Moving Image Dictionary

Binary Oppositions: The contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or things that creates conflict and drives a narrative

Non Diegetic- A sound that does not exist in the ‘real world’ of the film, for example this can be the soundtrack which only the audience can hear.

Diegetic- Sounds which can be heard and seen by the characters, this adds effect, for example this is characters talking.

Rule of thirds- A guideline used within film making that divides an image into an Imagined grid. Made up of nine equal parts, which is used for the composition of visual images.

Synergy- The release of different products with films to boost the marketing campaign and films sales, for example The Lego Movie released clothing and having a section at LEGOLAND.

Convergence- Combining two or more mediums, this happens in either production, distribution and exhibition of a film, this happened with The Lego Movie when they released a theme song ‘Everything is Awesome’ and have released a video game with the film.

Horizontal Integration- One large company owning several other companies in different types of media.

Vertical Integration- When a company owns all the stages of the production, distribution and in the case of cinema exhibition of it’s products, a example of this is Warner Bros they did everything for the Lego Movie.

Above the line Costs- Are costs which the more important people are made when a film is being made, for example in The Lego Movie the above the line costs were for people such as actors including: Will Ferrell and Morgan Freeman, also these costs were for people such as the directors who are Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

Below the Line costs- Are costs which the less important people are paid during the making process of a film, for example minor people such as minor background characters in Mrs Browns Boys D’Movie are below the line costs.

Parallel Editing- A editing technique that continuously alters between two or more scenes that are happening simultaneously, but are in different locations. It is usually used to create climax or emphasise oppositional characters and character relationships.

Continuity Editing- A style of editing that is commonly used to emphasise a smooth transition of time and a logical progression through a film’s narrative.

Binary Opposition- The contrast between two opposite things which creates conflict and creates a narrative, good/bad and day/night.

Intertextuality- The influence that media texts have on each other. Result of direct or indirect cross references.

Representation- The way the media presents the world around us in the forms of signs and codes for audiences to read.

Hegemony- This means a position of power or leadership in a given situation.

Ideology- It’s a set of ideas or beliefs which are held to be acceptable by the creators of a media text. For example text may have feminist ideology, meaning it has the idea that women are the equal of men and shouldn’t be discriminated against.

Iconography- This is used to show the conventional meanings attached to certain images to help show specific meanings.

Preferred Reading- This is a meaning of text which the producers intended, the opposite is aberrant reading which is when producers deliberately interpret text to create a different meaning.

Oppositional Reading- The way audiences choose to read the text; this would happen if text is approached by an audience that it was not originally targeted for.

Archetype- A universal type of model or character that is found in many different texts, such as a loyal friend.

Stereotype- This is a representation of people that rely on preconceived ideas about that particular group, that a particular person is belonging to.

Verisimilitude- The quality of appearing to be true or depicting reality. The more the story resembles reality the easier it is for the audience to engage.

High key lighting- This aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in each scene. It’s free from dark shadows and suggests a upbeat mood.

Low key lighting- This aims to decrease the lighting ratio present in each scene, it creates a lot of dark shadows and suggest a down beat mood. Used in product advertising to make the product look better.

Contrapuntal sound- Is where the non diegetic sounds are used to contrast with the scene which is happening in the film or movie, it helps creates a twist in the scene.

Ambient Sound- Normal sound’s which exists in a particular scene or location. Such as traffic noise, in a rough location dogs would be barking which is ambient sound.

Foley- A foley artist supplies the live action sounds that a production microphone may have missed. Sounds of swords locking together, named after Jack Foley a sound editor at Universal studios.

Dramatic Irony- The irony occurring when the audience understand and see a situation while the characters are totally unaware of it .

Ellipsis- It suggests an action by showing what has happened before and after what has been observed, films use it to clear actions that add nothing to the narrative.

Props character Theory- There is traditionally a hero which is a male whose role is to restore normality by defeating the villains. The villain is the cause of the disruption and the enemy of the hero. The Dispatcher sends the hero on a journey to restore parity and well-being. The Donor gives the hero something to help him along with his journey. The helper assists the hero in restoring normal life. The Heroine is usually a vulnerable character who is threatened by the villain and needs rescuing by them. There is also a false her who is a character that initially seems to be on the hero’s side but turns against him.

