Sound & Effects

Digetic Sound

Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film: 

• voices of characters 
• sounds made by objects in the story 
• music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music)

Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the film's world 

Digetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame. 

Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound.

Non-digetic

Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action: 

• narrator's commentary
• sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
• mood music

Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the a source outside story space. 

The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening.  We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are  represented as coming from outside the space of the story events.  A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy). 

Another term for non-diegetic sound is commentary sound. 

Typography & Titles

Typography & Titles

Throughout media, written communication is presented in a variety of different ways. This can vary from font style to colour to font size. Choosing the typography with the most appealing aesthetics is extremely important. If the text looks odd &/or out of placed, then this can make the film/video look unprofessional & cheap. As most people will judge something by its appearance, It is important for the typography to look classy and well constructed to leave a lasting first impression. This will help avoid people's prejudgement of the movie/show to be negative.  

Fantasy Genre

Typography can also be used to ascertain particular conventions of a genre that the media is part of. For example, the "Game Of Thrones" titles  follows the aesthetic conventions that are commonly associated with the fantasy genre. The sleek colour scheme also gives it a more "adult" vibe to insinuate that it is intended for an older/maturer audience. The font style is also reminiscent of a regal theme which links with the content of the show which revolves around several royal houses/families competing to take the Iron Throne.

Horror Genre

Similarly, the use of colour for the "Saw" titles also conveys mature themes. However, differences like the smear of red (which contains symbolic references to blood or danger) show that the theme for this movie is horror. The underlining of the word "Saw" looks like it has been slashed against a metal wall which shows a sense of victims becoming trapped & murdered. It is a common symbolic code for horror movies to include 

Titles & Openings - Game Of Thrones & American Horror Story: Coven

Titles & Openings

As part of the post-production of Films & TV Shows, Titles & Openings are generally used to introduce it. Titles & Openings often communicate with the audience the type of genre the film/show belongs to along with the people associated with it like main actors/actresses, costume design, director, etc. 

Game Of Thrones

Game of Thrones's Opening takes the audience on a fantasy-inspired journey throughout Westeros's current state during that season. Landmarks & locations known to the audience begin to form & take shape on the virtual map. The Actor's & Actress's names appear in the opening sequence next to a picture of their character's house sigil. For example, Maisie Williams's name is next to a picture of a Wolf because her character: "Arya Stark" is part of House Stark & their Sigil is a Wolf. The colour pallet is quite natural with whites, greens, blue & browns as they are the colour of the landscape - The white is used for snow, green for grass, blue for the ocean & the brown for rock/desert. Subtle tones of gold are used to convey a sense of regal superiority to tie in with the story of "fighting for the crown to rule Westeros." The final scene where the title is shown on the crown along with four house sigils in each corner shows the main contenders (Stark, Targaryen, Lannister & Baratheon) all are in for a chance of winning "The Game of Thrones." The art style of the visuals paired with the epic, well received music hints to the reader that this show will indeed be a unique, fantasy, battle that the audience will encounter twists & turns with unexpected outcomes - hence the intro showing the building of the locations on the map - you have to guess the outcome of what the outcome is going to be of the construction when first watching (Unless you know you already know the geographical aspects of Westeros).   

American Horror Story: Coven (Season 3)
Coven's Opening Sequence features a variety of aspects associated with Witchcraft, Magic & Voodoo which is very prominent throughout the season. Ryan Murphy used subtle hints on the opening to foreshadow the fate of the characters within the show. The use of lighting is quite dark - showing that the "horror" aspect of the use of Witchcraft in this season. The silhouettes of a group of Ku Klux Klan members shows the racial dispute in the storyline between the black & white ethnicity in New Orleans.  "Sarah Paulson's character has the "Santa Muerte" image on her title shot. "Santa Muerte" is the is known to have 7 powers which foreshadows that Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson's charcater) will in fact end up becoming the Supreme Witch (A Witch with all seven powers in a generation). Taissa Farmiger's title (Who portrays Zoe Benson) has "Spiritu Dominado" as a written text. This could represent a possession story line within Coven

Production Companies

Production Companies

Production Companies are the magic behind making movies. They provide the physical aspects of making the film/show like funding, scripting, costume design, providing resources like props, organization of staff, post production, the production itself & marketing. Production Companies can be from small independent companies like Tiger Aspect; or they can be huge Hollywood companies like 20th Century Fox.  

Mainstream Production Company: 20th Century Fox

Century Fox Film Corporation  is one of the six major American studios. It is located in the an area o Los Angeles, just west of Beverley Hills. It is currently a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. It's the world's second largest major film production company, Warner Bros Studios being the first. Films produced by 20th Century Fox include: Ice Age, Avatar, X-Men, Family Guy, Futurama, Fantastic Four, The Simpsons, Star Wars: Episodes 1 & 2, 24, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Alien & Predator, Modern Family, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Titanic, Night at The Museum, The X Files, Bones, Glee, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother & M*A*S*H. It was founded by William Fox in 1915 & Twentieth Century Fox Pictures & was founded in 1933 Darryl F.Zanuck & Joseph M.Schenck. However, the company as we know it today was formed 31st May 1935. It is now owned by Rupert Murdock.  

