Monday 20 January 2014

Gender in the hustle 2

Gender is represented in the media in various different ways, for example males will be wearing suits and women will be wearing dresses, this is just one example of many. Gender doesn't mean male or female, it is nothing to do with the biological gender, it is the gender identity that has been created by society itself. There is no law that says women have to wear makeup and men can't wear skirts but because of the way gender is represented in the media, we are influenced and therefore chose to conform to the expectations of society.

The camera shots in this clip is one of the ways that show how gender identity is represented. They do this right at the very start at around 0:15 in the clip by having high angle shots of the male worker looking down at the women. This shows that he has higher status than the women that he is talking to as he is looking down at her and she is looking up to him. This status may be because of money but while this shot is taking place, you don't know that the woman cannot afford the dress, it is merely a status shown through gender dominance. Even though this woman may not be able to afford this dress, she still wants to look nice for her daughter. This sense of women wanting to look their best has been portrayed by her saying herself that it's her daughters wedding and she wants something "nice". This shows that it's the woman's job to look good for other people.

During the confrontation of the shop worker and the woman, the camera shots are placed so you can see that the male has a height advantage over the woman. There are a few master shots that show how close they are and how much taller he actually is, for example at 0:30 when he is mocking her when she says "nice" you can clearly see him towering over her, looking down at her and intimidating her. This represents gender identity by showing that men are superior to women and have more power.

After the woman leaves the shop, the male focusses his attention to the other woman in the store. There are come close ups on the woman to show her accessories like her watch and ring which look expensive. You can see that the man wasn't wearing any jewellery where as this woman is wearing a lot which shows that they represent females as eye candy, and they have to make themselves look nice. The male notices this and heads over to her and engages in conversation. Even though we see she is a wealthy woman, the camera shot is still high angle which shows it doesn't matter about your class in terms of money, the status and power levels are shown to focus on the gender of the person and the male worker will have higher than any female. This woman is dressed a lot differently to the previous woman, she is wearing a blazer and a knee-length skirt made out of suit material which shows she is more professional and wealthier.

There is a tilt shot after the man gets the dress for the woman which shows the whole of the outfit. I think this objectifies her as more of a sex object now as before the camera was focussing on the accessories that made her look wealthy but now it is focussing on the woman herself. This point is backed up as she says "oh yes, oh yes!" in, what some might think, a seductive tone and the camera tilts up to show the dress is a backless and braless dress. This just adds to the objectivity of the woman as it is showing off a lot of flesh and portraying her in a sexy way. Even in the outfit she was wearing prior to trying on the dress she was still showing some cleavage which backs up the point that she is being shown as a sex object. The reason she is buying this dress it presumable to look good for her man which shows that it's the women that are trying their best to look their best for others.

After the woman agrees to buy the dress, the shot then transitions into a different scene where there is a medium shot of two men. The men are at what is presumably a bar drinking an alcoholic beverage and smoking cigarettes. The mis-en-scene in this scene is a very strong, visual portrayal of the gender identity that men can just sit around without a care in the world and it's perfectly acceptable for them to be smoking inside and drinking during the middle of the day. One of them is wearing suits which shows that they are in a position of power and the other is wearing casuals. They are both however, wearing trousers, which is completely normal but in the whole clip you see women wearing skirts and men wearing trousers. This shows that the gender identity is shown through the clothing, the males are expected to wear trousers and the females will usually wear skirts or dresses.

The next scene is back to the shop, where the woman has realised she has lost her ring, she gets really stressed and panicked about it but the male shop worker stays calm and in control instead of losing his head like the woman. The representation of gender identity is quite profound in this scene as it shows that to be masculine you can't be stressed about things, you have to stay calm and the feminine side would be to get really stressed out over everything. She also says that her husband will kill her if she loses it which shows that she is scared of what her husband will think because he is the "boss" in the relationship and she doesn't even care about the value of the ring, just what her husband will think of her. This shows that feminine people care more about what others think of them and less about money. We could generalise this to why more females spend lots of money on clothes, because they don't care about the price of them, they just want to look good for other people.

