Storyboard version 2 (updated)

Storyboard

View more presentations from rlg32.

This is the updated storyboard which includes some annotations of the lyrics to fit with the various scenes of the production.

Human Traffic - Drug Use

Do you think Human Traffic encourages or glorifies drug use?

I think in Human traffic does encourage drug use because during a scene in the club two female characters have an interview where they interact easily and laugh alot showing the fun that the pair are entitled to. Thus the audience can view the amount of fun they have as a group plus the main characters speak about drugs saying quite clearly that they can socialise with strangers easily which they wouldn’t normally do when not under the influence of drugs.

The audience can clearly see how much fun they have by the confidence they share when under the influence and the partying mood showing that they are enjoying themselves. They are however all shown doing the drugs together meaning that for their friend group it is the norm. This i feel is stereotypical to the social class that the group all come from which is working and to the age of the group which is late teens early twenties.

Although the group seem to have a good time, one member of them suffers for paranoia near the end of the film showing what the drugs can do to the group if they are taken for years trying to give the audience a moral story within the media text. This shows that the producers of the film aren't trying to glamorise the use of drugs but are trying to show that they aren't all good as people of their age state.

However the producers of the film never actually show the group taking drugs instead they let the audience assume it. For example one character is seen smoking and due to it not being a straight naturally the audience assume it to contain drugs even though no evidence is given.

The theory behind this is known as the hypodermic syringe model. This theory argues that the audience is doped by what they see on the media and are influenced straight away taking in the ideologies this it can almost hypnotise consumers. The theory supports the movie however i do feel that because the producers don't actually show the use of drugs then the audience wont be as affected by it due to the syringe model stating that they need to see what they would then copy thus they are trying to counter this yet still show the effects of drugs.

Jamie Bulger

The Event/ What Happened:

CCTV evidence from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle taken on 12 February 1993 showed two young boys casually observing children, apparently selecting a target. Throughout the day, Thompson and Venables were seen stealing various items including sweets, a troll doll, some batteries and a can of blue paint, some of which were found at the murder scene obviously being bought for the murder in question. It was later revealed by one of the boys that they were planning to find a child to abduct, lead him to the busy road alongside the mall, and push him into the path of oncoming traffic.

That same afternoon, James Bulger went with his mother to the New Strand Shopping Centre. At around 3:40pm, Denise realized that her son had disappeared. He had been left at the door of the shop while she placed an order, and was spotted by Thompson and Venables, they approached him and spoke to him, before taking him by the hand and leading him out of the precinct.

The boys took Bulger on a 2.5-mile walk across Liverpool, leading him to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal where he was dropped on his head and suffered injuries to his face. During the walk across Liverpool, the boys were seen by 38 people, Bulger had a bump on his forehead and was crying, but most bystanders did nothing to intervene, assuming that he was a younger brother. Two people challenged the older boys, but they claimed that Bulger was a younger brother or that he was lost and they were taking him to the local police station. Eventually the boys led Bulger to a railway line where they attacked him.

At the trial it was established that at this location, one of the boys threw blue Humbrol modelling paint into Bulger's left eye. They kicked him and hit him with bricks, stones and a 22-pound iron bar before they placed batteries in his mouth. Bulger suffered ten skull fractures as a result of the iron bar striking his head. Alan Williams, the case's pathologist, speculated that Bulger suffered so many injuries that none could be isolated as the fatal blow. Police suspected that there was a sexual element since Bulger's shoes, trousers and underpants had been removed. The pathologist's report read out in court stated that Bulger's foreskin had been manipulated.
Before they left him, the boys laid Bulger across the railway tracks and weighted his head down with rubble, in the hope that a train would hit him and make his death appear to be an accident. After Bulger's killers left the scene, his body was cut in half by a train. Bulger's severed body was discovered two days later, on 14 February, he had died before the train hit him.

The boys were charged with Bulger's murder on 20 February 1993, and appeared at South Sefton Youth Court on 22 February 1993, when they were remanded in custody to await trial

Opinion:

My opinion about this event is that the syringe model could explain why this happened yet at the time Childs play three was never proven to have been watched by the boys and was said in court that the two boys hated horror films. This makes me feel that either the boys were influenced by some other means or were simply psychologically disturbed to commit the level of torture that them committed on the two year old.

