Exam tips

20 mark question (30 minutes)= 20/80.

60% = Pass (12 marks)
70% = Merit (14 marks)
80% = distinction (16 marks)
90% = distinction* (18 marks)

16-20= level 4
11-15= level 3
6-10= level 2


Both the media effects and regulatory question use the same theory
on going debate.
target audience

Mark Kermode- regulatory is not needed.

LO6 Theory revision

2 schools of thought: Passive and Active.

Passive:
- hypodermic syringe theory (Theodore Adorno): negative impact on the audience, audiences believe what they see/hear in media texts
-Vance Packard: people are being conditioned to want products and services with the rise of consumerism.
Anderson- audience gets desensitised by exposure to violence.
Moral panic- the mass media creates a moral panic about groups/products that has a negative impact on society.
Mulvey- women are objectified.


Active:
- encoding/ decoding- people understand texts due to their personal background/believes/ identity: preferred reading (accept the meaning)
oppositional reading (understands but doesn't agree)
aberrant (completely doesn't understand)
- uses and gratifications (McQuail): surveillance, escapism, personal relationships, personal identity.
-
 

LO3: Production techniques

In my film different elements of mise-en-scene helps to create meaning. Lighting in the poltergeist is  mainly low key lighting,this is a popular convention in horror films because it is used to connote danger and the mystery of the unknown which can scare/entertain the audience.'The Poltergeist' follows horror genre conventions it means that the audience know what to expect when they go to see a horror film, think links to Patrick Phillips theory (1996) who said genre offers the audience 'comfort reassurance', This lighting is important in the famous scene where the girl (Maddie) has her hands on the TV when connecting to the other world, low key lighting is used but with flashes of very bright high key light to connote danger as the girl is connecting to the other world

Camera Work
shot types- close up, medium close up, extreme close up, long shot, establishing shot, wide shot, aerial shot, two shot, crowd shot, over the shoulder, medium long shot, extreme long shot.
angles- high angle, low angle, cantered angle.
movement- tracking (back,forward,side), pan (left, right), zoom (in, out), tilt, crane, arch
composition- deep depth of field, shallow depth of field, rule of thirds.

In my film camera work is used to create meaning. Rule of thirds is used so the audience can focus on a certain point in the shot in my film rule of thirds is used is used to show the Maddie and the demon side by side, this was to show both of the antagonist and the protagonist to connote binary opposites, this links to Levi-Strauss theory as Maddie is fighting against the demons to get away.  Camera shots are used throughout my film to connote what is going on in the narrative, a regularly used shot type is close up, this is used to connote emotion in the characters. An example from my film is when the boy is attacked by the clown. The close up is used to show his emotion of fear to the audience, this can lead the audience to gain visceral and emotional pleasures from this film, this links to Rick Altman's theory of all genres off pleasures.

Editing
continuity editing- (SACIE) shot- reverse-shot, action match, cross-cutting, insert-shot, eye-line match.
non-continuity- montage, flash back, flash forward
transition- wipe,dissolve,fade,cut

Continuity and non-continuity editing techniques are used to create meaning in a film. My film uses an action match in one of the fight scenes between possessed Maddie and her dad, this was used to create pace and movement in the film, this gives the film a subgenre thriller, which links to Barry Keith Grants theory that all genres have subgenres. Also this action match connotes violence and movement which can have negative impacts on the audience as they my think that violence towards the young girl is normal, this links to hypodermic syringe theory which states that an audience believe what they see/hear in media texts.

Sound
diegetic-dialogue(tone, accent, dialect, mode of address), music in the narrative, sound fx.
non-diegetic- incidental music, sound motifs, narrative, theme products.

 Sound is used to create meaning in a film, non-diegetic sound such as sound fx is used to add sa

LO4:storyboards

1. what is the purpose of a storyboard: provides a plan of each shot, used by camera people (it has camera movements and shot types) and editors(not always filmed in chronological order, need to know how the narrative comes together) to know how each scene is planned out. videos based products.

