Friday, 24 December 2010

magazine reading habits in the future

will we still be reading magazines in 20 years time?

if so, throgh what medium? e.g tv home entertainment system, mobile phone, on a tablet, personal computer.

will the number of magazine readers increase or decrease due to this change, if either?

will the percentage of youth readers increase or decrease due to this change, if either? how will this effect social attitudes in the youth population?

in general, how will the content of magazines have changed? e.g more explicit, eduactional.

Magazine industry timeline + digital magazine timeline


1586   Josse Amman, a Swiss painter, publishes plates on the fashions of the day, with the title Gynasceum, sive Theatrum Mulierum ... (The Gynasceum or Theatre of Women, in which are reproduced by engraving the female costumes of all the nations of Europe). Published in Frankfort in Latin; regarded as the first fashion magazine

1796
German Alois Senefelder develops lithography to produce high-quality printed images

1839
Fox Talbot produces photographs from negatives

1861
First colour photography

1882
Photos sent by wire

1892 
Four colour rotary press 

1922
British Broadcasting Corporation formed as commercial radio broadcaster

1928
Baird beams TV image from UK to US

1936- 
BBC launches the world's first regular television service from Alexandra Palace in London. The Radio Times runs a "Television Number" in London edition only.

1962   The Bolton Evening News is the first UK paper to print colour advertising. The pages were produced by Martlet Press in London

1982
Computer magazines, such as Acorn User at Addison-Wesley in London, start to use e-mail systems and online bulletin boards, in this case Dialcom

1983
Emap launches Micronet online bulletin board, which reaches 1m subscribers. Magazines and individuals set up own pages on the Prestel-based system. Thousands of computer users run own boards from home using BBC Micros and modems. 

1985
Postscript-based software, such as Aldus Pagemaker and Adobe Illustrator running on the Apple Macintosh, allied to laser printers, herald the advent of desktop publishing. This revolutionises production of magazines and newspapers

 DIGITAL MAGAZINE HISTORY OVER PAST 30 YEARS

DateEventDetails
1982Magazines start to use electronic mail and online noticeboards Acorn User (Addison-Wesley) uses Dialcom/Telecom Gold, a subscription-based email system
1982Cover disc - vinyl Your Computer (December) 33.3 rpm vinyl single holding Sinclair ZX81 games
1982Publishers start to use computer networksAcorn User and contract publisher Redwood throws out all typewriters and introduces Econet sysyem based on Acorn BBC Micro technology. Copy written on networked BBC terminals, stored on floppy discs or 5MB network hard drive and printed on centralised daisywheel or dot matrix printers to be sent to typesetters. Redwood continued to use the system - which grew to about 80 terminals - before switching to Macintoshes running Quark XPress
1983Subscription-based online bulletin boards using viewdata systems (broadcast by TV stations or over telephone lines) Viewdata systems consisting of several hundred 'pages', each of 24 characters by 20 lines of text (1K in size):
  • Ceefax (BBC): data was broadcast inbetween television frames (not interactive) .
  • Prestel (British Telecom): over telephone lines (1200/75 baud).
  • in-house systems for companies, eg travel agents .
  • bulletin boards on home computers used this technology.
  • other systems were Minitel in France and Telidon in Canada.
Emap launches Micronet, which reaches 1m subscribers. Magazines and individuals set up their own pages using Prestel
Thousands of computer users run own boards from home, office or school using BBC Micros, modems and phone lines