As I pointed out earlier the torture was so aggressive that they couldn’t find out exactly what blow killed the male or when the toddler actually died although it was before the train. I feel that the parents may of also had an impact because ten year old boys shouldn’t be watching an eighteen certificate film for various reasons, an example of this is that they aren’t fully developed yet. However their parents most of allowed the children to watch the film ignoring the rating so if the syringe model is right then it would have to take into consideration that the parents may think that the film was a good one causing the children to think this as well and thus go and commit a crime similar.

Future:

This event has often been blamed upon the movie Childs play three with the main killer called Chucky who is a psychotic doll with an evil soul inside of him.The film also has become controversial because it has been indirectly linked to the very brutal murder. The two ten year olds were said to have imitated a scene in which one of Chucky's victims is splashed with blue paint. Although these allegations against the film have never been proven, the case has led to some new legislation for video films.

These factors make me believe that the age ratings for horror or thriller films will be increased or will be more limited to who buys them/watches them. The age ratings may also increase making it harder for children to see any horror at all.

Childs play three trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9GNZdjMCAM
Tribute to James: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hXIaAoBqek&feature=related

The Schedule

This is our filming timing for each individual scene of our characters.

Wednesday 20th October - filming small snippets of Sam and Danii. (This is the main scenes needed for our music)

Thursday 21st October - Filming individual scenes of Danii .( This is the scenes when Danii is grieving and looking back on the memories)

Friday 22nd October - Filming scene in graveyard

Due to Carly's commitments and our busy schedule we are filming her scene after the half term.

A2 Music Video Example One

This video has similar shoots and clips to our own groups video ideas which we feel look effective and will give us better ideas to develop. We found this on you tube and is of Leona Lewis and her song run. The video has black and white flashbacks which is constant with ours as well as zooming into the picture which we are also planning to do. This video has helped us see these ideas in action and makes us more likely to use these ideas as we feel that they are effective.

MTV Logo

The logo of the company has changed over the years to suit the current social status/norms and the audience group that they are trying to attract although this is usally teenagers to early twenties. They are fairly bright coloured and are off the same letters yet with various backgrounds and effects which surround it. As i pointed out these suit the target audience and makes them appealing to look at thus will hopefully make MTV more popular whih is their main focus point.

http://stevewilkison.com/hogdblog/?p=369 This link shows the discussion on the logos such as the use of colour with black being bold and deadly as well as the use of big lettering such as the M which is mainfly focused on as it stands for their slogan and also draws people in to the logo and pops out at them, almost placing it straight into peoples faces so that they cant ignore it.

MTV Exam

MTV is an American network music channel that is located in New York City when it launched on the day of August 1 in the year 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs which of course is a play on words from the name DJ which obviously plays music at the events that these VJs. will do this on the program. At one point MTV had a greatly important impact on the music industry and the culture at the time of its earlier release. The show also produced slogans such as "MTV is here" became embedded like an internet link without the public's thought. Both artists and fans found a location for music events, news, and promotions as a dedicated music outlet. The company has spawned various sister sites in America as well as internationally. It is believed to cause moral influences on young people as MTV has tackled issues which include censorship, social activism etc. This has been debated about for many years although the show has been still going strong and started to focus on non music programming since the 1990s which I feel has made them even more successful and increases their impact on today's culture.

Quoted from Wikipedia: "The original purpose of MTV was to be "Music Television," playing music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, guided by on-air personalities known as VJs, or video jockeys. The original taglines of the channel were "You'll never look at music the same way again," and "On cable. In stereo." Although the concept of playing music videos 24/7 has long been abandoned, MTV US still promotes and plays a limited selection of music videos on its TV channel and website. Internationally, the station continues to support a broad selection of music including 4 channels in the UK that broadcast 23 hours of music video per day"

However the company did slowly reduce the amount of time spent to music videos. Despite efforts to play certain types of music videos MTV only played up to eight hours per day in 2000 while in 2008 saw an average of just three hours of this music which used to be at least 23 hours. The rise of the Internet was believed to be the cause for this problem and resulted in the decline of the videos. MTV's main source of music video programming was total request live that airs four times a week featuring short clips of VJ's and guests. Total request Live aired its last episode in November 2008 as well as the hip hop music video show Sucker Free. I believe that this was done to allow the company to move forward with not just music videos but with all type of entertainment such as internet, TV programs, comedy shows etc.

