LAUREN CHILMAN - A2 MEDIA STUDIES.

Audience and Genre Research.

The Hyperdermic Syringe Theory.
- This particular theory is based on the way certain types of media, such as films are able to 'inject' the consumer with ideas and influences that when comsuming the media, actions are carried out into making youth culture especially, and audience memebers to follow the actions seen within the film. These certain actions can therefore be potentitally threatening or dangerous within everyday life. Films such as 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'Snatch/Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' have influenced copycat killings in the past and also increased the use of drug culture, showing how certain audiences consume entirely the conventions within certain films and types of media.


The Reception Theory.
- Stuart Hall's reception theory is seen as the way audiences interpret different genres of film and media in their own unique way, depending of the upbringing and uses that as an audience we expect and are used to. For example, audiences from the south or north of the country may view films such as 'Kidulthood' completely unrealistic, whereas audiences living in a West London community would interpret and consume that type of film completely different, as their particular way of life is recognised and presented.

The Uses & Gratification Theory.
- This type of theory presents the idea that as an audience we create and take a vivid interest into the certain genre and conventions of our choice. If one particular audience rate a certain genre as very popular and many sales are made, this will encourage producers to make a sequel or similar kind of film, showing how as an audience, we control what is produced and encouraged within the media.

Analysis of 'The Truman Show'

After watching 'The Truman Show' I believe that his particular American film challenges the typical theories that usually apply to narrative of many feature films, as the particular plot provides a varied view to what as an audience, we are usually used to. This doesn't allow us to particulary specify a genre to the film as it could be classed as a comedy, yet also includes some elements of romance and drama, enabling us to strongly symphathise with Truman's character. Therefore, as a film I believe the director has specifically left out elements and typical conventions to create a surreal feel to 'The Truman Show.'

One way in which 'The Truman Show' challenges typical conventions can include the theory of stock characters by Vladimir Propps, as within 'The Truman Show' no real character of stereotype can be seen, as Truman may be classed as the Hero but no specific princess or accompanying characters are used, as everyone around him are seen as villians following his fake life.
Another theory which doesn't apply to the film itself is the use of Binary Opposites by Levi - Strauss, as some elements of Good Vs Evil are seen, yet no character is strongly sided on either end of these judgements. Although, a binary opposition of Reality Vs Fake can be shown, due to the circumstances Truman is in.
The theory of semiotics by Barthes can be seen a little within the film, such as the fall of the set wall and cameras within the office, that show us that the world Truman is living in, suddenly becomes unreal and suspicious. The use of rain also enables the audience to understand that a versatile and dangerous atmosphere is about to occur, such as the incident of the storm and the sailing boat.

Although a few elements occur, I believe 'The Truman Show' doesn't follow the usual conventions of the theorists strongly, thus disallowing us to specifically provide the film with a real, agreed genre.

Final Piece - "Hotel Road"

How have I used technology in my coursework?

Throughout the whole production of the making of our film opening 'Hotel Road' technology and technology based equiptment has been incredibly important to create successful and professional advances within our coursework. All members of our group used each piece of technology effectively so we all understood and learnt a basis in making the film opening, to which our knowledge has been extended.

The video camera has been the most important use of the filming process and also helped us create different effects within our thriller film, such as the shakiness of the camera and close up shots which we have researched to be used in other similar films such as Saw and Donnie Darko. This also helped us create media based shots such as Over the Shoulder Shots and Match On Action which we used within our film within the house. By being able to create different shots such as these it improved the effectiveness of the filming within the film by creating well known and more professional types of camerawork.

After we had filmed the basis of our film opening, we used a program called 'Pinnacle' which would be used to edit and compose our opening once we had uploaded it onto this software. By using 'Pinnacle' we were able to add titles and also music over the dialogue which would create more thriller based conventions in our coursework, thus creating a more professional feel to the movie opening itself.


The computer and laptops themselves also played the most important roles in the making of 'Hotel Road.' As using them to edit and create our movie itself, we also used it to research and watch other thriller films so we could analyse the conventions used within these movies and then discuss the base of the conventions that we would then use within our film itself. This again helped us gain a more professional feel to our film opening.
Technology used for our Directors Commentary

When we came to the stage of recording a Directors Commentary to put with our film opening containing information on the conventions used, success and problems, we used a piece of equipment called the 'Edirol' to which we could easily record the commentary and then upload it over our film opening itself.

Audience Feedback.

After the majority of our film opening 'Hotel Road' was finished, we presented this to the rest of our classmates and asked others outside the classroom to watch our production and analyse to give feedback afterwards. To create an effective way to show feedback, we created a questionnaire that would encourage the viewers to use the terminology needed to see how successful our film opening had become, and whether some improvements could have been made. The questionnaire included questions such as 'What atmosphere does the music create?' and 'How have we used mise en scene effectively within the film?' By receiving feedback from many viewers, we analysed all the answers carefully and made an overall outlook to how the audience had portrayed our film.
Everyone were fully aware about the plot of our film and what was happening within each scene which was found successful. The viewers were able to spot the mise en scene, such as the make-up and mirrors used which then relates to the characters of young teenage girls and the viewers spotted the vulnerability of the characters throughout the opening. Al viewers thought the music we used 'suited the film perfectly' as they believe it created much tension and a basis of a mysterious background.
Yet, to improve our film, many people who watched our opening believed it was much too dark and that the lighting could have been improved more, which we could have took much more care of before filming. Overall, I believe the feedback we got from others proves a very successful outlook on how our film is portrayed to different audiences.

Font Research for Use Within Our Film

By researching different films such as "Donny Darko and Kiss The Girls" we decided on a basis for the titles use within our film. I researched some of these fonts on www.dafont.com and wanted to choose thriller type styles that would cause a sense of suspicion for the viewer and could relate to the specific convention of Thriller within the film. In my opinion, I remember the most effective titles in horror and thriller films being plain which suggests simplicity yet also creates an uneasy and suspenseful feel to the beginning of the film. Thus, my favourite font that I would like to use would be the type of font shown second down, as it is the simplist yet most effective in setting the right atmosphere within the film itself.