Then next scene is very short, it is a male doing some manual labour, he is wiring an alarm system. With just this very scene we are shown that it is a masculine thing to do. They could have used a woman to be doing this work but instead a man was used to portray the fact that it is more of a masculine thing to do than feminine.

When it transitions back to the shop, you see a man has entered and a tilt shot is used so you can see his full suit. It then swaps to a high angle shot of the new man looking down at the shop worker who is on the floor. I think this is because it is to show that the new man is now more masculine and therefor has more power so he is given a higher position of power. I think he is more masculine because the shop worker is now starting to feel a little bit stressed while trying to look for the ring because he really wants the reward and we have previously established that getting stressed out is more feminine than masculine.

After this scene it goes back to the two men at the bar, there is no dialogue in this scene, it just shows them sitting and laughing together. I just think it enforces the idea that they don't have any cares in the world, they can just sit and have a drink together while other men are reading newspapers and stuff.


I think the scene after is very interesting. It shows the two men (the male shop worker and the new man) having a heated discussion about the ring that the new man had just found. What I found interesting is that neither of them really wanted to return the ring back to the women just to be a good person, they were both just hooked on the fact that will get a reward if they return it. This shows that masculine people are quite money hungry and greedy.

The last scene in this clip shows that the new man and the woman that lost her ring had met up in a café and new each other and the new man reveals that he got "one and a half" thousand pounds from the shop worker to which she responds with "you did ok". This shows us that they were working together and had set the whole thing up to get £1,500 from a (I'm guessing) worthless ring.

Throughout the whole clip all you see are men working, for example, the man in the shop and the man behind the bar, which shows it's the mans job to be the worker and not the woman's. However, this idea is countered at the very end when you see a glimpse of a woman working in the café.

The editing of this clip is pretty similar throughout. They don't tend to use cuts, instead they use transitions, like swipe left or swipe down (where the picture moves left or down to reveal the next shot). They also used a freeze-frame at 1:54 while playing the jaunty music of the scene in the shop as it transitioned into the scene at the shop which allowed it to look seamless and smooth.

In conclusion, I think the gender identity in this clip is represented through things like clothing, actions, emotions, camera angles etc. and I think it is used so effectively that unless you are actively searching for it, it would be hard to notice.

Thursday 9 January 2014

Homework notes

What is distribution? -  Distribution is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place. In the UK, distribution is very much focused on marketing and sustaining a global product in local markets.

Licensing - licensing is the process by which a distributor acquires the legal right to exploit a film. There are two types of distribution, international distribution ensures that films find their way to the 90+ market 'territories' around the world and local distribution, which involves the distributor acquiring the licence to release and exploit the film in a particular country.

Marketing - When films are released in the cinema, companies ensure they are released during a 'light week' when there are not many other releases so there will be adequate screen space and column space in the press. Seasons matter too as it's assumed that specialised films have greatest potential at reaching audiences during the academic year.
The costs of theatrical distribution, met by local distributors, are often referred to as 'P&A', or Prints and Advertising. P&A are the nuts and bolts of marketing and distributing films into cinemas, the tools used by the distributor to create a public for its film.

Marketing P&A - The key elements of Prints and Advertising (P&A) that a distributor must consider at this stage are:
  • The quantity and production of release prints and trailers
  • Press materials, clips reels, images, press previews, screener tapes
  • The design and printing of posters and other promotional artwork
  • Advertising campaign - locations, ad size and frequency
  • Press campaign / contracting a PR agency
  • Arranging visit by talent from the film
  • Other preview screenings
The Logistics Of Distribution - Logistics represents the phase of distribution at its most basic - supplying and circulating copies of the film to theatres, of tapes and DVDs to shops and video rental stores, and managing the effectiveness of the supply.

Case Study Bullet Boy - Bullet Boy is a low budget, independent feature helmed by first-time feature director Saul Dibb. The film quickly gathered a reputation as the first film to tackle the difficult subject of contemporary gang and gun crime in Britain’s inner cities. This take on contemporary urban life offered a unique selling point for the film, and gave the distributor some confidence that the film would receive exceptional reviews. Towards the end of its first six months of theatrical release, the film had grossed an impressive £450,000 at the UK box office, most of this achieved in carefully selected urban multiplexes rather than specialised cinemas. It was anticipated that the substantial audiences and awareness generated for the theatrical release would ensure success for the DVD release of the film, six months after the theatrical opening.