Todorov’s Narrative Theory- This states that most stories or plot lines follow the same pattern or path, there are 5 steps in this pattern: 1. Equilibrium- the first part of the story will display a happy start, where the characters are content and everything is as it should be. 2. A Disruption- The 2^nd part of the story will feature a problem or something will disrupt the happiness. 3. Realisation-This part of the play when everyone realises the problem and it is chaos. 4. Restored Order- This is the part of the plot when the characters attempt to repair the damage and restore the problem. 5. Equilibrium Again- This is the final part of the plat where the problem is resolved and normality can resume again.

Restricted Narrative- The story presented by one character in particular. Mystery or surprise may be the effect of this form of narrative.

Omniscient Narrative- The story presented through a number of characters, suspense may be the effect.

Linear Narrative- Is telling a story in a straight line through chronological order, starting at the beginning, moving to the middle and proceeding to the end of the story.

Episodic Narrative- The way a story is told is through a series of episodes or segments, it jumps from story to story, a soap opera on TV is an episodic program.

Diegesis- In this the narrator tells the story, the narrator presents the actions of the characters to the audience, it provides details about the world itself and experiences of characters are revealed through narrative.

Enigma Code- This is a question which is not immediately answered and draws the audiences into a specific text. For example a body is discovered at the beginning of a TV detective drama.

High concept film- This is a type of film which can be easily pitched and will be easily summarized as the idea would have been thought of before a lot of times. For example a high concept film in Jurassic park was high concept because a lot of people asked the question ‘What if we clone dinosaurs?’.

Juxtaposition- The placement of two or more opposed images on either side of an edit to create an effect.

Key Light- This is the first and usually most important light, this light is to highlight the form and dimension of the subject.

Master Shot- This type of shot is used in film to record a entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the characters in view, it is usually a long shot or a establishing shot.

Reaction Shot- It is a shot which cuts away from the main scene in order to show the reaction of a character.

Polysemic- The way that all images may be interpreted in a variety of different ways, the more anchorage a text is given, the less open it is to polysemy.

180 Degree Rule- It means that two characters should always have the same left and right relationship to each other, when a camera crosses the ‘axis’ connecting two subjects it is called ‘crossing the line’. The new shot is called the reverse angle.

Codes- There are different types of codes which are decoded to create meaning: Technical codes- all to do with the way a text is technically constructed. Verbal codes- Everything to do with language, either written or spoken. Symbolic codes- Codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotation level, all the things which draw upon our experience and understanding of other media texts.

Connotation- The way in which meaning is created. Connote means creating a meaning by association and creating more than one meaning.

Conglomerates- The result of mergers and takeovers, media companies are increasingly coming together in conglomerates, also called multinational co-operations.

more key words

Institution and audiences:

The big six- The six companies that form the Hollywood system, includes: 20^th century fox, Universal studios, Disney, Columbia, Paramount and Warner bros.

Blockbuster- A film that secures huge publicity and huge box office sales.

Convergence- The coming together of previously separate technologies, to form a new form.

Distribution- The business of bringing a film to the attention of the audiences and organising the distribution of film prints to the exhibitors.

Exhibition- The business of showing films in cinemas.

Festivals- Opportunities for films to be shown before general release to build anticipation and secure distribution deals.

Green light- Giving the film the go- ahead.

Horizontal Integration- One large company owning several other companies in different types of Medias.

Vertical Integration- When a company owns all the stages of a film’s production, distribution and in case of cinema exhibition of its product.

Independent film- A film that is made outside of the Hollywood system.

Conglomerates- Media companies are increasingly coming together in ‘conglomerates’ of media interests.

Multiplexes- This is multi-screen cinemas located on the edge of large cities with easy road access.

Oligopoly- The control  of a market for a particular product by a small group of companies in which no one company is dominant.

Re Write of Doctor Who clip

Doctor Who Gender clip

During this clip of Doctor Who there are many different micro features which include: sound, editing, camera and mise-en-scene which helps present the representational issue of gender throughout the clip.