2. script would be made first because the script tells use what to include in the narrative.

Products which use storyboards:
-Film
-Adverts
-TV programmes
- Music video
- Animation

LO2 Advertising

Film:
- trailer- this shows a short teaser of the film which makes the audience want to go and watch it
- poster/billboard- this is a way to get a name of the film to lots of people.
- premier- to create popularity about the film
-social media- to target a certain type of audience
-interviews- talk about the film

Revison mindmap

Regulatory's

BBFC- gives age ratings to films, to 'protect' the public from violent or inappropriate content.



An age rating of 15 form the BBFC means that there may be strong language, there be strong threat or horror and may be strong violence, the poltergeist has this age rating of 15 as it does include all of these.
My film has a lot of violence and horror because of the genre of the film (horror), violence and scary content is expected from a horror film and that is what the audience see it for. The poltergeist is not at a lower rating such as 12/12A because it is too violence and scary for an audience of this age, also the film inflicts pain/violence on a young girl throughout which could effect a younger audience than 15. Also to make the poltergeist a 15, it does include language which may affect a younger audience and may not be suitable for the younger audience to hear. At the start of the film there is brief sexual references

LO4: Data Anaysis

3 main data analysis:
BARB (Broadcast Audience Research Board)
RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research)
NRS (National Readership Survey)




Channel 4 analysis


Channel 4 is a primarily commercial broadcaster, this means it receives funding from advertisements but they do also receive public service funding (for the news and Olympics to be broadcasted). The main demographic for Channel 4 is quite small compared to other TV Broadcasters because it is aimed for mainly ABC1 families which is shown by programmes such as 'googlebox’,'supervet','married at first sight' these are all family friendly programmes. The top programme for Channel 4 is googlebox, this programme is aimed at a mass audience (16-50 year olds, both male and female), this allows a wide range of advertisements to want to promote their products in the breaks, googlebox (like a lot of programmes on channel 4) is aimed at an ABC1 audience, this is shown by the content of the programme as it features families of this demographic.

LO6 starter

1. two main areas when media effects are discussed
 -active and passive audiences.

2.Give examples of theory that can be applied to each area
- hypodermic syringe (passive audience)
-Hall (active audience)

3. give example of media text that caused a 'moral panic. (Passive audience theory)
-GTA: criticised for violence and depiction of women. Influences street life, prostitutes/strippers, drug use and glorifying murder of prostitutes.
- Natural born killers- blamed for copycat crimes, blamed for murders by Nathan Martinez after he watched it. 

LO4 understanding the target audience of media products

Starter

demographic- a group of people categorised into age,gender,background.

conglomerate- a large company which own subsidiaries

horizontal integration- a conglomerate which uses its subsidiaries to advertise their product

audience- people who use on consume a media product

independent- small company which is not owned by a conglomerate, often specifies in certain media.

niche- small audience.

mass- large audience , consumers of a mainstream media product.

LO6: Dark knight- audience theory

starter task

• The main point of view of this article is that the BBFC have wrongfully given a 12A certificate for the Dark Knight, this is because it contains strong violence, disturbing content and psychopathic themes.  
• I do agree with the article because it can affect and influence young minds but the BBFC justified their decision based on superhero content

Audience impacts – media effects

A)    Active and passive

Passive audience: they do not challenge content and take everything in.

Two schools of thought :(Theodore Adorno 1930s) hypodermic syringe- media has a negative impact. Mass audience believe everything they see/hear. In the 1940s-50s the mass audience were perceived as an extreme influence towards audiences adapted behaviour.linked to advertising. throughout the 1930s a example of that audiences do believe everything they see/hear  In the media was in the war from the Nazi who influenced people.

-          Issues about violence?

-          Issues about sexual content?

-          Issues about representation?

