genre

My favourite genre of Film is Horror. The horror genre is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten, scare, disgust, or startle their readers or viewers. Examples of horror films which do each of these. I love horror because it gets me involved in the story and situation of the film more so than other genres. This is done through the use of slow suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat or a rapid pace to keep me on a rollercoaster like ride. What I also love about horror is its ability to mix with other genres successfully , in example one of the most popular sci fi and horror films is Alien which allows the genres to compliment eachother perfectly. The tagine alone " they can't hear you scream in space " perfectly defines the blend of horror and science fiction as screaming is associated with a horror film and the setting of space is associated with science fiction. Other genre cross overs such as Shaun of the dead ( Comedy-Horror) and The silence of the lambs ( Thriller-Horror) are amongst my other favourite horror films.

A horror film I have recently watched which I would recommend to my readers is ' The Neon Demon ' released just this week. The Neon demon is a blend of Psychological horror , Drama and Science fiction in lesser part.  The film follows Jesse played by Elle Fanning who moves to Los Angeles just after her 16th birthday to launch a career as a model. Jesse soon faces the wrath of ruthless vixens who despise her fresh-faced beauty as well as her seedy motel manager and a creepy photographer. The films content is extremely graphic in comparison with the plot provided and deals with Cannibalism,  rape and Necrophilia. These subjects have not been dealt with in recent horror films which is another reason I would recommend this film as although being modern in style and substance it contains classic traits of old school horror films which havnt been seen in years.

unit 19

Stimulus 


For our stimulus we were given a set of words to choose from.

- Gender roles
- Physical and emotional isolation
- Blame
- Humanity in nature
- Greed
- Generational conflict
- The exchange of information

These words are all themes or associated with the themes of Blood wedding. We used these

Radio scripts

Product: Oxfam charity

Length: 30 seconds

Medium: Radio

Writer: Tyler Case

                                          Production notes

Narrator voiced by Tyler case (me – English accent)

Lucy voiced by Annabelle hill (English accent)

Kim voiced by Lesharn Linton (English – African accent)

MUSIC  -  FROM 00.00 PLAY 30 SECONDS TO MARS – ALIBI INSTRUMENTAL – BEGIN THE SONG AT 1.16 AND FADE OUT AT 1.36 AS THE ADVERT ENDS.

Script 1  

Narrator (me) – “ SPEAKS ENTHUSIASTIC “ Lucy and Kim are both 15-year-old girls.Lucy like you lives in the UK in a big house. Lucy travels from the sofa to her fridge to get clean water. Kim lives in Liberia with her ill mother in a hut. Kim must travel 20 miles to get dirty water which is slowly killing her.  Until now Lucy did not realise she could save Kim’s life by giving just £1 a month

Voice actress (Lucy) – “ SPEAKS SADLY “ I met Kim and it all became real to me. I used to change the channel when these adverts would come on but now i cry because " PAUSE - ENTHUSIASTIC " i realise these are teenagers just like us and we can save their life. Please donate to Oxfam and save a life"

Narrator ( me ) : “ SPEAKS ENTHUSIASTIC  “ With your donation of £1 a month you can save other teenagers just like you. 

This advert would be played mid day 3-5. I chose this time because it is after school time / 3/4pm and a few hours before prime time 

Script 2

 Narrator (me ) : “ SPEAKS STERNLY “ Kim has to travel 20 miles to drink dirty infected water which is killing her and her family . She lives on £1.25 a day , The cost of a bottle of coke in the UK. Giving  £1 a month to Oxfam will allow Kim and other teenagers like you to live. 

Voice actress -  " SPEAKS BRITTLE/SAD " please save me . im just like you. i should be going to school, making friends. i wish i could be your friend. please donate to oxfam.

Narrator: " SPEAKS ENTHUSIASTIC "Visit www.oxfamkim.com to donate and find out how to help and communicate with teens just like Kim. Do it. Donate to Oxfam now and save a life. 

This advert however would be played in the morning ( 7am-9am ) as it is text heavy and more repetitive meaning it will stay in the listeners mind throughout the day. 

sweeney todd context

Sweeney todd : the demon barber of fleet Street is a play about a barber who indulges his murderous rage and kills important figures he associates with the " death " of his wife. Using these dead bodies his tenant mate Ms Lovett makes the best pies in London.

The style is naturalistic , the form is musical  ( this will be changed for my performance as we are focusing on a spoken monologue. ) The genre is gothic horror.

The significant relationships that my character in the play has is with Ms Lovett who is essentially in love with him whilst Sweeney is in love with his razors. They work together and kill people hence their close yet distant relationship as Sweeney ignores her requests of love and admiration.

