Sound LR

1) Type up your feedback from your teacher.

Very interesting interpretation of the brief - the track is great and gets a genuine response from the audience. 

There is no doubt that elements of this come across as parallel and contrapuntal but I'm not sure it is clear that is is clear enough. I'm not sure if this 100% meets the brief but it did entertain the audience and was a creative response.

2) Type up your feedback from fellow students.

It got a funny response 
Lots of people could not notice the switch over from Parallel to contrapuntal 
It was not really that good of editing

3) Now reflect on your work and write your own comments. Add three WWWs and three EBIs underneath the rest of your feedback.

I could have used a completely different scene for the contrapuntal part
I might have not really used the best soundtrack
Fade music at the end 

4) Learner response: compare your own video against your evaluation of the top three videos in the class. Whose did you think was best and why? How could you have improved your own video?

My top 3 in the class were:
Cerys
Chandni
Hannah

They made a clear transition to contrapuntal sound and of course they used very good editing skills to make such amazing videos. I could maybe use more editing techniques to expertly channel across various different parts of the video.

5) Finally, what have you learned about the importance of sound to film and TV through this week's work?

Without sound there isn't really much of a film. Digetic and non-digetic sound is really important for editors and the audience as it could be used to evoke a reaction out of the audience. Sound Bridges also help to smooth transitions between scenes making the use of music significant to analyse. Parallel and Contrapuntal sound is used a lot in the context of 'cliches' but also for effect and if done well, produces an amazing experience.

Sound Blog Post

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1puEQHFlvV0

The parallel part of the video shows a few drivers making mistakes and is reflected by the slightly comical music. The contrapuntal part is when a few drivers are successful as in winning or overtaking. This is supposed to make the audience laugh as it is mean to evoke comical feelings from the viewers.

Sound Clip Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_NRSoVncJQ

The music fits very well with the rather frantic/funny theme of the show. Here the exhaust pops and dialogue are clear examples of digetic sound as the characters can hear it and the wonderful use of Paul McCartneys 'Live And Let Die' is a non-digetic sound. There is use of sound bridges throughout the film as it carries on to play the same song over all the scenes. Parallel sound is also really prominent here.

Lighting blog task

  

1. Low key lighting 

2. There is quite alot of top lighting which makes the character seem powerful

3. The connotations of this image could be that this is a femme fatale. The lighting could suggest that this character has something to hide as not all of her is illuminated.

1. This is a clear example of low key lighting 

2. There is quiet a lot of top lighting, there is also a tiny bit of under lighting but no back lighting at all

3. The lack of back lighting suggests thus character has a lot to hide and shows that she may be deceiving due to her hidden 'background'

1. This is without a doubt, high key lighting.

2. There is a lot of top lighting making his eyes have shadows and there is also a significant amount of under lighting as we can see his coat clearly.

3. We could infer from this that this man is a villain of some sort and intends to do some harm due to the shadows around his eyes.

1. Low key lighting

2. This incorporates all aspects of lighting but mainly top lighting

3. The top lighting makes him seem like the 'hero' of the scene and the lack of underlighting could suggest that the creator wanted us to focus on the steely look he has.

1. This is an  example of low key lighting.

2. The back lighting makes it seem that this character is in a sort of 'thrilling; scene. The use of top lighting may show that all of the plot will be revealed due to the concerned look on her face.

3. The shadow created by back lighting might show that someone has been following her in her 'shadows'

1. Low key lighting

2. The only use of lighting is the huge presence of back lighting

3. This makes the scene eerie and interesting at the same time. I get the feeling like these guys will leave the 'set' with a bang. This could suggest something exciting is going to happen.

1. This rather saucy scene is an example of high key lighting

2. The use of top lighting makes both actors visible and almost obscured by the lack of underlighting. The creator expertly uses the light from the blinds to create a 'messy' effect.

3. The lighting may suggest that feelings are going haywire due to the uneven lighting. The male character may be the more important one in the film as more light is on him.

1. Low key lighting

2. They use back lighting and a lot of under lighting

3. The use of these could imply that the male is seeing someone else as suggested by the shadow and that the man is holding a gun so the underlighting could show that he is protective.

1. Low key lighting.

2. They use a lot of under lighting

3. The lack of lighting apart from the half illuminated face may show that this man is nervous as he is sort of scared. The striped lights could imply that he has mixed emotions about what he is seeing.

1. This is an example of low key lighting

2. They use under lighting, top and back

3. The use if these may show that she knows what is coming but is trying to escape it. The film noire look shows that she is about to be hurt or even killed.

Film Noir

• Film noire is s term used to describe Hollywood crime dramas which were common in the 1940s and the 1950s.
• Google describes it as 'a film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace' 
• Makes use of chiaroscuro
• Low key lighting
• Crisp shadows
• Harsh lighting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t8H07c30io

The top lighting focuses the audience onto their faces which makes the characters seem important. There is also a shadow casted by the woman which may suggest the man is more powerful than her or that she may be about to die. 

The chiaroscuro makes this feel like a proper crime film.

The classic use of Venetian blinds has become a convention in FN as it is a simple yet effective thing to make the atmosphere more gloomy or serious.

Star Persona LR

1) Type up your feedback from your teacher in full.

- Wow! A brilliant, creative and bold interpretation of the brief.

- Superb choice of music... actually made me laugh out loud!

- The music did come in a little suddenly at the beginning - was that deliberate? From a technical perspective, this may be a skill to develop.

- In terms of length, it's a little long at 2.46. Speeding up the timelapse would have been the solution - was this an option on your editing software?

- The final result... well, what can you say? A remarkable job from your make-up crew and well done for choosing such an ambitious and striking approach. We will be studying gender fluidity later in the course too!

- A couple of bits of feedback in terms of the overall effectiveness of the video... the ending is too sudden (music again) and also you're missing some great non-timelapse shots at the end to show the result of the makeover. In fact, I'd have gone the other way and included some slow-motion shots at the end to show the final result and emphasise the femme fatale element. In addition, the neutral background is solid for most of the video but at the end you have a wider shot and it's clearly a classroom - another aspect you could have improved.

2) Type up the comments you received from other students in the class. You may wish to do this in bullet point and you do not need to repeat comments if more than one student wrote the same thing about your work.

Overall - outstanding! A wonderful interpretation of the brief and what a brilliant way to start the practical side of Media. You will go far!

3) Use the feedback you've been given to write your own self-assessment of your video using WWW (What Went Well) and EBI (Even Better If...)

WWW: I think the video and the image I tried to convey sent across a message that women are empowering. 

EBI: The video length, speed and slow motion scenes could be improved to enhance the overall effect of the time lapse. 
4) Now reflect on your own work in more detail. How did your star persona mood board planning help clarify and develop your ideas?

4) Now reflect on your own work in more detail. How did your star persona mood board planning help clarify and develop your ideas?

The mood board helped me get a visual idea of what the transformation would look like. This also helped us create the femme fatale look which is highly prominent in the video. I think I could have watched a few films that had a femme fatale feel to it to get into the character of my star. I feel that the mood board did its job as it gave me a vision on what my star should look like.

5) Thinking technically, how could you improve your work for future videos? (E.g. filming, editing, sound etc.)

I think i could fade the music at the end and then include slow motion scenes at the end to emphasis the femme fatale image. I might have been able to add d few stills of the before and after to show the transformation.

6) Finally, what have you learned regarding the importance of mise-en-scene to character, narrative and the creation of star personas in film and television?

The background, choice of music and selection of speeds make the overall atmosphere better. In terms of mise-en-scene, the costume, lighting and props add to enhance the image of the star you are trying to project.