Schools in the Outer Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland had access to a dedicated viewdata system in 1984
1986BBC attempts to establish a standard for interactive video discsDomesday system with Philips Laservision disc player - using double-sided, 12-inch optical discs - controlled by a BBC Micro
1980sDevelopment of digital technologies for handling typesetting and image manipulation Apple Macintosh (1984)
Postscript from Adobe Systems (1984)
Apple Laser Writer printer (1985)
Aldus Pagemaker (1985)
ISO defines SGML (1986)
Adobe Illustrator (1987)
Quark Xpress (1987)
Adobe PhotoShop (1989)
1992Adobe Acrobat PDFs
199311 November: Guardian article about the World Wide Web The Guardian's Computer section (p19) carries an article 'The world in a web' by Joe Levy of Edinburgh university describing the World Wide Web project at CERN. The article gives a Telenet address for information and an FTP address for the Mosiac browser at NCSA.
1994Newspapers move to the web Daily Telegraph claims to be the first national newspaper on the web
The Unzip CD-Rom from IPC and software developer Zone UK was based on content from New Musical Express, Vox and New Scientist in 1995. It cost £15.99 (for the PC or Mac) and had a target circulation of 20,000. Only one edition was published. The CD-Rom lacked the depth (and cheapness) of a printed magazine, the visual quality of TV or the excitement of a computer game
1995CD-Rom magazines At least 10 available (Baumann 1995). Blender (a US title distributed by Dennis in the UK at £9.99 based around samples of US bands and film trailers); Unzip, 'the UK's first fully interactive magazine on CD-Rom' (IPC)
CD-Rom cover mounts on non-computer magazinesAugust issue of men's monthly Maxim (Dennis Publishing)
Websites for mainstream magazines Uploaded.com (Loaded, IPC); nme.com (New Musical Express, IPC)
1996Electronic auditing ABC Electronic established to provide independent certification for data related to electronic media
X-Net bi-monthly came with a CD-Rom at £7.95 for 100 pages. It featured popular pin-up Jo Guest and hundreds of addresses for pornographic as well as sport, comedy and car websites. The CD-Rom held more than 300 links to websites and used the sales line: 'Babe Fest! Interview the girls, then watch them strip.' It caused a furore, to which its editor, Dominic Handy, responded in the Guardian: 'We did not go out to publish a porn mag, we wanted to publish Loaded for the internet.'
1997Digital kiosks BT Touchpoint with NME, Loaded and Marie Claire content
Improving technology meant CD-Rom titles could market themselves based on their video content. Among the first publishers to exploit this development were those behind top-shelf titles such as X-Net and Enter (below)
1998Sunday Times CD-ROM covermount Windows on the World was an educational CD-Rom produced with the British National Space Centre
1999BRAD (Nov) directory lists 668 entries under 'new media'
Nuvo Media's Rocket e-Book Portable e-book device for $300 that held about 4,000 pages (10 books). Owners could buy copyrighted digital versions of books and journals
2000CD-Rom magazines based on video content Enter monthly from Pure Communications. Lads' mags with advertising from Toyota, Heineken, Mars and Jameson whiskey
Microsoft launches Reader software using ClearType for PCs and laptops
Microsoft Reader Cleartype logo
Company predicts in a timeline on its website (dated September 13 1999) and in advertising that: a 'slate form' Tablet PC would be a mainstream device by 2004; eNewstands would 'proliferate on street corners' by 2006; by 2008 ebook titles would 'begin to outsell conventional volumes in most countries'; two years later companies would be giving away ebook devices; and by 2020, the primary dictionary definition of a book would be writing displayed on a computer. Barnes & Noble.com and Microsoft open eBookStore for Microsoft Reader (www.bn.com). Michael Crichton's Timeline was free to download. Other promoted books for sale included Lethal Seduction by Jackie Collins, Married to Laughter by Jerry Stiller and Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs. Online magazine Salon was sceptical. The Microsoft timeline pages were taken down by 2001
2001Digital facsimile editions of newspapers start to appear 'Flat PDFs' with no interactivity
US software developer Zinio founded
2003SMS text messaging Loaded (then published by IPC)