Independent Production Company: Tiger Aspect   

Tiger Aspect (formally known as Tiger Television) is an independent company that is very successful across the UK. Recognisable shows produced by Tiger Aspect include Bad Education, Back Chat, Mr Bean, Benidorm, Catherine Tate's Nan, Ripper Street, My Mad Fat Diary, Robin Hood, Billy Elliott, Black Adder & Ross Kemp's documentaries. Tiger Aspect's first feature film: The League of Gentleman's Apocalypse was released in 2005 starring Simon Pegg, Michael Sheen, Mark Gatiss, Peter Kay, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton & Victoria Wood. Tiger Aspect was purchased by IMG Media in 2006 but was sold to Endemol UK in 2009.   

Mainstream Production Company: HBO 

HBO is an American Production Company that is famous for producing shows like the highly successful show - Game Of Thrones, starring Maisie Williams, Emilia Clarke, Finn Jones, Natalie Dormer, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Charles Darnst, Kit Harrington, Sophie Turner & Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It is also responsible for shows True Blood.

Preliminary

Preliminary 

Here is my group's preliminary video. It connsists of me (camera works), Harry & Kieran (actors):

Camera shots include:

• Establishing shot
• Match on action shot
• Mid shot
• Over shoulder shot

We also followed the 180 degree rule & used written codes in the bottom left stating "Preliminary Exercise" in white typography.

Continuity & Prelimiary

Continuity & Preliminary

Continuity

Continuity - This is when a string of film shots show a continuous chain of events that is in chronological order. The purpose of this is to convey clear understanding of the events in a film that is easy to follow. Continuity also prevents inconsistency of footage (For example: Using the same objects in the same position in the next scene. Or not using the same actors for characters that have died in the movie, but appear later on as someone else).

Here is an example of multiple Continuity mistakes that take place in the Star Wars Saga:

The Hobbit Desolation Of Smaug

Conventions of a film opening	Codes used to convey this convention (e.g. technical, symbolic, written)
The Hook!	Tension arises when Thorin Okenshield is sitting at a tavern & two men, either side of him, sinisterly glare at him. A sudden change of merry music to a short tempo signifies danger along with close up shots of the two strangers & Thorin. However, the danger is instantly dismissed when Gandlaf The Grey, a powerful wizard, enters the room. Gandalf & Thorin converse over a meal. Gandalf informs Thorin of how they are going to reclaim Misty Mountain from Smaug the Dragon.
Set the scene (time? Setting?)	In the opening scene starts off with an establishing shot that is also panning across Bree - On The Border Of Shire (The location in which Gandalf & Thorin are). The weather is also raining, wet & dark which often has connotations of being gloomy & mysterious. Because of this, the audience can assume that the use of pathetic fallacy will most likey foreshadows the eventual outcome of the plot. The dark lighting adds to the anxious feeling of the opening, particularly with the two strangers eyeing up Thorin.
Introduce characters	Then main characters introduced in this scene are Gandlaf & Thorin. Both characters were very prominent in the previous film so it sets up their importance to the plot of "The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug." The establishment of the mystery men (despite this being the only time throughout the entire movie that they make an appearance) makes it clear to the audience that Thorin will encounter trouble throughout his journey.
Introduce the genre	"The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug" has a very strong affiliation to the fantasy genre. The audience can deduce from the opening that the genre that the film belongs to is in fact fantasy. The audience can assume this from aspects throughout the opening scene - such as Gandalf being a wizard & the setting is in a fabricated town named Bree which are common attributes of this genre.
Credits	In this example,  there are no credits in the opening. There are only written codes explaining the setting.
Narrative	Use of written code has been used within the first ten seconds to communicate the location of the scene to the audience. Shire is well known location throughout "The Hobbit/Lord Of The Rings" Universe so by letting the audience know that Bree is on the borders of it, allows them to become familiar with the franchise. Because "The Hobbit" Universe is part of the fantasy genre, it is important for its geographical aspect & historical sense is well explain to make the audience feel immersed within the franchise.

Codes & Conventions

Main Execise

The titles & opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of 2 minutes.

Conventions

Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something, and in the case of media texts, they are generally accepted patterns of code that communicate a particular message.

There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre specific. For example, in Westerns fights scenes are generally shot from a low angle, the setting is usually dusty and desolate, and even the sounds used within the scene are conventional, such as castanets, or some sort of whistle.

For Example-

The Title of the film/show:

Or The name of the studios behind the movie/show:

The purpose: 

The purpose of a film opening is to show action and begin the viewers interest so they get immediately hooked into the film. The film opening will also clearly state the genre of the film, you will also most likely see either the protagonist or antagonist.