First of all the micro feature of camera is used to present the representational issue of gender. For example straight away in the first scene a extreme close up is used to represent the male characters cockiness and it tells the audience who has the power in the clip, furthermore a Steadicam is used within the clip which shows the female character Martha walking to the male character through all of the other minor characters in this scene this juxtaposes with the non-diegetic sound because this is very down beat music which symbolises the current mood which is being portrayed within the clip. In the micro feature of camera high and low angled shots are used which represents the difference between the powerful and weaker characters in the clip. A good example of this is at the beginning of the clip high angles are used on the female character Martha to portray her as week and low angled shots are used on male characters to portray them as more dominant compared to the female characters which is a good use of the hegemonic norms that male characters are the more dominant ones. However this switches further on in the clip as high shots are used on  the male characters whereas the low shots are used on the female characters which represents a switch in authority the longer the clip goes on and ultimately go against television series hegemonic norms. Further on in the clip a eye line match is used between Martha the female character and the master who is the main male character in the scene. This is used to signify a switch in power in the scene because this is used when Martha’s diegetic such as her speech becomes a lot more confident. lastly when Martha does become confident in the scene because she is ultimately defeating the master a extreme close up is used to signify victory, this is a role reversal because the camera shot was used the same way as it was used right at the beginning of the clip for the male character when he was a lot more confident and had more overall power within the scene.

The next significant micro feature which is used throughout the Doctor Who clip is mise-en-scene this feature includes all the characters costumes, positions and all the different types of lighting throughout the scene. First of all the main male character the master is wearing a basic suit which follows the stereotype of men as a suit is a stereotypical masculine outfit, whereas in contrast the main female character Martha Jones is wearing a leather jacket which signifies a type of role reversal as the female character is wearing a more masculine outfit compared to the male character. Another significant factor within the micro feature of mise-en-scene is lighting which is used to help present the mode of address within the scene, for example low key lighting is used at the beginning of the clip to represent the down beat mode of address which juxtaposes with the storyline because the evil villain is more dominant and winning the verbal battle, however when battle switches and  the good characters start to win it they become more dominant this again juxtaposes with the lighting because it goes to high key lighting to represent the break through and how well they are doing. The last main aspect of mise-en-scene is the characters positioning within the clip, this is used very well to represent gender. For example near the beginning of the clip the female character is positioned on her knees to signify the dominance the male character has and the order of hierarchy which the characters have is being displayed, however in juxtaposition with the lighting the order of hierarchy and dominance switches when the male doctor grows and becomes dominant again as a result the master s placed in a position of struggle as he is slowly falling down the stairs with his hands out to try and help him balance more.

The next major micro feature which is used throughout the clip is editing this is significantly used throughout the clip to help represent the issue of gender. For example at the very beginning of the clip the master has a lot more screen time which shows the audience that he has authority and is the dominant character within the particular scene, in comparison Martha the female character in the scene has a lot less screen time which signifies the difference in dominance in the clip, this also juxtaposes with pace of the overall editing of the scene because it is a lot slower at the beginning compared to what it is near the end. In contrast near the end of the scene Martha has a lot more screen time compared to the master which symbolises the switch in power within the clip, this again juxtaposes with the overall editing of the scene because the pace of it drastically increases and it jumps around from character to character considerably more compared to what it did. Furthermore parallel editing is used to help the clip alter between the different flashbacks which explains the narrative and helps the audience understand how Martha started to gain some dominance and authority within the clip.

The last micro feature which is used in the clip to help represent the issue of gender is sound, this includes all the non-diegetic, diegetic and ambient sounds within the clip. First of all the non-diegetic which is used is very down beat and juxtaposes and supports the mode of address and the scenes narrative, throughout the clip the mode of address changes so the non-diegetic music also changes to juxtaposes with this and make the whole scene become more upbeat for the audience. Another feature of sound in the clip is the diegetic which include all the characters lines. Quotes such as ‘kneel’ is in a dominant and authoritive tone from the male character to the female characters which represents the dominance the male character has in this particular scene. However further on in the narrative Martha starts laughing at him and explaining what she had done and the more she explains the more cocky and arrogant her voice of tone becomes, this symbolises and represents the switch in power because the more dominant character has a cocky and arrogant voice of tone which they both have just at different time periods in the clip. Another feature of sound is ambient sound which includes all the minor background noises. For example Foley is used to help over emphasise sounds which includes the ticking clock which helped portray them as being in a lot of danger, however it is also used when ‘doctor’ is being said all over the world to add more emphasises over the fact that they are winning.