Online media have become mainstream: BRAD (Jun) no longer lists websites separately
Sunday Times CD-Rom supplement The Month CD-Rom is based on entertainment and arts content. It was sponsored by Renault for a reported £250,000. The first time the disc was loaded, a 40-second Renault advert was shown. After that, users could skip the ad halfway through. Commercial deals included a website with MVC where users could order reviewed CDs; and a link to Warner Village's website to book cinema tickets online
2005Financial Times launches digital facsimile edition Includes How to Spend It
Digital paper announced
2006Switch in teenage spending to online and mobile-phone-based media blamed for teen magazine closuresEmap closes Smash Hits. The name lives on as a digital music TV channel and radio station, online and as a mobile phone service
Digital (facsimile) magazines Exact Editions launches first titles (Feb). Quickly expanded to include Dazed & Confused
Downloadable magazines for phones Time Out, OK!, Glamour, GQ on Mobizine platform (Feb)
Magazines launch on YouTube Condé Nast puts Glamour, GQ and Vogue on YouTube
YouTube seen as affecting (men's) magazines ‘Unloaded, and now the party is over,’ (Brown, 2006)
Magazines use YouTube for marketing Nuts men's weekly (IPC) celebrates sales results with a raunchy ad on YouTube
Temporary video websites exploiting social networking Zootube.co.uk for Emap's Zoo men's weekly
TV magazines cover online films and podcastsRadio Times covers YouTube, iFilm and Google Video on radiotimes.com and in magazine
Interactive digital-only magazines launchedMonkey from Dennis. 'The world’s first weekly digital men’s magazine' (Nov)
Media organisations launch special editions in Second Life online world US technology title Wired (October); German tabloid Bild (December); Sky News (May 2007); CNET, Reuters, BBC Radio 1 and Channel 4 Radio (Green 2007)
2007TV guide revamps website to help find shows on the web for downloadingRadio Times
First ABCe figures for digital-only and print magazines Monkey releases ABCe of 209,612 copies a week
Jelly fish digital magazine start page
Digital-only magazine for teenagers National Magazines launches Jellyfish as a trial using Ceros technology. The magazine's motto was 'if it moves, click.' However, problems with the emailed files being blocked because of poor mailing lists led to the experiment failing and it was closed within 6 months.
Contract publishers seek ABCe audits for digital titles River Publishing registers Healthy for Men with ABCe (May)
Advertising revenue rising but 'no one has got the business model for online cracked yet,' Stevie Spring (chief executive, Future Publishing)
'[Newspapers] have yet to find sound monetisation models' (Richard Stephenson, chairman of Yudu Media, quoted by Kirby 2007)
Magazines move into digital TV Nuts TV channel based on the weekly IPC men's magazine (September)
Free weekly men's magazine launched with website ShortList gives away 500,000 copies. 'Our site is completely central to everything we're planning' Mike Soutar, quoted in Dorrell, 2007
Online digital facsimile newsagents launched MyMag Online in Ireland
DVD magazine announced 'The world's first' magazine on DVD from Expansive Media (for November launch)
Publishers working with digital paper E-Ink working with Time magazine (Moses)
2008Digital magazines becoming an established medium Exact Editions has about 70 titles; Ceros 200. In February 2008, Zinio launches Global Newsstand to make 850 titles available to buy and read online
Brand expansion for MonkeyDennis Publishing and mobile media company Player X launch Monkey as a free mobile TV channel (March)
Dennis builds on Monkey business model Dennis launches fortnightly iMotor and Gizmo
Monthly car launchMotor Play launches as a free digital car monthly ‘with over 200 pages of beautifully produced articles on cars’
Social applications and widgets for Stuff websiteUmee develops utilities such as Twitter, Facebook and Clearspring widgets for Haymarket's Stuff.tv
Wallpaper widget News feed and a photo of the day from monthly design title
2009iPhone app from NME
NME logo
IPC's music weekly sells 59p app to access band photographs using Umee technology. Rebrands itelf as: online, magazine, TV, radio, mobile (note the order)
FT drops digital fascimile technology for How to Spend It Financial Times relaunches online version of its large-format luxury monthly magazine How to Spend It. Razorfish uses Adobe Flash 10 to translate 'the glossy magazine reading experience into a convincing luxury online environment'