Some of the channels that are released in the US are as follows which I collected from numerous places:

• MTV
• MTV2
• MTV Hits
• Palladia (high-definition channel) (formerly Music: High Definition)
• VH1 (Standard-definition/high-definition channel)
• VH1 Classic
• VH1 Soul
• CMT (Standard-definition/high-definition channel)
• CMT Pure Country (formerly VH1 Country)
• Comedy Central (Standard-definition/high-definition channel)
• Logo
• Nickelodeon (Standard-definition/high-definition channel)
• Nick 2
• Teen Nick (formerly The N)
• Nick Jr (formerly Noggin)
• Nicktoons (TV channel) (formerly Nicktoons Network)
• TV Land
• Nick at Nite
  

The following site holds a list of all of the channels that MTV have control of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MTV_channels

Some of the programmes that are showed on MTV include the following which was found with the link below the list:

• America's Next Top Model (2005–2008)
• Beauty and the Geek (2006–2007)
• Britney & Kevin: Chaotic (2005)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2010)
• Degrassi: The Next Generation (2008-present)
• Drawn Together (2004-2010)
• Gossip Girl (2007–2008)
• Grounded for Life (2009)
• Hidden Palms (2007)
• Futurama (2008–2009)
• Instant Star (2006)

The following links holds all of the programs that the company has shown over the years with the dates shown as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programs_broadcast_by_MTV

The company in 2009 has conformed to the well off video site Youtube by creating its own profile and posting their own videos which like the first music video shown on the channel has the original commercials and the black screens between the videos, the videos also show the record information such as year. The following link is posted by a fan although they received the link from MTV, it features the first music videos ever shown on MTV which was Video killed the radio star by the buggles which was a big hit at the time, it also has the same commercials and shows the black screen when back in the days an employee of the company would insert another tape into a VCR. The link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw6xesXLIAA

Cast List

Dannii Hall as the female child
Sam Hall as her mother
Extras as other family members
Carley Jones as herself

The video relates to the story of the first two characters which is linear so we feel that we need only a few characters. The extras will play the family within the video and the shots of the singer singing in our studio will of course be the actual singer.

Suggested Costumes

For the main two female artists there will be casual clothing such as jeans, t shirts, jumpers etc. One will also wear a blanket although this isn't clothing it will cover the other clothes that she is wearing as this is suppost to signify that the female is ill with some life threatening disease. The other female star who is our actual singer will as i pointed out before be wearing a black dress. I placed this item in the props as well as we will be supplying the dress for our singer, Toni Hall's to be exact.

Suggested Props for Music Video

The following props have been suggested by our group which we may want to include in the image for various reasons:

• obviously the filming equipment such as a camera tripod etc
• a locket which will be one of the main focus points of the clip
• photo frame with a picture of the mother and daughter inside which we will zoom on within the video
• clothing for the actors but that will be the basics and a black dress for our singer to create that Alica Keys look that we feel the song fits
• selection of images which be be located in the bedroom

These are the props so far and i will edit this post if any more are chosen. The ones above are the main key elements or props that we need for the selected image.

Third questionnaire

Third questionnaire

View more documents from rlg32.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

View more documents from rlg32.

These are the results which are connected to the earlier posts on the questionnaire, this gives it a more visual image and allows the audience to connect more. This also helps our group evaluate easier and clearly see the information that we need.

Magazine Inside Image

Magazine inside Page

The double page spread is from a magazine known as Kerrang who is owned by Bauer Consumer Media and is a rock music production, the name refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar hinting to the audience that it is indeed a music magazine. The main staff who work for the company which I found on the site Wikipedia are as follows: Nichola Browne (editor) Daniel J. Lane (deputy editor, podcasts) Caroline Fish (art editor) Lucy Williams (production editor) Simon Young (news and introducing editor, podcasts) Nick Ruskell (reviews editor) Scarlet Borg (picture editor) Pamela Steuri (designer).

The main text of this double page is of course the first three points which are bold have white backgrounds unlike the rest of the text and has red text for the numbers within the points. This not only attracts the audience but it makes it clear for anyone reading the article that it is fairly important and it makes you want to read on as you want to see why the points are so important and what significance they have to the actual story/event.

It advertises the magazine with the story as the topic that they are talking about is a kerrang tour so the company is almost advertising itself through its own productions that said consumers will still want to read this topic as Kerrang apparently advertise their own gigs etc quite a lot which is why they are fairly successful events.