In conclusion all the micro features which are being used within the doctor who clip allow the representational issue of gender to be portrayed in a very unique and subtle way. For example editing and camera are very basic however are very effective in this clip. Whereas sound and mis-en-scene is more complex however has the same outcome as it helps portray the representational issue of gender even more.

Re Write of Downton Abbey clip and production and distribution of film

The extract of Downton Abbey uses the microfeatures of camera, editing, sound and mis-en-scene to help represent class and status in a very unique way. First of all the cinematographer pans the camera up the boys bike and then makes it zoom out leaving a establishing shot of a poor lower classed child riding his tatty old big into this huge, expensive grand house, this is significant because it shows the audience the contrast between the two different ways of life. The cinematographer then moves the camera to show one of his lordships daughters looking down on the boy through a bird’s eye view shot which then juxtaposes through a jump cut to show the two scenes which are happening at the same time. As the camera angle is very high this means its looking down on the lower class boy that represents the fact that the higher classed girl is looking down on to the lower classed boys. This scene is also significant in the fact that the girl doesn’t have to work for all the money and wealth she has whereas the little poor boy has to work for every little penny that he gets. This shows the importance of class and status and how it helps these particular characters to have an easy or a hard life. Every time a lower classed character is speaking to a upper classed character the camera looks down on them the cinematographer has done this to identify the vast contrast between status and class of certain characters. In the scene where his lordship and her ladyship is talking there is a use of cross-cutting to show the expression on both their faces when they are in deep conversation about Titanic and its survivors. Furthermore the camera person zoom’s the camera in on them both in this scene to an extreme close-up to show the audience their deep expressions on their faces in even more detail. To help the audience distinguish between the lower and upper class characters in this particular scene, the diegetic sound when the individual characters are talking is very different , for example when the maids are talking they speak with a very broad northern accent which could be associated with either being local and stereotypically lower educated so as a result would mean they are lower classes characters, whereas the more upper classed characters speak with a more educated and sophisticated accent which shows the audience that they have more stature and etiquette compared to the lower classed characters. Furthermore to add to this when the main characters are speaking the non-diegetic sound is a lot slower and the music is classical to show how they are more grand and superior. A good example of this is the scene with his lordship walking down the grand staircase which is over exaggerated through the use of the non-diegetic soundtrack this represents how he is far superior to other characters. The quote ‘poor devils below deck’ is very significant in the sense that only the rich and upper classed people on board the Titanic had a chance of surviving due to their wealth and superiority. Furthermore the use of the word poor also shows that everyone is distinguished between whether they are wealthy or not rather than on personal things such as a individuals personality. When one of the main daughters arrive on scene she starts of by saying ‘morning pappa’ this represents the way each individual character is speaking because at the same time she is handing his lordship a telegram this helps suggest she can’t ask him any questions about the telegram, whereas in scenes with the lower class workers a girl roughly around the same age is continuously asking questions about what certain things are about and why they are done in particular ways. Mis-en-scene means everything which is in a particular scene. In the extract of Downton Abbey many props, costumes and lighting has constructed for many different set purposes. First of all the lower classed women characters have to wear scruffy maid outfits as they don’t deal with upper classed characters such as his lordship. Whereas the lower classed men wear basic suits which symbolises that they deal with more upper classed characters and also it represents the era they are living in because men have superiority over women meaning they have to dress more formally. This is fairly similar for his lordship in the sense that he is dressed and up to run the grand house whereas her ladyship is still in her night gown lying in bed. Furthermore the workers have to deal carefully with the expensive props such as silver cutlery whereas his lordship doesn’t take any care when dealing with it as he knows through his wealth and superiority he could easily replace it if something got broken whereas the workers couldn’t as they couldn’t afford to replace it. When the workers are presented in the scene the lighting is usually a lot darker compared to when the main characters are shown, this had been done by the cinematographer because it easily helps the audience identify the huge difference between class and status in the range of characters. When the servants and maids are working the editing is very fast paced and shown through a linear