2010 February: Dennis closes monthly motoring emag iMotor Dennis blames e-mag's lack of success on the economic downturn and that it had 'found it hard to convince manufacturers to make full use of the creative environment that a digital magazine offers'. Monkey and iGizmo not affected
April: iPad launch in the US
May: Apple launches the iPad in the UK. Claims 300,000 sales on the first day.
Newspapers and magazines such as Wired, The Spectator and the Financial Times release iPad apps to read their stories in a format that tries to mimic the printed page. The FT wins 'best iPad app' award for its free offering, which is downloaded 150,000 time in 3 weeks; the August edition of Press Gazette gave the total as 250,000 (p6). iPad screen is 9.7 inches diagonally, compared with the iPhone's 3.5in
May: VW releases free customer magazine as iPad app DAS (Digital Automotive Space) also set up as a website in June. The plan was to publish the app quarterly in five languages across Europe
August: Dazed & Confused released as free app for Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod TouchDazed co-founder Jefferson Hack said: 'From fold out poster to iPad app, Dazed has come a long way since its birth almost two decades ago. With the new app, a whole new audience of culturally aware iPad and iPhone users will be introduced to Dazed.' The digital magazine was based on Exact Editions Precisely platform
September iPad 'changing the rules of digital publishing'A report on the Yudu website suggested people were spending far more time browsing the iPad app for GQ and Vanity Fair than they were the websites (from 2-4 minutes a month to 60)
Segmentation of digital publishing strategiesPublishers talk of discrete digital channels:
  • smartphone 'snackers' who want news, sports and other snippets in the early morning and evening;
  • PC users who want access to valuable information from websites;
  • users of the iPad, Kindle and other e-readers ot tablets who see the device as nearer a magazine and are used to paying for 'cool' apps.
Mobile apps tended to be:
  • free branded sampler of news and reviews;
  • paid-for content at, say £2.99, but with mobile advertising between screens;
  • ad-free premium versions at, say, £10.99;
  • subscriptions to a print magazine and app at a 10-20% discount to the full print subscription. Buyers are likely to be upmarket 'early adopters' who are attractive to advertisers and improve the magazine's readership profile.
Some publishers see the iPad as an opportunity to improve the image of their print brand and appeal to a younger or more upmarket audience. Selling mobile advertising is difficult because web banners are not suitable for small screens. Also iPad apps cannot display the level of advertising as print pages and there is no equivalent of a spread.
Another problem is Apple's control of the iPhone / iPad customer and the potential for publishers to earn revenue from digital subscriptions and digital advertising.
Wired iPad app sales plummet Sales fall from 100,000 in June to about 28,000 in August for the Adobe-based app
FT combines print and digital salesEvidence of digital segmentation with the Financial Times announcing combined global print and digital paid-for circulation measure to be released each quarter. This is in addition to print data from the Audit Bureau of Circulation. At the same time, the paper withdrew from ABCelectronic. 'We aren't a volume site so we are looking to measure ourselves against registered users and subscriptions,' FT deputy director of communications Tom Glover told Magforum
Poll on magazine reading/browsing in 2020Exact Editions ran an online survey in October 2010 asking people's opinions about their future reading habits, How will we read magazines? See poll results.
iPad advertising revenueFinancial Times deputy chief executive Ben Hughes tells Campaign (15 October 2010, P12) iPad app has generated more than £1 million in advertising revenue since it launched in May. More than 400,000 subscribers had signed up for the app and it accounted for one in 10 of the newspaper's new digital subscriptions. In total, paying digital subscribers had risen by half in a year to 189,022. In addition, FT.com had three million registered users. Daily print circulation was 401,898. The paper began accepting Paypal as well as credit cards   




