Man's Shoes (2004), Somers Town (2008), and arguably his most popular film; This Is England (2006), from which he recieved a BAFTA for Best British Film.

Shane found his passion for Short Films back in 1994 with The Cleaner (which has a running time of only 2 mins) and since then, he's never stopped directing. - During the period of 1994 and 2007, he made a total of 56 short films, each lasting from 40 seconds to 30 minutes.

The Dark Knight film poster analysis

Using Chandler's representation model

Burning Batman logo:
Reference - The building in the background looks as if it has been damaged, there is a fire on several floors cleverly revealing the Batman logo. It looks very dramatic because the contrast of burnt orange on black attracts the reader's eye.
Reception - It can be interpreted in many ways - one being that it symbolises the fall of Batman; the connotations of fire include 'danger'. Leading on from danger, the burning logo may also be seen as Batman's new enemy's warning to him. On the other hand, it may be interpreted as Batman's growing popularity with Gotham city - His logo has been branded into a sky scraper, for everyone to see, even his enemies (this could be Batman's warning to all his enemies..?) Also, the fact that the logo is on the building behind him suggests he has moral support - Metaphorically speaking, he has the whole of Gotham City behind him.
Production
The institution's choice behind the burning logo of Batman is to inform the readers that the film contains action and menace. The production team chose the bright colour of the logo to entice readers, also, to make it stand out - forcing a passer-by to sub-consciously take a mental note of it.

Menacing theme from top to bottom:
Reference - The smoke pouring from the building, the burning logo itself, the dark sky, the sparks shooting in the air, the tagline 'welcome to a world without rules' and the dark, scary-looking figure of Batman are all implications for a menacing theme.
Reception - One interpretation of the dark, menacing them of the poster is that Batman will reveal a darker side to himself in the film, which will interest the reader. This darker side may have been responsible for the destruction of the building in the background. Another interpretation of this theme is that chaos is in full swing in Gotham City, and that Batman is stuck in the middle of it (hens the positioning of him).
Production - The menacing them of the poster will interest and excite fans of the superhero, once again, it attracts readers because it is a carefully-put-together picture. The production team wanted the reader of the poster to be enticed by the exciting mise-en=scene, also for the reader to ask questions about Batman's status in the film.

Shutter Island website analysis

http://www.shutterisland.com/#/home

The use of negative space on the website draws the viewers eyes to the prominent title, the trailer on the top-right third and the animated picture of its protagonist - which glows in a candle light referring to the theme of the film - Psychological thriller.

The main colour theme is blue, which connotes water, accompanied with a light-house. The secondary colour theme is black - which connotes, in this case, mystery. Mystery, as a theme, is portrayed throughout the whole website; The protagonist is holding a lit match close to his face, the light-house reveals nothing but fog and the buildings on Shutter Island are at a slant.

The website offers viewers to 'resolve this ongoing mystery' by placing links at the bottom of the page coloured in gold - in a metaphorical sense: Treasure is placed at the bottom of the sea for the searcher to open.

Research: A film poster

On a denotative level, this is a picture of a battered Nazi Second World War helmet hanging from a bloody baseball bat.

However, the poster holds more detail than first thought of; the typically American baseball bat is plastered in German signatures. This can be interpreted as the Nazis killing their own men, or a humiliating American onslaught.

On a connotative level, the up-side-down German helmet can be a representation of the Germans losing the war. Supposing the baseball bat is American, it infers that the country has more authority over the vulnerable-looking Germany, because the bat doesn't fit in the frame, suggesting it is much bigger and stronger than the enemy.

The negative space in the picture is strategically filled with text, the remaining becomes a visual aspect in itself; It emphasizes the isolation and dullness of which the soldiers experienced.

The poster's content gives a brief outline of the film; "Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France..." Then the picture suggests Americans beating down on Germans.

Research: A film magazine front cover.