Vance Packard 1957 (passive audience theory) - the relationship between advertising and media effects in his book ‘hidden persuaders’. He believed the media were conditioning people to want products and services with the rise of consumerism

‘moral panic’ is when the mass media create a fuss about violence and media. (Stanley Cohen 1972). Moral panic demonises a group ‘folk devil’.

Criticised media product for violence/negative impacts creating moral panics:

-          GTA: criticised for violence and depiction of women. Influences street life, prostitutes/strippers, drug use and glorifying murder of prostitutes.

-          Clockwork orange: contains amoral violence.

-          Pokémon Go- interactive game working on GPS, blamed for people getting into dangerous situation, disruptive behaviour, harassment.

-          Twitter- blamed for hate, racism, trolling.  

-          Natural born killers- blamed for copycat crimes, blamed for murders by Nathan Martinez after he watched it.

violence in the media: Anderson (2007) fast-paced violent games can lead to changed in the brain function when processing violent actions and images therefore we become desensitised to the violence.
 Ferguson (2012)  there is no long term link over 3 years.

Representation

Hall (1980)- All representation is mediated

Perkins (1979)- not all stereotypes are negative.

Mulvey (1975)- women are objectified

Earp and Katz (1999) -equation of masculinity with pathological control and violence.

Butler (1993)- representation of gay people, they are stereotypical.

Alvarado (1987)- ethnicity, seen as exotic/dangerous/humorous/pitied.

Turton (2014)- hooligans, trouble causers. black/Asian boys.

Lloyd (1995)- girls as 'double deviant'- trouble causers but shouldn't be because they are women.

Poltergeist

According Theodore Adorno (hypodermic syringe) which states people believe that see/hear which can influence the audience,  my film could include violence against children and promote this violence. Although this film is rated 15 it still includes violence between the little girl (when possessed) and the parents which can influence the passive audience.

b) Active theory
other school of thought: We are able to film adapt to content in media (Gauntlett 1995)

we have uses and gratifications (McQuail 1972) theory: people use media for their own purpose.  This provides a more positive outlook on media

Hall (1980) encoding/decoding material (audiences understand text by their personal background/beliefs/ identity:

    -Preferred reading- by audience depending on their background but accepts the dominant viewpoint/story.

    -Negotiated readings: partially agrees with the meaning

    -Oppositional reading: meaning understood but don't agree and think opposite

    -Aberrant: gets the completely wrong meaning entirely

Poltergeist
My film could be seen to have some positive effects such as a theme of a family bonds and sticking together because it shows that if you d

LO4 audience theory

John Hartley (1987) All media products have 'invisible fictions' before they are made.
Ien Ang (1991) All media producers have 'imaginary entities' in mind before their product.

From my film The Poltergeist I can see the age range would be 13+ teenagers, this is because stereotypically teenagers are interested in this genre of horror, this film targets this audience by using younger actors which the audience can relate to because it is an ideal self. The gender is split equally in  The Poltergeist because there is not a real prominent male or female role in the film. The social grade of the audience watching this film would be mainly ABC1 (60%) because the family featured are of this social grade.

Uses and Gratification theory
Denis McQuail (1972) 
There are four reasons why people consume media products/pleasures they gain from them;
     -Surveillance: getting information about the world and history
     -Escapism: escaping from the real world, letting the film take you to a different place.
     -Building personal identity: finding likes and dislikes, ideal selves and partners, skills
     -Building personal relationships: provides a talking point/topic to talk about. 
   

The poltergeist provides surveillance about the paranormal world and poltergeists because it explains information about other worlds which not main people know about or come into contact with, the poltergeist also offers escapism as it takes the audience to the paranormal world even if the audience don't want to be in that position themselves.

LO4 Understand the target audience of media

1. What is audience research and how can it be conducted?

Audience research is research done by media companies to target an audience based on the preferences, interests and knowledge of the audience. Organisations which collate the listenership , readership and viewing figures.