Tuesday, 21 December 2010

NME FACTS

KEY STATS
Male: 74%
 Female 26% 
Median age: 23 
Student 42% 
ABC1: 68% 
Circulation: 33,875
 Readership: 325,000

NME has become a truly unique multi-platform media proposition. Across the magazine, nme.com, NMETV, NME Radio and the brand's live events and awards, NME reaches over one million music fans every week. NME is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. Every week it gives its readers the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music, including award winning features, the latest releases, live reviews, the definitive guide to the best new bands in its Radar section, as well as a regular look back through the magazine's incredible 58 year heritage.

Not surprisingly NME readers are completely obsessed by music. Reader research has demonstrated that they rely on the editorial and the ads to keep them up to date
with new music. This knowledge then makes them the authority in music in their peer group.

Monday, 13 December 2010

NME

The paper's first issue was published on 7 March 1952 after the Musical Express and Accordion Weekly was bought by London music promoter Maurice Kin, and relaunched as the New Musical Express. It was initially published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint. On 14 November 1952, taking its cue from the U.S. magazine Billboard, it created the first UK Singles Chart.

1960s-  NME sales were healthy with the paper selling as many as 200,000 issues per week, making it one of the UK's biggest sellers.

1970s- By the early 1970s NME had lost ground to the Melody Maker as its coverage of music had failed to keep pace with the development of rock music, particularly during the early years of psychedelia and progressive rock. In early 1972 the paper found itself on the verge of closure by its owners IPC (who had bought the paper from Kinn in 1963). According to Nick Kent (soon to play a prominent part in the paper's revival):
After sales had plummeted to 60,000 and a review of guitar instrumentalist Duanne Eddy had been printed which began with the immortal words 'On this, his 35th album, we find Duane in as good as voice as ever,' the NME had been told to rethink its policies or die on the vine.

1980s- Some commented at this time that the NME had become less intellectual in its writing style and less inventive musically. Initially, NME writers themselves were ill at ease with the new regime, with most signing a letter of no confidence in Alan Lewis shortly after he took over. However, this new direction for the NME proved to be a commercial success and the paper brought in new writers such as Andrew Collins, Stuart Maconie, Mary Anne Hobbs and Steve Lamcq to give it a stronger identity and sense of direction.

1990s-Although the period from 1991 to 1993 was dominated by American bands like Nirvana, British bands were not ignored.In April 1994 Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was found dead, a story which affected not only his fans and readers of the NME, but would see a massive change in British music. Grunge was about to be replaced by Britpop,a new form of music influenced by British music of the 1960s and British culture. The phrase was coined by NME after the band Blur released their album Parklife in the same month of Cobain's death. Britpop began to fill the musical and cultural void left after Cobain's death, and Blur's success, along with the rise of a new group from Manchester called Oasis saw Britpop explode for the rest of 1994.

20000s- From the issue of 21 March 1998 onwards, the paper has no longer been printed on newsIn October 2006 NME launched an Irish version of the magazine called NME Ireland. This coincided with the launch of Club NME in Dublin. Dublin-based band Humanzi were the first to appear on the cover of NME Ireland. Poor sales in the Republic of Ireland resulted from competition from market leader Hot Press and free music magazines Analogue Magazine, Mongrel Magazine and State Magazine. This resulted in the magazine's demise in November 2006.print, and more recently it has shifted to tabloid size: it has full, glossy, colour covers.

What does the NME website offer its audience?
It offers music facts, gossip, the latest information on current bands, reviews etc. It is an online aswell as material magazine, tv station and mobile news report, hence it being 'First for music news'. You are more than likely to find everything you want to be informed about, music wise, with this company.

How does the NME website address its audience?
It address it's audience through it's style of design e.g. bright colours and large, bold italics, animation. Catches most peoples attention through this, but is mainly aimed at youths who take an interest in music e.g. attend concerts or take part in musical activities. The access to post comments on polls allows viewers to feel more involved and offer opinions on various subjects.


[edit]

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

The magazine industry has survived the coming of the digital age because it has been able to exploit technological advances. Indeed, it has always done so throughout its long history

The magazine industry, over its very successful history, has consistently kept up to date with technological advancements. If you look at the history of magazines there is no solid evidence to contradict this statement. As soon as a new factor in technology develops, the magazine industry uses it to their advantage, for example, the ability to use more advanced technical photography i.e. images developing from black and white to coloured and the ability to edit a photo. It seems that the growth in technology has done nothing but feed the gargantuan industry.