Digital Distribution - Towards the end of 2005, the UK distribution and exhibition sectors were starting to move towards digital distribution and exhibition.  Digital technology is seen to offer a more cost effective and logistics-light alternative to the tried and trusted, but unwieldy model of 35mm print distribution.

Tuesday 7 January 2014

The Financial side of Avatar

Avatar was estimated to have cost $425 million and had a domestic gross of $760,507,625. The worldwide gross was $2,783,918,982 making the total profit $2,358,918,982.



Trainspotting cost $3,100,000 to make and made a worldwide gross of $72,001,785 making the total profit of this film, $68,901,785.



In comparison, both films made a very high profit, but statistically, trainspotting had a higher profit as they only spent just over $3 million and had a profit of $68 million which is more than %2000 profit, while Avatar made roughly %500 - %600 profit.

The trailers were different because Avatar had a lot of computer generated imagery and trainspotting didn't have any at all. Trainspotting was fast paced from he start but had stops where they could show the names of the characters where as Avatar had a build up and when it was really fast paced it started showing titles. The trailer for Avatar was a lot more informative compared to trainspotting, as it showed you the basic storyline of the film where as trainspotting had a lot of different scenes but didn't really tell the audience what was going on.

New Media Technology


What new media technologies are used by the following:

- Newspaper Industry: You can access newspaper apps or websites via the internet. You can also follow them on Twitter to see their tweets. You can do this on either your phone, tablet or computer.


- Magazine Industry: You can access magazine apps or websites via the internet. You can also follow them on Twitter to see their tweets. You can do this on either your phone, tablet or computer.

- Film Industry: You can watch movies on the internet by either using your phone, tablet or computer There are also various streaming companies such as LoveFilm and NetFlix. Films are also advertised on television. Use social networking sites to promoted their films.

- Music Industry: The music industry uses the internet to promote their music. For example, a lot of musicians like to put one song from their album on youtube to encourage people to buy the full album t hear the other songs. You can buy or listen to the music through different apps such as iTunes or Spotify.

- Television Industry: Television, like film, is easily accessible on the internet by using different websites for different channels (BBC iPlayer, 4OD). You can also get apps for these channels on smart phones or tablets.


Thursday 5 December 2013

Representarion of Gender - Homework

My sound was broken on my computer so I had to analyse without sound.

Gender is nothing to do with biological gender, it's to do with masculinity and femininity and how the traits that are associated with each of these are portrayed.

At the start of the clip, the man and the woman look to be having an argument. The woman seems to be a lot angrier than the man who looks to be quite calm.They have represnted gender by giving this woman a feminine trait which is being quite emotional and the man is giving a masculine trait of being emotionless. From the very star of the clip we see that this programme is conforming to the stereotypes.

In the background you can see some police officers. You can see female police officers wearing high visibility jackets while the male police officer is wearing a black coat. To me, the fact that the woman is in a sort of uniform while the man looks more casual in a coat make me think that the man has more power because he has thw ability to wear this coat to work, he doesn't have to wear a high visibility jacket like the women. This shows that they are representing gender through the portrayal of power levels shown through costume.

The next scene is the man standing in his house while looking at pictures and premumably trying to figure out what they mean. I'm guessing this is to do with his work and he is getting quite stressed. The use of lots of different shots at quite a fast pace made it seem as if he was getting frustrated and that he'd been spending ages trying to figure out as much as he can just from the pictures. This, to me, shows that he is really into his work because even when he's not at work he is still trying to do work. I think this conforms to the masculine/feminine stereotypes because stereotypically, men are more absorbed into their career than women and this is what this is showing. I think they have represented gender by showing the male as very career focused.