NRS (national readership survey)
an organisation which collect audience research for print and advertising. They collect data through grouping audience to age,gender,income and ethnicity.

BARB (broadcast audience research board)

Responsible for delivering the united kingdoms television audience measurement systems. They cover five questions when conducting and collecting audience research data:

who's watching?

what are they watching?
when are they watching?

which screen are they watching it on?

how did the content get to the screen?

RAJAR (Radio joint audience research

  measure the radio audience in the UK.

Radio is simulcast (simultaneous broadcasting the same programme on radio and television, or on two or more channels)


social grade
A category which is used by media research organisations based on social grade.

A- High earners, professional jobs.
B- upper managerial, teachers.
C1- skilled worker, office work.
C2- skilled manual, labourers.
D- semi-skilled workers
E- unemployed.

KTA5 feedback

OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Media    Unit: 1   

Student Name:  Fran Murray Class: 12y           Minimum Target Grade for task:    MERIT          Personal Target  Grade for task: DISTINCTION

Key tracking assessment 5: Genre analysis

LO3: Understand how meaning is created in media products

Task interim Key Tracking Assessments	Work to complete	P	M	D	Feedback and Upgrades Required
Task 5 Draft	·         Complete a write up of genre theory.	Y	Y	Y*	P Well done Fran, you have used the genre theory and supported with some good examples from the film in terms of characters and story. You have successfully analysed the genre theory by backing it up with production techniques (mise-en-scene, camerawork, editing sound) and how they are used to create this theory, which is the point of the exam.
					I
					N
Literacy/ Numeracy/Oracy Assessment on your Unit blog.	·         P  Good overall.
	·         I
	·         N

GRADE FOR KTA 5: Distinction*

LO3 Theories of representation

Poltergeist is about a normal suburban family who move into a new house after money troubles, later the youngest daughter comes into contact with a spirit and begin contacting them, she gets taken away by these spirits which is later seen as the poltergeist, the family hire professionals to get her back.

KEY THEORY 1: Richard Dyer (1983)
Audiences should question the representations they see in media texts. what does the representations imply? is it typical of the world or deviant?

In the poltergeist the spirits in the film are very stereotypical of spirits and ghosts as they want to come into the human world and take over Maddie to get into the human world. Although this can be seen in the our everyday world as not them many people believe/ come into contact with spirits so its quite deviant. An atypical spirit would no want contact the human world and don't want to be noticed.

KEY THEORY 3: Laura Mulvey (1975)
women mare objectified in media texts and passive objects, male gaze. Audiences are positioned to view women from a heterosexual male.

In the Poltergeist the little girl (Maddie) is seen as quite weak as she is taken away (which conforms to this theory as she is seen as a damsel in distress character)  and so isn't in control of the situation but she is not seen as a sexual object. Although my film does also challenge this representation theory as the main male role (the father) is seen as quite weak at parts as he struggles when his daughter is taken and is shown as quite powerless.

KEY THEORY 4: Stuart Hall (1995)
Western/white cultures continue to misrepresent ethnic minorities as in the media due to underlying racist tendencies.

KEY THEORY 5: John Berger (1972)
according to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at

LO3: Mock questions

How is meaning created through the use of production techniques in a media product you have studied. (12 marks)

• Production techniques: microelements-Camera work,sound,mise-n-scene,editing.

Camera work- Close up, extreme close up, medium close up, medium long shot, long shot,pan,tracking right, tracking left, low/high angles, tilt.

sound- diegetic sound, non-diegetic sound, dialogue, Foley sound.

mise-en-scene- location,props,gestures,costume,lighting,star theory

editing- SACIE.