Microsoft predicts in a timeline on its website (dated September 13 1999) and in advertising that a 'slate form' Tablet PC would be a mainstream device by 2004; that eNewstands would 'proliferate on street corners' by 2006; by 2008 ebook titles would 'begin to outsell conventional volumes in most counties'; two years later companies would be giving away ebook devices; and by 2020, the primary dictionary definition of a book would be writing displayed on a computer. Although the timeline up to present isn't entirely accurate, the 2020 prediction can't be discarded and treated as invalid quite yet.

technological developments such as the apple iphone 'app store' had given NME the opportunity to create an application and sell it for 59p, giving the access to band photographs using 'Umee' technology. This benefits NME in the way that their brand will reach a broader range of the population as buying or accessing 'apps' is becoming more and more popular.

subsiquently, technological development has and will benefit the magazine industry- there are for and against points of view on this. The for point of view as mentioned earlier is that there is the opportunity to reach a broader range of he population. Many people possess a computer nowadays, and it almost comes as standard to possess one. This fact can and has been exploited greatly by the magazine industry. The against point of view is that the technological advances may destroy the whole culture of picking up a magazine and reading. As readers hold what they're reading they almost feel part of it, like they're in there own little world. Although it may cost a lot less, religious readers may dwindle and profits my fall.


In direct response to the title, my answer is vaguely distinguished. Magazines have been a very popular product and many contribute to the large profits. In addition to this success, the well developed technology has done nothing but benefit, but technology is ever improving and soon, the hard backed form of our beloved magazines may become obsolete.

Monday, 8 November 2010

IPC

Q1:Why did IPC Media have cause to be optimistic about their business prospects in 2006?
IPC tx unveils TV easy in April 2005 - the third major launch in 16 months from IPC Media’s innovations programme, initiated by chief executive Sylvia Auton in 2003. The magazine is Britain’s very first compact paid-for TV Listings weekly and is backed by a £10million marketing investment.


They have cause to be optimistic about there business prospects, because their magazine revenue was higher than that of other TV and newspaper companies. There magazines were very attractive to the general population and reached a wide range of people.


Q2:According to the article in THE GUARDIAN (Jan 2009) why are the major players in the British magazine industry better placed to weather the economic crisis?
Large publishers such as IPC Media, Condé Nast and Future Publishing, which have invested in extending their brands into TV, web, mobile, radio or shopping, are more likely to weather the impact than those with standalone products or thinner portfolios of titles.


Visit the IPC website and choose two contrasting brands. Create a fact file for each brand.
NME:


  • NME has become a truly unique multi-platform media proposition. 
  • ME reaches over one million music fans every week. 
  • NME is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. 
  • Every week it gives its readers the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music, including award winning features, the latest releases, live reviews, the definitive guide to the best new bands in its Radar section, as well as a regular look back through the magazine's incredible 58 year heritage.
NUTS:
  • Nuts is the number one selling men's lifestyle magazine in the UK, accounting for two out of every five men's lifestyle mags purchased.
  • Launched in 2004, Nuts has established itself as the biggest brand in men's media.
  • Nuts is PPA's Consumer Brand of the Year 2009

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

PSYCHO

                                                            PSYCHO-shower scene analysis

1. Each shot has been joined to the next using straight cuts e.g. (shot1) of her sitting at a desk in her dressing gown, writing in a notebook. Following the rules of continuity this is then matched with the next shot (shot 2), a detail shot of the notebook showing her calculations. The dissolve technique is used between the shot of the shower drain and the shot of Marion’s eye.

2. Abrupt changes of pace are employed within the scene e.g. As Marion starts her shower the pace accelerates and remains measured with each shot lasting 4-5 seconds until shot 18. The next shot of a figure of darkness positioned behind the shower curtain, raising a knife lasts 17 seconds. The function of this is to take us from the peaceful solitude of Marion’s shower through rising tension to the moment of crisis.

