Monday 23 September 2013

Camera training: Still images

High angle: This camera angle shows both insignificance and vulnerability when shooting a movie. This makes the audience either have less respect or feel distressed for the character.

 Low angle: This camera angle shows power, status or menace when shooting a movie. This makes the audience fear or/and have respect for the character.

Over the shoulder: This camera angle is used to show that somebody is following the character or it is used to put the audience in the characters position.

Tilt: This camera angle in a film shows confusion, disorientation or a a nightmare. This type of shot is normally used to show that something bad is going to happen or is currently happening.

Long shot: This type of angle tends to be used to establish location or action within a film. Long shots are good for showing depth and giving a general idea of what is happening within the scene.

Medium close up: This type of shot is good for bringing focus to the characters face.

Close up: This camera angle allows the audience to develop a better view and understanding of the characters emotion in the scene.

Extreme close up: This angle is used to closely identify characters or action within a film. This tends to be used in thriller movies to establish horror, more than any other films.

Bird's eye view: This shot is used purely to give the audience a different view of the action that is occurring in the scene.


Worm's eye view: This camera angle is mostly used to show fear. It allows the audience to view events from one of the characters vulnerable perspectives.  

Rule of thirds:


Sunday 22 September 2013

Media Questionnaire

Name: Jordan Jones

GCSE Results:
  1. Photography= A*
  2. History=A
  3. I.T.=Distinction double award (equal to two As)
  4. English Literature=B
  5. English Language=B
  6. Maths=B
  7. Science=B
  8. Additional Science=B
  9. Drama=C 
Hobbies:
  • Reading
  • Photography
  • Gaming
  • Listening to music
  • Watching films
  • Going to the cinema and concerts
Media Interests:



  • Print media- Occasionally I will read through my local newspaper the 'Lynn News' to see what is happening in my local area. Most of the time it is just to see something that I know of though (e.g. if a friend or family member have something related to them put in the paper I will read that). I tend to read most of the news on the internet due to the fact I use the internet a majority of the time. Reading the news on the internet is a preference to me because it is easier to access and doesn't cost, like a newspaper. On the rear occasion I do read magazine's like Kerrang, NME and several different photography magazines. I tend to read music magazines to find out about concerts that are coming up and concerts that have already happened. Music magazines are also good for finding out about upcoming albums and reading reviews about albums. I also read photography magazines to find out about new techniques for taking photographs.    
  • Radio media- I listen mostly to Radio 1 for entertainment and news because it plays a large variety of music which I love and informs me of the things that I seem to want to know about. I occasionally listen to my local radio station KLFM for local news, but not music because the don't tend to play the genres I like. 
  • Music Industry- My favourite genres of music are: rock, dubstep, indie, alternative rock, rap, metal, pop rock, punk and dance. I have a very diverse taste in music. I mostly do access my music on the internet through YouTube and Spotify because they allow me to find new artists which I can enjoy for free. I download all my music through iTunes due to the apple devices I own. I do however still like buying physical copies of albums because that is the way I have been brought up and I like to be able to show my collection of CDs. My opinion on illegally downloading music is that it is bad. I don't think it is right to take money away from artists that have worked hard to produce singles, EPs or albums. They deserve the money that is a result of the purchase of their music. People shouldn't be allowed to download this music illegally because it isn't fair and it is against the law. The music industry does influence my dress because I tend to dress how people who like the same genres as me dress so that they know I also like the same kind of thing. It is just an easy way for people to know we've got stuff in common. I also let music influence my attitude a lot because certain types of music puts me in certain moods.

  • Video games- My favourite video game is Alice: Madness returns. The story line of this game is that Alice has essentially gone crazy and her wonderland has become corrupt due to the fact she is trying to find out how her parents and sister died. This is in fact the second game in the series, with the orginal game only being available for PC until this game was released, and now it is avaliabe for console play.This game is really interesting because it shows a twisted and very new side of wonderland that people who read "alice's adventures in wonderland" by Lewis Carroll have never seen before. I understand why some people think games can have a negative effect on gender roles. This problem comes in specifically with games like Call of Duty, Battlefield and other war games. As a gamer I have noticed in most games now there is the option to play as a female character which isn't something that was available so much, say 5 years ago. There are still less female characters though, with male characters dominating most of the gaming universe. This is something that could be improved in my opinion, mainly in first persons shooters. People also say that conflict is a big issue in video games because of the way it influences younger children, but there are age restrictions on most games which portray conflict. This means parents are buying and letting influential children play these games, so I have no sympathy due to the fact that parents should be having more control over what their children play.
  • New Technology- New technologies have allowed me to understand new parts of the world through seeing the news on the internet and allowing me to research certain cultures with easier access through phones, laptops and tablets. New technologies have allowed me to communicate with people all round the UK and even people from different countries. They've also allowed me to communicate faster with better phone signals, faster internet and faster phones. A lot of new technology has increased my awareness of new films and television programmes. It has mostly led to me finding out more about music and the music industry. I've learnt more about music and the music industry due to it being easer to find new artists and genres. 
  • Television- My favourite television channels are E4, Sky 1 + living and BBC one. This is because these channels are the ones that broadcast the televisions shows that I like. My favourite genre is American sitcoms because they have the sense of humour that I like and I like the casting for these types of shows. The 5 programmes I consider memorable are: 1. How I met your mother, 2. Adventure time 3. Scrubs, 4. Hannibal and 5. Doctor Who.
  •          
  • Feature film- My favourite genre of of film is comedy because I tend to love anything that will make me laugh. Three films that I found outstanding the Suckerpunch, Kill Bill and The Matrix. I prefer to watch watch films in the cinema because it is more of a sociable activity that I can do with my friends. I do also like watching films at home because I feel more comfortable like this, but going to the cinema is my preference. My favourite cinema is the Majestic cinema in Kings Lynn. I prefer to watch films in a group due to the fact you can compare opinions when the film is finished

Conclusion: The only piece of media I can think of that has offended me is anything within the news to do with homosexuality or bisexuality being wrong.I find this offensive because I believe what they're saying is wrong, there is nothing bad about being gay, lesbian or bi so these news stories are offensive in my opinion. The most interesting media text I've ever seen is "Looking for Alaska" by John Green. This book was amazing in my opinion and absolutely sent me on an emotional roller coaster. The book that has most altered my life and the way I think is "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. This book made me realise that sometimes the people we love and who we think are safe may actually be gone before us, they may actually be in more danger than ourselves. This book also made me realise how tough it really is being a cancer patient and how caner kids have their "one wish". Hazel Grace ( the main character of the book) really shows how tough life can be for a teenager struggling with cancer and relationships. My favourite quote from this book is "The marks humans leave are too often scars", this quote personally means a lot to me because it shows how when we die we don't always leave a good legacy behind and that we should maybe consider who we've hurt and try and fix the scars we're responsible for. If I was to construct a media text about the condition of England I would produce a speech and talk about how we need to start using out countries money wisely. We need to stop building things we don't need, we need to stop celebrities getting so much money for doing nothing and people who are actually helping need to get more respect for what they're doing. People who help need rewards, because after a while they're going to stop helping if they get nothing in return. I have chosen media studies as an option because I want to learn more about the modern media and how it works, I want to develop my filming skills and improve my editing skills.  

Summer Task

Monday 16 September 2013

An Introduction

Hello, I'm Jordan Jones and this is my blog for my media studies A-level.