Analyse the concepts of genre and narrative in a media product you have studied. (12 marks)

My film 'poltergeist' is a horror film.We can see this from the classic setting, partially isolated suburban family house also this film contains a lot of popular horror film conventions using low key lighting and ere music throughout. Barry Keith Grand produced a theory which stated that all genres have sub-genres, this theory does apply to my film as the poltergeist has a main genre of horror but a sub-genre of thriller; this is shown through the use of jump scares and fast pace movements which are conventions mainly from thriller films, in the poltergeist cross cutting is used to create a continuous fast pace movement in fight scenes (between the poltergeist and the family). Another theory by David Bordwell states that any theme may appear in any genre, i again agree with this as the poltergeist offers themes such as spiritual,witch-craft,disfunction which can be found in sci-fi and fantasy genres. Patrick Phillips' theory states that all genres offer familiarity so the audience know what to expect when seeing a certain genre of film, this is true for my film. The poltergeist includes common conventions of a horror film such as low key lighting, ere music/atmosphere and present spiritual character which haunts a normal family.  These conventions are used to comfort an audience as they know what the film is going to entail before going in, they would go into a horror film expecting to be scared.
The poltergeist follows the structure of Todorov's narrative theory which states their is a stable equilibrium, a disruption causing disequilibrium, action is taken against the disruption and new equilibrium is restored. The poltergeist follows this structure by (1) the normal and relatable family moves into a new house then (2) the poltergeist is discovered and Maddie is taken away by the spirits,(3) Professional people are hired to take control and track down the spirits/their powers, finally (4) Maddie is found and is brought back to the family. The narrative theory from Vladmir Propp states that their are featured stock characters; antagonist,protagonist,supporter,person who is help/saved (often seen as a prize for the hero), this does not exactly apply to my film. The poltergeist only includes antagonist (poltergeist/spirits), protagonist (family) and the saved (Maddie), i think this does not fit with my genre/narrative of film because it more applies to action/superhero films which include heroes,villans,sidekicks.

• State the product and sector.
• Take each theory, name of theorist and state theory
• is the theory right/wrong or challenge theory
• give examples from the film (production techniques)

LO3: Narrative theory revision

Narrative theory

• Todorov- every film follows the structure of equilibrium, disruption, call to action, new equilibrium.
• Roland Bartes- Narrative codes; Action,engima.
• Claude Levi-Strauss- Binary opposites eg.good vs evil
• Tom O'Sullivan- all media texts tell some type of story
• Vladimir Propp- stock characters; Villain/hero
• Pam Cook- a problem that is solved

LO3 Revision: Genre

Genre Theory

• Barry Keith Grand- all genres have subgenres
• Patrick Philips- genres offer familiarity
• David Bordwell- Any theme may appear in any genre
• Rick Alman- genres offer different pleasures; emotional,visceral and intellectual
• Branford and Strafford-  genres guarantee of profit & success

LO1: key personnel

• Key personnel for the film industry (Poltergiest):

key personnel analyse

pre-production:

storyboard artist- are a sequence of drawing, directions and descriptions used to plan out shots needed to film. Storyboards helped with the production of my film as they tell directors/camera operators when and where they are shooting.
 

screen writer- A screenwriter writes the plot and narrative of the film, this is important in order to tell cast and crew about the film so they can do things accordingly to help display this storyline

script writers- a scriptwriter writes the script so the actors/crew know actions and dialogue they need to do. This is important for pre-production so the actors can learn these before they begin filming

Production:

Actors- These are important as they play the character and make the story believable.
 

lighting tech- This is someone who control lighting levels.This is important when filming the poltergeist as it sets the mood for the scene, as it is a horror film low key lighting is used a lot to create a scary atmosphere in the film.
 

director- This is someone who directs the activity on set so the scenes are able to be shot properly. This is important for my film as this is the person who tells people what to do and where to go so scenes can be filmed to create the correct connotations e.g fear, shock.

 

Post production:

foley sound artist- this is important for my film as it is a horror genre, this means sound such as doors slamming,floor creaking is important to create a scary atmosphere and make the audience scared.
 

editor - A whole team would be involved in the editing stage.Editing is also important for my film becuase the way something is edited can create a different meaning, in my film there is a lot of fast cuts and shot type change, this would all be put together in this stage
 

marketer- this person would be in charge of marketing and advertising, this is important as you need good advertisement to get people involved and want to see the film. This is also important to attract the correct target audience, for my film they used fast/scary trailers and dark posters to attract an audience that likes horror films.