3. The shot of blood flowing down the shower drain and the eyeshot is matched within the same sequence. Graphic matching is used to create a smooth visual transfer from one shot to the next.

4. This sequence is constructed in a discontinuous manner. The scene runs for three minutes and includes fifty cuts. Like previously explained, many shots are placed within the sequence before the appearance of the dark figure to create a contrast. Tension is built up to moment of crisis, then as the figure begins to stab, shots return to a faster pace, conveying the frenzy of the attack.

5. The film-maker utilises compilation sequences e.g. 9 shots are used, showing Marion showering from various camera angles. This is done to follow the rules of continuity so that the narrative is clear and easy to follow.

6. The film-maker utilises cross-cutting within this sequence e.g. Norman spies on Marion briefly through a hole in the wall and then returns to the Bates house. He is seen from behind slouching resignedly around the ground floor. The action returns to the interior of Marion’s cabin. I believe this emphasises the separation between the two characters (the feelings of love aren’t mutual).

7. Sound is being used in conjunction with editing in a very obvious way e.g. Sound is kept very quiet and low-key up until the later part of this sequence, matching Marion’s feeling of relaxation as she showers. This all changes at the point by which the curtain is pulled back and the figure of darkness raises a knife. Sudden dramatic violin sounds accompany this moment and further emulate the stabbing motion, dramatically enhancing the sense and horror of what is taking place. The change in music to much slower, deeper notes indicates the next change in pace (after the murderer’s exit).

Tuesday, 5 October 2010

3 point lighting system

The key light, as the name suggests, shines directly upon the subject and serves as its principal illuminator; more than anything else, the strength, color and angle of the key determines the shot's overall lighting design.

The fill light also shines on the subject, but from a side angle relative to the key and is often placed at a lower position than the key (about at the level of the subject's face). It balances the key by illuminating shaded surfaces, and lessening or eliminating chiaroscuro effects, such as the shadow cast by a person's nose upon the rest of the face. Not using a fill at all can result in stark contrasts (due to shadows) across the subject's surface, depending upon the key light's harshness.

The back light (a.k.a. the rim, hair, or shoulder light) shines on the subject from behind, often (but not necessarily) to one side or the other. It gives the subject a rim of light, serving to separate the subject from the background and highlighting contours.

Tuesday, 14 September 2010

Mis En Scene

facial expression and body language

  • facial expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling
  • if someone is smiling broadly, we assume they are happy but we may get a different feeling if this is accompanied by scary music.
  • body language may also indicate how a character feels towards another character or may reflect the state of their relationship.
positioning of characters and objects within a frame
  • postioning within a frame can draw attention to an important character/object
  • a film-maker can use postioning to indicate relationships between people.
Costume 
Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters wear. Using certain colors or designs, costumes in narrative cinema are used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters.

    the break up (picture): the seperation is exaggerated by the split in the sofa, which stands out by the colour if it (bright creme). The body position is very closed an self centred (her legs are crossed, facing away from her partner). Not only that but they both have a window positioned behind them. it's the feeling that things aren't shared in the relationship.

    colour
    • colour carries certain connotations which may add meaning o the scene (ie red= danger/passion)
    • can give a scene a particular look, feel or mood.
    • can be used for dramatic effect

    lighting and colour
    • to highlight important charcters or objects within the frame
    • to make characters look mysterious by shading sections of the face or body.
    • to reflect a characters mental state/hidden emotions (i.e. bright= happy, dar= disturbed, strobe effect= confused)

    Monday, 13 September 2010

    our charcter (jack,shaun and tom)

    gender-female
    height-5 ft 11
    occupation-student
    location-Norwich
    likes-bloody murder, make up (a lot)
    dislikes-everyone


    here we have a lonely, insecure, partially insane young teenage girl, who attends an all girls school. The absence of male influence only exaserbates her insanity. She wears a lot of make up, trying to hide her pent up anger, again due to the absence of the male influence. She has been used and abused greatly, which confuses her desire for passionate connection. Her thoughts soon lead to a mental whirlpool where she plunges down and down into the darkness of her imagination. She begins to think of new ways to express her urges (violence).