Deconstructing the constructed
The layout of the page acts as a guide of which the audience reads, the editor of the magazine has shown this in many ways:
- Rule of Thirds -
The left-hand-side thirds are used for the magazine's prominent articles (usually relating to the cover picture).
The right-hand-side thirds are used for the picture, the rest of the title and other prominent features the magazine is offering.
The top thirds are used for the title, leaving a lot of space for it to dominate the page. The price of the magazine and issue number are strategically placed in the top third here because it's out of the way and therefore makes the front cover look less jumlbed together.
The content of these thirds act as a border for the main attraction; in this case, a still of the protagonist from Harry Potter, Harry Potter.

- Design -
Colours are strategically used in a way that links quotes from across the front page, together.
For example, the words written in bold white are all talking about the same film; "*BLOODY HELL!", "MASSIVE PREVIEW SPECIAL!" and "HARRY POTTER 6*". The words 'bloody hell' and 'Harry Potter 6' are both marked with a bright blue asterisk, inferring that the phrase was the magazine's reaction to the film.
The use of the colour yellow, against the black, connotes 'danger' or 'warning', in the sense of "Danger! This film needs to be watched". The words written in yellow are associated with 'danger' also - Need, Right Now, Fighting and Mulder and Scully - Mulder and Scully are the two main protagonists in 'The X Files'.

Year 13 A2 Work From This Point

Evaluation of certain shots

Media evaluation. powerpoint

View more presentations from kikiloka.

Evaluation of Main Task

The task was to create a film opening within two minutes.
Our film established its main characters by using a black and white freeze frame with their name displayed on the screen, along with upbeat music. The aim of this was to make the opening look more stylish to engage audience.
In Crime thrillers, a convention is that the film focuses on the criminal, rather than a policeman, so we decided to develop this and focus on two criminals; Mikey and Ricky.
We didn't show the identity of Mikey right from the start to keep the audience engaged, as if they want to find out who it is walking towards his motorbike. We did this by using certain camera angles which don't show the face; such as a close-up of Mikey's feet, a long shot of him locking the door with his back turned toward the camera.
Central topics of crime thrillers include, robberies, murders, shoot-outs and double-crosses. So we decided to include these for our film, however, they don't appear in the opening of the film because we didn't want to give too much away.

Our film represents particular social groups through clothing, music, props and camera angles.
We presented Mikey as being powerful through his motorbike; something that Ricky doesn't have.
We wanted Mikey to appear to be intruding, we did this through his dialogue, "Cool, I'll be there in five minutes". And also through his movement; entering Ricky's house without ringing the bell. This retained the hierarchy between the two characters which was previously established earlier on.
We wanted to present Ricky differently from Mikey, in order to prevent repetition. We wanted Ricky to be represented as a much nicer person, we did this introducing him to the audience when he was relaxing at home (sitting on the couch with a cup of tea). This makes the character seem more relaxed, and potentially more likeable.
We also wanted Ricky to seem fairly wealthy; he lives in a three-story house, the furniture looks quite expensive and he has a stack of money lying in his draw.

We used a lot of -possibly too much- music for the audience to relate to the characters, creating a sense of identity. We should have stuck with one particular piece of music for each character which would have been more simple and much more effective. The diverse music range almost made it seem too amateur-ish, as it was only a film opening, and it made it seem like we were trying too hard. -Taking into account of the fact that most films use only one soundtrack in the beginning, for example, The Departed. The volume switches gradually from low to high; reflecting the 'action' on-screen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxoEJck55OM

We decided that Film4 seemed like the likely candidate to distribute our film, because it is meant to be a typically-British film, and Film4 is a pioneer in British cinema. Our film isn't meant to be a blockbuster, which is what Film4 didn't originally focus on broadcasting, they focused on home-grown cinema such as This Is England, Trainspotting, Hallam Foe and Enduring Love.
Also, Film4 has made and distibuted a film which coincides with our chosen genre; Sexy Beast (which can, however, arguably be a form of black comedy), so we decided to carry the Crime Thriller genre on.