narrative to show the audience what happens on a day to day basis, whereas the linear narrative is a lot slower when the main characters are presented as they are just waking up and arriving at the breakfast table. This is a use of treatment because it has been constructed like this because it represents the contrast between lower class people having to work really hard for their money whereas the higher classed people don’t. The fact her ladyship is presented still in her night gown is a use of the male gaze as the audience views her in a sexual and innocent way. In conclusion I feel that the clip has been constructed in a way that the audience can easily identify the huge differences and divide between different classes and the importance of statuses. This is because the clip is just a shorter representation of the major accident in Titanic which it references to throughout the scene, this is significant because the it shows that no matter what status or class you are if something major happened like in the Titanic nothing could help save you. Furthermore the audience are made to feel sorry for the lower classed people whereas they gain respect for the upper classed characters as they are able to view their emotions and superiority though the use of all the micro features.
 Production of a film is a very complicated process; this involves many different procedures and components such as: editing, producing, filming and recruiting all the right staff to fulfil the particular roles. Distribution is how a film is sold and marketed to its target audience. In this essay I am going to be talking about how my case studies did this and comparing how successful they both were at it. My first case study is warner bros animation The Lego Movie, as this is a motion animated film most of the production involved creating and use new computer generated imagery. Warner bros had to do this through creating a new software called Lego digital designer as Warner bros is one of Hollywood’s top six olipology’s they have the finance to be able to fund new technologies such as this, which will be able to improve films use of CGI for the future. Furthermore through the use of digital designer over 3 million virtual bricks were made for the film sets, which is the greatest amount ever made for a Lego film. Also as Warner bros animation is such a huge film production company they could afford to pay huge stars such as: Will Ferrel, Liam Nesson and Morgan Freeman to play main characters in the film which helped increase the films inconography because using this sort of star power helps fans identify what sort of film it is going to be through the types of actors who will be in it which helps sell the film to fans. Lastly as Warner bros is a American film making company they identified a gap in the market for a Lego based children’s comedy film before production of the actual film started which helped the directors get a key identity for the film which they could work towards a lot easier. Furthermore my other case study BBC Films Mr’s Browns Boys D’Movie was produced in a very different way. As it was a already a popular television series they know there was a gap for this type of film in the market and that it would be successful as they already had a key fans base. As it’s a British film it stayed close to its roots and was filmed in the same location in Dublin, Ireland as the television series was. Furthermore as the cast knew the main person behind Mrs Brown in Brendan O’Carroll they knew what it was like to work with him meaning getting the full cast of actors was a fairly simple job. lastly as it’s a fairly British film they filmed it on a typical digital camera meaning costs were down, production time was down and the production quality of the film was a lot higher as they could easily re-do scenes as the director was watching what was being recorded on a screen and could decide their and then if it was good enough. Which is a unique selling point for the film as these ‘deleted scenes’ were actually still used in the main film as it adds a type of normality to the film fairly similar to the way the television series used deleted scenes rather than deleting them they just re-did them. Furthermore BBC Films Mr’s Browns Boys D’Movie and Warner Bros The Lego Movie had very different budgets. First of all Warner Bros The Lego movie had an estimated $60,000,000 budget which it stayed in mainly by saving a lot of money because of the digital aspect of the Lego movie it saved thousands of dollars, most of the money for production was spent on actors and advertising for the film. This is also fairly similar to Mrs Brown’s Boys; this is because of the family cast which saved the film a lot of money however it had a much smaller budget of an estimated £3.6 million pounds for the film which it stayed in. As BBC films Mrs Brown’s boys D’Movie used the same cast an directors and writers the above the line costs were very restricted meaning these were kept whereas their below the line costs increased drastically due to the increase in minor crew members such as more make-up artists being needed for more minor actors etc. In contrast Warner bros animation’s The Lego Movie’s above the line cost were significantly greater compared to their below the line costs mainly because of the fact that they used star power to help sell the film, if stars such as: Will Ferrell or Morgan Freeman weren’t added to the cast list the above the line costs may have been less. The distribution of my case study Warner bros animation The Lego Movie was a lot greater