    character profile-captain jack sparrow

    Hi guys, my name is captain jack sparrow. I am a male creation of disney, but am not animated. I live with no one and sail the seven seas as a lone wolf. I am witty, funny and fairly intelligent when i want to be, although my friends treat me like an imbesile. when i say friends, i mean two regulars who i treat like dirt. I'm always getting myself into trouble through my lust for gold and other such treasures. Elizabeth believes my love for rum numbs my intelligence, but i know it fuels my wit and keeps me light on my feet. My appearance may look stupid to many of you, but i know the ladies love it.

    Thursday, 9 September 2010

    opening 2 minutes of a feature film (american beauty, Jerry maguire)

    characters
    • AMERICAN BEAUTY-at first we hear a narration by leister. he reveals detail about his current life, including the blandness of it. he lives in a large house with a regular wife. it seems as though he's living the american dream, but we all know through his narration that this isn't the case. his highlight of the day is 'jerking off', which proves how boring his lifestyle is. His daughter is stressful and confused, which is two characteristics which Leister thinks will sustain over a long period. His line of thought has really set an uninteresting tone for the rest of the film.
    • JERRY MAGUIRE- jerry seems very quick, witty, confident and almost cocky. But it seems that in his line of work these are the best attributes to succeed. He cares for many athletes, taking over 250 calls a day. It would seem as though he's looking out for them, but i think his priorities lie mainly on how much he has in the bank. He realises this when the young child asks for an autograph and the athlete says "i only sign the blue cards". Lately his confident nature hasn't been benefiting him as well as he would like. His clients are becoming harder to manage and he knows it.
    • comparison- The obvious difference between the two is the drive factor. Jerry has a lot to live for and gives a great deal of enthusiasm. I think Leister sees past the basic attractions in life e.g money. Technically he posesses many things that can bring joy to his life, but he has a higher line of thought. Jerry on the other hand enjoys takes advantage of all things good in his life.
    OPEN DOORS (KEN)- Ken is a very jolly land lord. He performs very pathetic, miniscule jobs, but his pride is retained as he sings in the clip. His frame of mind seems to be very mature and all knowing, although it's not needed so urgently in his line of work e.g, He poors cheap brandy into expensive bottles. This wit will benefit financially and i'm sure his intelligence will in other ways later on in the film.

    OPENING SEQUENCES

    LONDON TO BRIGHTON- the scene started very awkwardly, as there was no build up in tension. It was in and odd place, which fits the state very well. Both of the characters have no stable ground. they leech around, finding money wherever possible. It seems that the younger girl doesn't deserve this lifestyle or can even handle it emotionally. This makes me think that she wasn't born into it. The elder girl has a swollen eye, which shows that she hasn't just been emotionally toughened, but mentally also.

    THE GRADUATE-the first scene is very boring. This is reflected in the camera angles and colours, which all may add up to give you an idea of his current lifestyle. His suit is clean cut and his face is motionless, which to him may be attractive, but we all know that this can be matched to how he feels inside.

    NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE- very uniquely, introductions for people involved in the film were written on food, paper, pencils etc. I find this to be a very clever and original idea, although it's a little odd. This may foreshadow things to come.




    Tuesday, 7 September 2010

    hi i'm jack and welcome to my blog!

    media lesson 1 and 2

    In lesson one i learnt how to create a blog and customize it. I couldn't actually get past the signing in stage,  due to no memory of the password or availability to change it. when seeing some year 13 blogs i realised i could be creative in editing my own.

    Lesson two was more interesting. we were taught 'Mis en scene' and all the components of it, which was put to good use when viewing two small clips of film later on. when i found out that the set and backgound was just as important as the actors performance i gained a whole new perspective on films.