The audience for our film varies from the age of 15-30, audience feed-back seems to agree on this. Our film appeals to the older end of the scale through the household and lifestyle aspect, meaning they can relate to the surroundings (home). Also, the more experienced viewers may appreciate our use of the still-frame-shot which was inspired from Snatch - Guy Ritchie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXfdOgTWoxM (example at 3:56).
Our film also appeals to the younger end of the audience through the continuous build-up of tension (i.e. music) and through the brief release of some of the tension (i.e. Ricky picking up phone, then the sudden change of pace - reflected through transitions, speed of characters' movement, music etc).
One way we attracted audience was through the point-of-view shot on the motorbike, and the handheld shot of Ricky rushing down the stairs. These shots emphasize action and movement - something which the audience said they enjoyed.
According to the audience feedback, the main aspect which attracted/addressed them was the tension that was being built up by the frantic movement of Ricky, which was mirrored by Mikey travelling fast on his motorbike - combined with tense music. This technique of mirroring the action proved to be very successful, as it flows with the opening of the film and the audience is engaged by it. This shows that I can repeat and develop this technique in later projects.
We also engaged audience is by the tense silence when Mikey comes through Ricky's door, we included the sound of a creaking door to add to this tension - not to relieve it.
We tried to address the audience through the clothes the characters wore; Adidas, Nike, Topman etc. The aim of this was to let the audience relate to the characters, which also appealed to the younger end of the audience.

During the construction of the product, I have learnt a vast amount of editing techniques while using iMovie on a Mac. This software is simple to navigate the essential tools for editing, however, I sometimes found myself unable to find more advanced tools.
Since the start of the editing process, I have learned how to trim clips (we did this many times because the film was too long), adjust the colour and sound balance (black and white freeze-frames), how to do voice-overs ("Cool, I'll be there in five minutes"), how to add music and titles and also how to add advanced transitions into the film - such as 'fade out'.
This software has been very helpful in my understanding in the long process of editing a film. I can use the techniques i learned in my next project, this means I will spend less time on trying to find certain buttons.

Looking back at my group's preliminary task, it is clear that I have learned a lot about about how to make a film. I learned how to make transitions flow with the piece; for instance, if the scene involves two people in different places and it contains a lot of action, it is more effective to make the transitions between the two locations very quick and upbeat. This mirrors the action which is happening in the scene which engages the audience. Therefore makes for a better viewing.
In our preliminary task, there were a points where the camera was shaky when it was supposed to be steady - this took away the effect we, as a group, were going for.
I also learned that if you use hand-held camera movements, it emphasizes the action which is currently taking place. For instance, When Ricky was rushing down the stairs, we used a hand-held tracking shot, this makes the scene more enjoyable for the viewer.

Our main problem we came across while editing the footage was that we couldn't include everything that we filmed; we had another two scenes which were originally going to be included in the film.
However, I am very proud of what Elias, Jack, Conor and I have achieved and found the whole process very interesting and enjoyable.

Link to main task

Here's a link to the video below (this time you can see the whole frame)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz08NLWfQ9s

Main Task

Costumes and Props

We decided that the characters should wear casual clothes that the audience could relate to, i.e. Nike and Adidas. We wanted the characters to wear these clothes because they are bank robbers, and need to avoid wearing vibrant clothes in order to prevent any unwanted attention from the police.

Props:

Bike helmet - represents protection

Cup of tea - represents relaxation

Phone - interruption of relaxation

Motorbike - disruption of peace in neighbourhood

Stack of money - wealth

Passport - escape to freedom

Stolen watches - criminality

Location Location Location

The picture is of Burgess Mead, the second house from the right is where we shot the film. We chose to shoot here primarily because it is where my fellow group member, Jack, lives. But also, this area of Jericho looks very nice and peaceful - this peace, we thought, could be disturbed by 'Mikey' when he's driving his motorbike to go and meet Ricky about unfinished business. 

Also, the area in the picture looks quite wealthy and cut-off, which was perfect for the character Ricky, who wants to quit his days as a notorious bank robber.

Dolly Shot

I performed this shot by placing the camera on a chair which I lifted up to my chest - to focus primarily on the face of the individual and the environment.