LO1: key personnel

• Key personnel for the film industry (Poltergiest):

key personnel analyse

pre-production:

storyboard artist- are a sequence of drawing, directions and descriptions used to plan out shots needed to film. Storyboards helped with the production of my film as they tell directors/camera operators when and where they are shooting.
 

screen writer- A screenwriter writes the plot and narrative of the film, this is important in order to tell cast and crew about the film so they can do things accordingly to help display this storyline

script writers- a scriptwriter writes the script so the actors/crew know actions and dialogue they need to do. This is important for pre-production so the actors can learn these before they begin filming

Production:

Actors- These are important as they play the character and make the story believable.
 

lighting tech- This is someone who control lighting levels.This is important when filming the poltergeist as it sets the mood for the scene, as it is a horror film low key lighting is used a lot to create a scary atmosphere in the film.
 

director- This is someone who directs the activity on set so the scenes are able to be shot properly. This is important for my film as this is the person who tells people what to do and where to go so scenes can be filmed to create the correct connotations e.g fear, shock.

 

Post production:

foley sound artist- this is important for my film as it is a horror genre, this means sound such as doors slamming,floor creaking is important to create a scary atmosphere and make the audience scared.
 

editor - A whole team would be involved in the editing stage.Editing is also important for my film becuase the way something is edited can create a different meaning, in my film there is a lot of fast cuts and shot type change, this would all be put together in this stage
 

marketer- this person would be in charge of marketing and advertising, this is important as you need good advertisement to get people involved and want to see the film. This is also important to attract the correct target audience, for my film they used fast/scary trailers and dark posters to attract an audience that likes horror films.

Poltergiest Marketing

LO2: marketing and advertising revision

Traditional- billboard,posters,talkshows,interviews,magazine adverts,radio trailer, premier newscoverage, tv trailer (0:30),thearical trailer (2:30- 3:30 minutes), reviews, merchandising.

Digital marketing:

web 2.0 (O'Reilly): interactive second phase of the web,Technological convergence (technoglogy coming together), services such as video on demand sites, all these have made tradional froms of marketing digital and avalible in digital form.

social media channels: facebook,twitter,Youtube,Instagram,Reddit, Snapchat, Tumblr, Vine. These are part of web 2.0 and part of web 3.0 (intelligent web). New distribution channels.

Photos are distributed as part of production, early marketing. This is becuase of web 2.0 as they are able to share these photographs (mini teasers which are distributed quickly). Interactive screens and codes are used to market a film. Apps/games are also used to market the film and build more attentions and knowledge of the film.

 social media works well becuase is a below the line advertisng (targets an individual). above the line advertising is all the tradional and digital methods which target everybody/mass audience.

LO1:Media ownership

Sound

• Disgesis: is the narrative construct that everything takes place in, it is the 'story world/ the world that the film/tv programme takes place in.

          how real the diesesis appears is linked to the level of verisimilitude

Diegetic sounds are from noises that are happening rom within the diegesis, these are added during production and post-production to create meaning. Examples- dialogue, sound effects such as foodsteps (including foley sound)

Dialogue is the voice of the character on screen, accent and tone relate to drama/themes

Tone: is the way something is said, shows feeling.
accent: is the way we pronounce  words, due to location.
Dialect: type of words we use, slang.

Synchronous sounds: are sounds which are sychronised or match with what is viewed, this is diegetic sound.
Example of sychronous sound (0:30)-


Extra diegetic/ internal diegetic sound: characters thoughts
Example of extra diegetic/ internal diegetic sound (0:30)-



Ambient sound: refers to any sounds that are used to establish location.