Timing conventions:

Most film openings are around 2 minutes long. However major blockbusters may be up to 5mins

Set the scene

(year of setting, location etc.)
•Introduce the key characters: Protagonist, Antagonist, sidekick etc.
•Introduce pre plot or beginning of the narrative. Establishes platform/ scene.
•Key credits such as production company, logos and director.•Usually starts with equilibrium. A key event will occur.                                                         

Codes

Media students identify three categories of codes that may be used to

convey meanings in media messages:

Technical Codes 

which include camera techniques, framing, depth of field, Mise en scene, editing,  lighting and sound; 

Symbolic Codes 

which refer to objects, setting, body language, clothing and colour.

Written Codes

in the form of headlines, captions, speech bubbles and language style.

Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban - Code & Conventions:

Purpose: the purpose is to entice the audience to watch the movie & to become engrossed with the film that is hugely influenced by fantasy elements like magic.

Timing:  1:37minutes.

Sets the scene: A pitch black night where a close up shot zooms in through the darkness. After entering a window the audience discovers Harry Potter practicing his magic under his duvet.

Introduces key characters: Harry Potter.

Key Credits: There are no Key Credits for cast members in this example. However it does display the  title of the movie.

Equilibrium: The mystical/magical element of the movie is introduced by Harry casting a spell to illuminate the covers.

Introduces pre-plot: We know that Harry Potter is an important character with some sort of relevance to the main plot due to the two movies before this one. The fact that he is the first character introduced further supports this.

Codes -

Technical: Starts with a light from Harry's wand. The contrasting light spell cast by Harry & the darkness that surrounds him foreshadows his fate - meaning that he will defeat evil since due to the connotations surrounding light, darkkness, good & evil.

Symbolic Codes: Harry is placed in the only bright light in the opening.

Written Codes: the reconcilable Harry Potter lettering and titles shows at the end of the opening. Written in silver typography.

Production Project

Production Projects

Produce a continuity exercise which involves a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite to a character, with whom they exchange a couple of lines of dialogue. 

The task should demonstrate:

• Match on action - This is when the perspective of the shot changes during a scene to focus on an object/action. The shot is different and may be from a different perspective however it is still the same action.

Shot/Reverse Shot

• Shot/reverse shot - When one character is looking at another character (usually not in screen view) and the other character is shown looking back or away so the audience presumes they are talking to one another.

Here is An Example of The Shot/Reverse Shot of Arya Stark from Game Of Thrones:

180 Degree Shot

• 180 degree rule - This is a basic guideline in all film-making, an imaginary line called the axis. Film shots can only happen on one side of the axis in a certain scene. The first character must always remain on the right side and the second on the left.

Entry to Blog

AS Media Entry Blog

In my blog I will be writing the theory aspect on my AS Media project. This will contain many different aspects of filming. For example, things like different camera shots, continuity within films, codes & conventions, film openings & more. My blog will also make as a great form of revision when the time looms closer for my written exam. It will also show the creative process for the final outcome of our film opening. Here are some of the tasks that I will complete & explore:

Task	Done
Preliminary exercise (definitions of match on action, shot/reverse shot, 180 degree rule, continuity, video, on your blog and analysis etc.)
Research from theory lessons (e.g. Camera angles, sound, Mise en scene etc.)
Introduction (e.g. group) and the brief you have been given.
Codes and Conventions of an opening scene (purpose of these openings)
Analysis of film openings (in detail – Focus on codes and conventions). Include film openings on your blog.
Continuous update of meetings (e.g. creative decisions etc.)
Prezi on BBFC
Titles timeline from art of the Title
Target audience research (QUANTATIVE AND QUALATATIVE) Questionnaire (face book) plus analysis or results (e.g. pie charts) and how they influenced your decisions.
Individual 40 word ideas. Include products that are influencing your choice/plus why?
Audience feedback from initial ideas
Detailed research into chosen genre
Moodboard (ideas on your specific or chosen genre. E.g. crime)
Importance of sound and possible ideas for brief (include copyright issues)
PLANNING/CONSTRUCTION
Working outline (treatment)
Script if needed
Chosen song and reasons for choice (maybe lyrics and their meanings which will influence the video).
Permission letter and possible reply for song use
Research and Creating a company logo
Main pitch and feedback (facebook)
Location scout, pictures and explanations
Storyboarding and anamatics
Research Roles and actors, costumes,  Location lists
Shot lists
Risk assessment
Organisation and explanation of cast, props and locations
Filming. Description and analysis of days shooting
Screen grabs throughout filming and editing (plus analysis)
Editing and description of process, problems etc (effects you may have used)
Development and analysis of Titles
Rough cut (screening and feed back)
Re-shooting, re-editing etc
Final production and analysis