Various images are show of different artists and bands yet they are all of the same genre showing the audience again what genre they follow rock music. This is clearly visible as the artists all seem to be jumping around of cheering which is the stereotypical atmosphere/appearance of rock singers. The main photo which runs across the top third of the image is fairly dark again hinting at its genre yet the photo shows what the bullet point announces, crazy fans. This is shown by the arms that are reaching forwards toward the main artist.

The bottom left of the double page shows a few of the artists by saying that they were the best bits hinting that the audience should go to one of these events and they will enter the same atmosphere and have a great time although of course they are advertising for the profit of the company growing and earning more money. The magazine is also labeled on the top right of the pages with the name of the gig/event again advertising the magazine even though the audience would bought it already however if a friend was reading the page for gigs then they would see the title and more often than not go out to buy it of they liked the event. The double spread seems to be big on advertising the event a lot to provide advertising and entertaining. The magazine is aimed for teenagers and early twenties yet is for more die hard rock fans than someone who likes a few rock songs here and there.

Magazine Cover Image

Magazine Cover

The magazine cover that I am going to study is of the highly known brand Vibe. It is owned by a man known as Quincy Jones and features mostly hip hop and R&B music. It was a success before it shut down unexpectedly in 2009 although the reason behind this was never fully stated or explained. However is was soon bought by the private investment fund Intermedia Partners who issue double covers quarterly a month with a larger online presence. Its audience is relatively young and are usually urban followers of hip hop culture. Vibe is believed to cover a broader range of interest than its closer competitors who are the source and XXL due to them focusing narrowly on just rap music. Some of the most successful content that was featured in each within magazine includes:

The back page list 20 Questions, Revolutions music reviews and Vibe Confidential, a celebrity gossip column

The front cover points towards the fact that it is suppost to be well known as the singer on the front cover almost covers the two middle letters which suggests that the audience will know what the magazine is without needing to read the title. The letters however are fairly big to probably draw attention to them anyway as you can just work out what the letters spell out and they are white in colour to distinguish that they are important and to stand out against the red darkish background.

The genre of the magazine is clearly shown by the bottom hand corner which advertise where to find that genre of music as well as the main model/singer who is an R&B artist which is again shown by his stereotypical clothes which include the cap to the side, the necklace, tattoos and the leaning posture of the male. This not only promotes the artist but also the magazine as the female audience will buy the magazine from the males attractiveness while the males will buy it because they aspire to by that star who women love. The way that the male is photographed also allows the viewers sight to look at the whole cover as it leads your eyes around the cover.

The title to the left of the magazine draws the audience in as it is a question which the magazine will answer however being the consumer you may wish to find out the answer thus you will need to buy it. The colour is again in white as this promotes the text as important and something that the viewers should focus on. The bar in the bottom left hand corner shows the price and the fact that it is on the front shows that the company are proud of this and shows that they think the price is reasonable for what they want.

The right side is full of teases with various R&B singers mentioned to probably draw the audience in as like I pointed out before the genre is hip hop and R&B so them empathises that fact. Another teaser is shown in a red circle near the top left to draw attention due the bright red colour and shows the mega music issue, this could be a way to try and get the audience/consumer to buy the magazine as it is almost like a bonus type edition and this makes it seem to the diehard fans of the magazine that they need to buy it.

AS Skills Development

What can you do with a digital video camera?

I am able to take footage with a video camera which i can edit or manipulate later on in the process using programs such as final cut express. This also allows me to shot any extra footage needed for the production/task and allows the recording of sound if we need it. The camera is one of the main equipment as without one a film,music video,advert etc couldn't be made although the sound could be edited thus the camera is mainly used for visuals.

What sound recording techniques do you have?

I am able to record sound via different devices such as a microphone etc. This helps any production by creating the atmosphere for example i did a horror film trailer and the voices we used was of the victim who was scared and the main villain to show the contrast between them and empathize what genre the production is. So i feel that i am able to edit voice tones and the speed of them.

What skills did you develop using final cut?

The skills that i developed using final cut express include the following:

• Learning to crop clips to fit with the timeline/beat of the music or scenes thus making the clip more effective
• Being able to add the basics such as video clips, music, using the effects that are already on the software etc
• Being able to edit footage so that it can created various effects such as slow motion or changing the colour to black and white
• To use transitions when necessary so that the project blends together and moves well
• To creative titles/credits
• To use the shortcut keys which allows me to make the production quicker and easier hopefully making it more effective.