Non-diegetic sound: is when the source is not visible on screen and clearly not coming from the story world, these are added at the stage of post-production to create meaning for the audience.

incidental music is music composed in the film or play as a background to create or enchance a particular atmosphere

example of incidenal music:



Stings are used as distinctive background music to add emphasis to an important moment in a motion picture or television program

motifs: the sound motifs conditions the audience emotionally tot he arrival or actions of a character

Example:

LO3 Narrative Theory

Story is the plot/ sequence of events.
Narrative is the structure/techniques used to tell the story.

In the poltergiest a normal family buy a new house unknowing of the fact it is based on a barrial ground, the 'dead' people/spirits use the little girl to try and come back to life and into the human world, the little girl gets taken away by the spirits and family have to try to get her back.

KEY THEORY ONE: Tim O'Sullivan et al. (1998):

All media texts tell us some kind of story- these are ideologies (values/beliefs in a culture)

The potergiest's wider meaning of this is good (the family) vs evil (the spirits).

KEY THEORY TWO: Pam Cook (1985)

The standard hollywood narrative structure has 'linearity of cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution'

High degree of narrative closure

A fictional world which contains verisimillitude especially governed by spatial and temporal coherence.

The poltergiest presents of an enigma of the girl being taken away and the puzzle of the unknown reason why she has been taken then is resolved by them getting her back.

KEY THEORY THREE: Tzvetan Todorov (1977)
4 stages:

• A point of stable equillibrium.
• Equillibrium is disrupted by some story of force,which creates a state of disequillibrium.
• Action direct against the disruption.
• Restoration of a state of new equillibium.

In the poltergiest:

    1.Normal family move into new house

    2. Maddie is taken away my the spirits

    3. They get professional people in the take control and get her back

    4.Gets Maddie back.

KEY THEORY FOUR: Claude Levi-Strauss (1958)

Binay opposites: eg.good vs evil.

The poltergiest's binary opposites are:

• antagonist (spirits) vs protagonist (family)
• human world vs spirit world
• young (Maddie) vs old (dead spirits)

KEY THEORY FIVE: Vladimir Propp (1928)

All narratives feature stock characters and that audiences understood stories because of such features

Villain/antagonist

Hero/protagonist

Helper/supporter (sidekick)

Princess (prize for the hero- not necessarily a person)resuled/helped/saved.

In the poltegiest:

Antagonist- poltergiest/spirits

Protagonist- professional spirit hunters

Supporter- family

Rescued/saved- Maddie

KEY THEORY SIX: Roland Barthes (1977)

narrative codes:

• Enigma codes: work to keep up setting problems or puzzles for the audience.
• Action codes: work to inform the audience in terms of what is happening in the next shot/scene

In the poltergiest these codes are used:

• action code: The lamp falls, the light flickers on/off (0.00-0.05)
• enigma code: They don't know where Maddie has gone (0.15-1.00)

action code: The parents walk out the door, girl closes the door.(0:00-0.05)



enigma code: They don't know what a poltergiest is/whats terrorising them.

LO3: Genre theory

Genre: a category a product fits into based on the content.

types of genre:

1.Action       2.Sci-fi        3. Adventure       4.Horror         5.Thriller        6.documentary       7.war

8.Fantsy        9.Drama      10.Romance/Rom-Com         6. social realism

hybrid: mix of two genres

6* Analysis how the production techniques are used to create meaning in a media product you have studied (12)

6* Analysis the concept of 'genre' and 'representation' in a media product you have studied. (12)

Genre is a critical tool that helps us study texts and audience responses to text by dividing them into categories based  on common elements

The genre of 'Poltergiest' is horror. We can see this by the low lighting and the point of view camera shot, also a cantered angle to show danger.