It then cuts to the womans house where it shows that she has a son. This, once agains, conforms to the stereotypes because woman are seen as maternal and this scene proves that she is as she has a son. They are representing the different genders by showing the man as masculine and the woman as feminine and are doing this by having them conform to their respective stereotypes.

the next scene is a man that looks threatening driving to someones home and walking in. He then looks to be intimitating the others and getting himself quite angry and proceeds to smash someones head through a door. This represents gender in the sense that men are being shown as tough and strong and scary while it doesn't show the woman to be any of that.

The last scene is the man and the young boy from the earlier scene making some popcorn and it's popping everywhere, they don't get annoyed or angry but instead, they look like they're having a fun time. They then go to watch some TV and eat the popcorn they made and they seem to be having fun throwing the popcorn around, trying to get it into their mouth. This part of the clip made me think that it is not following all of the stereotypes completely because men are seen to be strong, tough and scary while this man shows he has a loving, caring side. They have represented gender by showing one man as violent and scary and another as loving and caring which means that they are giving masculine and feminine traits men which breaks some of the stereotypes.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Homework - Age

The representation of age is represented in this clip through the use of sound, shot types, editing and mis en scene. The first thing I noticed was that they have used a medium close up when the two men are talking. This is to show the height difference between the two. The younger man is shorter than the older man and has to look up to him which shows the other guy has more power. The use of this shot has shown that the representation of age is used by showing the different power levels of two people of different ages.

A different man walks up to the younger man and because they are the same height, it can't show the age dominance through this. Instead, they have shown one man being really assertive and getting in the younger guys face. He is giving instructions to the younger man and telling him what to do and this also shows us that the age is represented in this clip by the older person being more powerful than the younger person.

There is an extreme close up of the two men's hands as they 'fist bump' each other as a sign of respect which shows the importance of this action. I think it's important because even thought they have an age difference, they still show each other respect so they representation of age has been shown through their levels of respect towards each other.

When the man walks into a room where an older guy is, they have a conversation. The older guy seems to be leading the conversation with the younger guy just answering questions with short sentences or one word answers. it shows that the older guy is more of a leader than the younger guy as he's leading the conversation. One of the first things he says is "what did he want?" without even looking up. This shows that he knows the younger guy was talking to someone and he knows the younger guy is standing there without actually checking to look. The younger guy seems surprised that the man knows the person that he was talking to and gives us the sense that the older guy is quite smart and knows what goes on around the prison. I think they have represented age through using intelligence as a sign of an older person.

During this conversation, the younger guy looks quite uncomfortable and awkward while the older guy looks more relaxed and at ease. The younger guy doesn't know where to stand and hold his arms while the older guy looks like he's just used to being in prison and just starts making a cup of tea. This shows that the older guy is more experienced compared to the younger guy. At one point during the conversation, the older guy gets right in the younger guys face and towers over him, intimidating him. This shows power and dominance because he is older than him.

After their conversation, they go to sleep and during the night the younger person has a nigtmare. This shows that he's scared and weak because it shows he's vunerable. They have represented age as being quite strong and tough if you're older, as the guy casually said "I cut a mans arm off with a meat cleaver" and didn't even care about it while the younger guy is getting scared just from being in prison.

You see a razor blade being sewn onto a stick or something and their is an extreme close up of this, you don't really see who's doing it though but the importance of this was shown through the shot type. The mis-en-scene in this part of the clip shows us that it's quite dangerous and scary and there is low key lighting and the only light there is is a blue light on the blade which brings more focus to it.

In the morning, there are two police officers, you can clearly see that one of them is a higher rank than thr other by the mis-en-scene. One of them is wearing a shirt and tie with a long jacket while the other is in police uniform, the one with the shirt and tie looks more powerful as that's what you'd expect higher ranking police and detectives to wear. The one with more power looks visibly older than the other one which conforms to the stereotype of this clip that older people tend to have more power and age shows dominance.

The younger man hands the older man some paper which, to me, shows that the older guy is more intelligent and wise than the younger guy and he's handing him the paper because he could see and work out something on there that maybe the younger guy couldn't. This links back to my previous point that they have represented age throguh the use of intelligence, with older people being wiser and more intelligent and the younger people being less intelligent.