Did you use a digital camera?

I used a digital camera in order to catch some of the locations on to place within the blog this allowed our group to familiarize ourselves with the locations, to see them first hand and see if they fitted with what we wanted. Thus it helped us to almost analyse the photos and pick the best ones available.

What skills do you have?

During the production i learnt how to develop my creative skills of editing in order to make more effective trailers and to use transitions effectively with effects when needed. I have also enhanced my photographic skills with my video skills allowing me to collect lots of footage for my productions.

What were the good and bad things about the software at AS?

The good things about the software at AS were it was an effective and a quick way to edit video clips that that so we could add a variety of effects to fit any needs. It was also good to have a new programme that held a lot of memory to apply the effects easier and the transitions more effective. However the bad points were that it took a little way to understand how to use the programmes.

How creative were you at As Level?

I feel that are group was creative with the blood and gore by getting a friend who had done a make up cause to do our make up for the production to make it effective. We however weren't very creative with the locations as we used the college and shot around Reepham so i think that if we had shoot elsewhere then in would of been more like a horror film. For example in a forest setting. That said i do feel that because it was around the college it was easier to produce more footage as we didn't have to go anyway far way. We used light well as it was fairly dark in some scenes to give the creepy effect and make it more horrific to fit with the setting. We didn't use a lot of props but for an opening of a film we didn't really need a lot. The characters we used fit the genre well however as we had all the stereotypical characters.

What techniques need you use?

The techniques that we used were a few research questionnaires (primary research) which we left one in the library for people to answer and then we got people to do another face to face so that we could have a range and knew that we would get some answers from at least one. We then selected a video clip comparison where we verbally asked a few people which they liked better and the reason why. I also watched a series of horror genre films to come up with the conventions of a horror film to help the production come along.

What would you improve?

I would probably change the location were we shot as well as edit part of the footage more effectively as when it was put together initially it looked fine buy once the trailer was shown it looked out of place, this was the slow motion change of character or ego from Natalie to Toni. Although it looked OK we wanted it to look amazing so i feel that this clip would be better changed into a different aspect. I would also improve on the actors by getting more reliable ones as we had a slight bit of trouble getting them all together for personal reasons.

How did you use the Internet?

We used the Internet by posting all the information on the blogs that that the production could be marked as well as showing the opening on you tube which people could watch and comment on. We also used it to look up on films and analyse them as well as watch various openings on you tube which we felt fitted with our storyline in some aspect to get the techniques out of them too.

How did you organise your editing?

We each took turn editing the footage and if we werent editing then we would offer ideas and suggestions to the person who was. This allowed each member of the team to take part in the editing and get their own scenes in that they felt were effective, thus allowing us to feel pride towards our production.

What techniques did you use?

The main technique that we wanted to use was used in a noir film, the effect was basically in black and white white certain colours that would be in red, this would allow us to focus on the horror forms and conventions. However this fell through as one of our members had gotten the wrong code so unfortunately it wouldn't work and at the time we couldn't find the proper code to use. We did however use black and white effects for flash backs where the mother was talking and apart from that we didn't use too many effects. We did however use a few in order to make the video opening flow.

What about post production?

I feel that post production didn't go as well as planned as the group had no back up plan and our storyboard wasn't fully developed so it wasn't as effective as i wanted it to be. I do feel that with a bit more planning our production would of been better yet i feel that it did fairly well anyway. The location choice wasn't very well chosen but as i mentioned before it was easier to film at a close location due to lift troubles.

Is it impossible to create an entirely original media text?

I feel that it is impossible as films need to follow the conventions of their selected genre for the audience/consumers to connect with and identify with the genre of the film. Thus i feel that it is almost impossible to create say a horror film without any blood or gore or some one dying. That said a film known as five across the eyes which i have seen before had none of the characters die (except the villain) yet was still classed as a horror and was still effective. Yet this included the conventions of people screaming, blood and getting hurt. So i feel that people can create media texts without all of the aspects yet will find it difficult for people to relater to it without known conventions.

What conventions did you follow?

The conventions that we followed were as follows:

• the blood on the victims
• female characters who are seen as the main gender of horror films
• loud screams
• black clothing for the villain
• a murder of a character
• suspense music