KEY THEORY 1: Barry Keith Grant (1995)

all genres have subgenres (a genre within a genre) they are devided up into more specific categories by their similarities and recongisable features

• 'Poltergiest' has a sub-gere of thriller this is because it uses alot of jump scares and fast pace cuts, also it is located in a family house in a small town with alot of lowkey lighting throughout the house. In this classic sounds such loud bangs,creeky house to give an ere atomosphere

KEY THEORY 2: Patrick Phillips (1996)

Genre offers audiences 'Comfort Reassurance'. Genres fulfill audiences expectations by following predictable patterns .

• 'Poltergiest' uses low key lighting,jump scares, ere atmosphere, unhuman/ghostly character to fit with the horror genre.

KEY THEORY 3: Branston and Stafford (1999)

Genre helps to minimise risk and predict expenditure so you know a film is going to sell. Genre conventions also makes it easier to market and sell products to an audience.

•  'Poltergiest' was made in 1982 and was remaked in 2015 they did this because they know the old one did well and wanted to update the version, also horror is a very popular genre so they knew people would go see it even if they hadn't seen the first one.

KEY THEORY 4: Rick Altman (1999)

Genre offers pleasures: Emotional pleasure,Visceral pleasure, Intellecture puzzles.

• From my film  you would get visceral pleasure of fear because it is a horror genre meaning you are supposed to feel scared.

KEY THEORY 5: David Bordwell (1989)

'Any theme may appear in any genre'

Theme= the ideas, ideologies concepts,'myths' etc. that are encoded into a media text.

• The theme of the poltergiest is spirts,witch-graft,surburban dysfunction. These themes can be seen across a whole range of genres.

KTA 3: feedback sheet.

OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Media    Unit: 1   

Student Name:  Fran Murray Class: 12y                                                                                                      

Minimum Target Grade for task:    MERIT          Personal Target  Grade for task: MERIT

Key tracking assessment 3: Poltergeist

LO2: Understand how media products are advertised and distributed

Task interim Key Tracking Assessments	Work to complete	P	M	D	Feedback and Upgrades Required
Task 3 Draft	·         Complete a write up of mise-en-scene.	✓	N	N	P Some reference to mise-en-scene.
					I You haven’t attempted the main task, Fran, in detail. Can you please complete the task set. You must pick two to three examples of: -       Location/Iconography -       Costume -       Props -       Lighting and colour -       Acting gesture You should tell me how these help us understand narrative and character roles.
					N Please complete the task before Friday 6th.
Literacy/ Numeracy/Oracy Assessment on your Unit blog.	·         P  Good overall, Fran.
	·         I
	·         N

GRADE FOR KTA 1: REFERRAL

Self-assessment – what do I need to change to pass this task or work on for the next task? (in red)

-       Pick examples of location/iconography to show how it helps us understand narrative and character roles

-       Use costume and props to show how it helps us understand narrative and character roles

-       Acting gestures to show how it helps us understand narrative and character roles

KTA 2 feedback sheet: marketing

Cambridge Technical Level 3 Media    Unit: 1   

Student Name:  Fran Murray    Class: 12y            

Minimum Target Grade for task:    PASS   Personal Target  Grade for task:  PASS

Key tracking assessment 2: Marketing of Poltergeist  

LO2: Understand how media products are advertised and distributed

Task interim Key Tracking Assessments	Work to complete	P	M	D	Feedback and Upgrades Required
Task 2 Draft	·         Complete an investigation of the basic marketing for your chosen film	✓	n/a	n/a	P Well done, Fran Some good examples across media sectors.
					I Can you be more specific about why Fox may have chosen to use certain advertising techniques ? Also can you be specific about the types of trailer/teaser trailer when they were released. What about social media?
					N
Literacy/ Numeracy/Oracy Assessment on your Unit blog.	·         P  Good overall, Fran.
	·         I
	·         N

GRADE FOR KTA 1: PASS

Self-assessment – what do I need to change to pass this task or work on for the next task? (in red)

-       I need to be more specific and add more detail with why the advertisement techniques were used

-       I need to be more specific about release dates