through the use of synergy and convergence compared to my other case study BBC Films Mr’s Browns Boys D’Movie. First of all synergy is the release of products to go with films marketing campaigns. Warner bros did this greatly through the release of: mini figures of characters, themed events around the world, actual sets of the film were released and recreated, costumes of main characters, a clothing range, eight limited edition cups were released with every McDonalds happy meal to appeal to one there target audiences of children and also they have a devoted section at the LEGOLAND theme park all about the Lego Movie which helps sell the film greatly to the target audience. As Warner bros is a American production company all this would have been planned before the release and even start of the production of the film. Whereas my other case study BBC Films Mr’s Browns Boys D’Movie only used synergy to help sell the film in a very minor way compared to Warner bros as they released a small range of products such as: a clothing range, costumes and small toys such as little dolls of the main characters to help sell the film to their target audience. This may have been due to the fact thatBBC Films Mr’s Browns Boys D’Movie is a British film whereas Warner Bros The Lego Movie but also it could be because BBC Films Mr’s Browns Boys D’Movie is more aimed towards adults as it’s a comedy whereas The Lego Movie is a children’s comedy meaning to appeal to them a lot more synergy products would have to be released a lot more. The next step of distribution is convergence this is the release of products on many different media platforms. BBC films Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie used this to appeal to their target audience however not to a great effect, for example they have released: a soundtrack of the film on CD and on websites such as YouTube and Spotify, an autobiography of the main star Brendan O’Carroll was released where he talks about the film in great detail, lastly videos of the premiere and production of the film was released on sites such as YouTube to help sell the film. In comparison my other case study Warner Bros the Lego Movie took the use of convergence to a whole new level. They released a video game on platforms such as PlayStation and Xbox to help the film appeal to their particular target audience, videos of the main actors were released of them talking about their characters, a soundtrack was released of the films non diegetic on sites such as YouTube and Spotify, an application is available to download which allows the target audience to play Lego Movie based games and find out as much information about the film as possible. Furthermore a theme song was released called ‘Everything is Awesome’ which follows all the films ethics and thoughts of the film. This particular song has been re-released by many different up and coming artists both professional and amateurs which is a good use of cross-media convergence because it un-intently helps promote and sell the film. Furthermore The Lego Movie had two main distributors these were: Warner bros pictures and Roadshow Entertainment. Warner bros pictures are an American producer of film have been very successful over the years and have distributed many famous films such as Harry Potter and Sesame Street. Furthermore Roadshow Entertainment is part of the Australian media company Village Roadshow; they have helped distribute many films such as the terminator and First Blood. Mrs Browns Boys D’Movie had one main distributor Universal Pictures which like Warner bros it is classed as one of Hollywood’s big six distributors. They have distributed many famous films including Jaws and E.T. Mrs Browns Boys had the premier in the Savoy cinema in the capital of Ireland Dublin this was to show that it hadn’t forgotten its original Irish roots which is a huge USP for the film. In contrast Warner bros animation’s The Lego Movie was first released in Copenhagen were the premier was held, this is because of the history of Lego and Denmark. The first pieces of Lego were first made in Denmark so the film about of Lego would more than defiantly first be shown there. The Lego movie was released in most countries on either the 6th of 7th of February. This was because the countries released in first used the same characters meaning only subtitles were imported from the English version whereas the later releases of the film had new voices for the main characters. In conclusion it is very easy to see the huge difference between American and British films. American ones are usually produced and distributed through one major company, Warner bros animation is a prime example of this as they have produced and distributed the Lego Movie purely on their own which is called horizontal integration. Whereas BBC Films had to have Universal pictures help to distribute the film which is a use of vertical integration. This shows how American films have the facilities, money and capabilities to fulfil everything which is required to have a successful film. Whereas British films have to sell their films to distribution companies to help complete the film making process. As a result this means the distribution of American films is a lot greater compared to the British films as the distribution of the film is usually thought of before the film is made whereas British film do that after the films is produced meaning lesser amounts of money are available to be made. Thisis the exact case for my case studies Warner bros animation The Lego Movie and BBC Films Mrs Browns Boys D’Movie.