Homeland continuity task

1. What was your role in the task and what did you actually do?
My main role in the task was to act as a CIA agent in the scene, which can be seen in the video above. However, I also helped decide what was going to actually happen in the scene, but that role was minimal.
2. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, filming and editing?
One large factor was keeping this in the style of Homeland, which affected how we created the story. To do this we made it a blackmail scene, as these are featured heavily in Homeland. Homeland also tend to reinforce middle eastern stereotypes, which we followed by making the person we are blackmailing be from Iran. Another factor was keeping it continuous, specifically with the opening of the door and the positioning of the folder. This affected filming and editing, as when filming we had to make sure the folder would be in the same place and in the edit we had to make sure there was a match on action with the door.
3. How successful was your sequence? Did you manage to demonstrate match-on-action, shot-reverse and the 180 degree rule? Did you achieve continuity overall?
Apart from bad acting from myself, I believe that my sequence was successful mostly. The main issue was the positioning of the folder between shots and reverse shots, as the folder slightly changed place between both. I believe that there was a successful match on action in shots with the door and shots of me tucking the chair in. The 180 degree rule was not broken during my sequence either.
4. What have you learnt from completing this task?
I have learnt how to edit a match on action successfully and I have learnt to use master shots in editing a conversation rather than just shot-reverse. Clearly I need to learn how to act but overall this task has been very enjoyable and I have learnt how to edit a sequence relatively well.

Celebrity Magazine Cover

1. Summarise the music celebrity you have created. Include name, music genre, personality and how they are being used to comment on contemporary celebrity

The music celebrity I created is known as Harv, a short and catchy name, which is popular in modern society. The genre is rap, more specifically British rap, as I feel there is a difference in style between British and American rap. His personality is not that of a typical rapper, he isn't as angry as the typical rapper, and I intended it to connote this. The comment on contempary society is in the text, which encourages women to get involved in the rap scene, which is something thta doesn't happrn in the genre at the minute.

2. Evaluate how you have constructed the representation of your celebrity through your cover image and cover headline/text (denotation/connotation of text and image).

I followed a stereotype of rapper through the costume, as often they wear large jackets as well as a cap. This represents his personality as typical of a rapper, but the text involved questions this. Often rappers rap about women in a mysoginistic way, but the text on the cover shows my celebrity as questioning this and therefore representing my character as more socially aware. Therefore, he is represented as a typical rapper but more socially aware than the rest.

3. Analyse how far you have used and/or challenged stereotypes of gender/race/age/sexuality in your cover.

I have challenged stereotypes of gender in my poster, as through the text I have encouraged females to get involved in the British rap scene, as there are no big ones at the minute, so I have challenged this to a large extent. I have also challenged race stereotypes in the British rap game, as none of the large British rappers are white, for example Stormzy, Krept & Konan and Dave are all black. Therefore, by my character being white, I have challenged this stereotype as well. However, I have used steretypes of age and sexuality, as most rappers are young and are also heterosexual.

4. Reflect on the production/editing process.  Are you pleased with the end result? Identify what is successful about your shot?  What would you have done differently in hindsight?

I am relatively pleased with the end result of this project. I believe the pose and the costume is successful in my shot, as it clearly connotes the rapper genre. I also believe the red and white colour schemen is successful, as it is aesthetically pleasing. In hindsight, I would've attempted to add further text on to the cover, to promote other stories inside, as well as add a barcode and a date and issue number.

Music Video Analysis - Look What You Made Me Do

Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

Convention 1 - Beauty Shot

As typical of most music videos, there is a close up of the singer which is known as the beauty shot. Taylor Swift is sporting a full face of make up,and this intends to add interest in the video as it is hoped that people find this shot aesthetically pleasing.



Convention 2 - Visual Representation

The lyrics here say 'the gun was mine', and at this precise time Taylor makes a gun sign with her hand. This is used to add layers to the audio, as it links nicely to the visual element that is added to the video.



Convention 3 - Varying Mise en Scene

This video repeatedly changes mise en scene, to represent the different personalities of Taylor Swift. This one uses the same framing, which is a shot from above, to do this. This is also an example of cutting to the beat of the music, which is something that happens in almost all music videos.




Convention 4 - Extraordinary Situations

This scene is of a car crash, where Taylor is posing for paparazzi outside of her crashed car. This is used to exaggerate celebrity culture of the time, but through using this extraordinary situation, the director is trying to show that celebrity culture has come too far. This is often used in music videos.




Convention 5 - Large Dance Numbers

This is a large dance number which is highly choreographed, with Taylor the focus in the middle. The camera goes from a long shot of Taylor, to a mid shot to a close up which highlights her as the focus of the shot. It shows she is the main person in the shot. The dancing of course is in time with the music.

Trailer analysis - Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Audience Appeal

• Opens with a shot of London - a recognizable city that therefore makes the audience relate to the film.
• Features many action shots, something the audience expect from the film. It fulfills the expectations of the rimary audience, who are fans of acion films.
• It entices fans of the previous films through recognizable characters and a clear color scheme that is associated with the first installment.
• Through featuring many shots of famous actors such as Channing Tatum and Halle Berry, the trailer is appealing to a secondary audience, which is people who are fans of these famous actors. For example, Channing Tatum is very popular with the female audience, and so this could attract females to the film who previously wouldn't have been interested in the film.

Genre signifiers

• The action scenes (e.g. when the character jumps from the taxi) clearly signify the action genre of the film.
• The film is about spies and being undercover. This is connoted through the voiceover, which mentions the Kingsman hideout being in a tailors, as well as through the high-tech gadgets on show (e.g. the umbrella weapon).
• The comedy element film to the film is signified through the quick and witty speech of the actors. The music also connotes this, as it is music that is no common of the action genre, therefore making the film seem quirky and funny.

Character & Representation

• The main character and the rest of the English characters are presented in suits and smart clothing. This presemts them as classy and sophisticated.
• The main character however has a different voice, one that is often assosciated with the working class. This suggests that he is a character who has a different background to the others, which is something we know from the first one.
• The American characters are portrayed in a stereotypical way - large coat and a cowboy hat. This makes them instantly recognisable as the American characters before they talk, and also higlights the difference in personalities and styles.
• Halle Berry's character is presented as the stereotypical tech genius, with a lab coat and glasses. This means that the audience can get a sense for what she is going to be like - they can make judgements.

Branding and Studio Identity

• Towards the beginning, the director is promoted to the audience, as he is famous from doing the first one. His name is Michael Vaughn. This will make people interested in the film if they liked the first one beacuse it is the same director.
• 20th century Fox is promoted through the gold colours throughout, the same colour as the Fox logo itself.
• IMAX is promoted at the end, showing it is a big film and also letting the audience know that they can watch this in IMAX.