The one secret that nobody knows about me is that I am Benjamin Barker but under the new alias and look of Sweeney Todd.

My characters aim in the play is to avenge his wife and fullfil his desire to kill which he enjoys.

My character displays a range of emotion from angry in the beginning of the monologue to emotionless at the end of the monologue as he ignores ms Lovett.

I want the audience to witness the downward spiral of his mentality as he descends further into the abyss of madness

In order to bring out the essence of my character I have used method acting to increase my accent as it helps portray a Victorian londoner. Another strategy I used to improve this accent was tongue twisters as they help me focus on specific sounds and letters and then attribute them to my characters accent.

radio advert analysis

Below is equipment found in a radio station 

http://familypsalms.com/equipment/

Transmitter	Takes your broadcast message from your studio room, encodes it as sine waves and transmits it as radio waves.
Receiver	The receiver receives the broadcast message and decodes the radio sine waves (simply put, a radio set).
Antenna	For sending radio signals. Required one each for transmission and receiving of radio waves.
Transmission lines	Used to transfer radio signals from one location to another. (say from the studio to the location of transmitter)
Audio Processor	Used to improve and optimize the quality of sound to be broadcast. These days this function is undertaken by inexpensive software programs.
Connectors	For connecting various equipments to each other.
Interface panel remote control	Interface panel is used to input broadcast data into transmitter (Basically an interface between studio and transmission site). Remote control is required to be able to feed those data from far off (say from your studio)
Cable	For connecting equipments located at a distance from each other.
Equipment Rack	For holding all equipments in a stable, secure and logical manner.
Power Protection equipments	To supply power and protect the equipments from unwanted power fluctuations.
UPS	For uninterrupted power supply A production house is a place in which sound and lighting is supplied for concerts , tours and events.      radio stations use music libraries in order to play their music with a scheduled order. This is beneficial to the radio stations as if a radio DJ needs a toilet break or is unavailable at their scheduled time , the music library allows them to play the playlist with no DJ necessary.              Studio facilities       A voice booth is used for recording spoken audio. This facility is used to enable dj's and guests to speak clearly into the mic and be heard over music,sound effects or any mixes.           A editing workstation is a room where all the recordings for the radio show such as adverts or songs are edited.     Production roles  A creative producer is someone who controls the creative aspect of a radio show. This could be the style of a specific show such as a halloween show where a creative producer may decide that scary sound effects ( evil laughs or screams ) will be played throughout the playlist.  A recording engineer works on the recording and manipulation of audio using equalisation and electronic effects.  A copywriter is the person who writes the text advertisement for an event or perhaps a guest appearing on the show. This copywriter can also post on social media to promote the radio show.  A voice over artist is an important part of the creation of the radio programme. The voice-over artist might be used to remind listeners of the station name or as characters to enhance or develop show content. Sometimes a celebrity commonly a musician is used to voice over the beginning of a radio station to promote the show and encourage their fans to listen to it as there is a high chance they will be played on that station.       Music The type of music in a radio advert

Radio adverts

Example 1 : Durex advert

The advert is funny using adult humour and sex references which apply to the products form of use

The advert is most definitely not lacking in humour

The advert opts to give an opinion rather than a story about the product. Giving an example of what experience with the product will be like as the narrator quotes " this is what it's like to open a durex condom " followed by moans of pleasure to suggest sexual pleasure

It doesn't refer to past times instead it hints at good experience with the product as mentioned earlier.

The advert makes no reference to any other source of media and solely focuses on the product itself.

The advert repeats the company name " durex " in a short period of time to emphasise the name of the product and keep it in the listeners mind.

It is very straight forward stylistically and humour

No agressive tone more suggestive in every aspect
Uses seduction in text and tone and uses a gentle approach.

Slightly strange and suprising as its unexpected such sexual tones would be presented via the radio. Controversial.

It is not limited.

It's purpose is to promote the brands product a condom rather than the brand which is a condom supplier however they are essentially the same so both are promoted .

The advert would be rated either 16+ or 18+ as the product applies to legal teens and above however this specific advert is targeted at adults as it uses an adult narrator.

Example 2 : Pizza hut advert

The advert doesn't use any comedy however its light and childish tone makes up for the lack of comedic dialogue or theme.

The advert doesn't tell a narrative instead it alerts listeners the fact Kids eat free getting straight to the point.

Although the advert alerts listeners its done in a non-agressive yet agressive fashion as the speakers are shouting at listeners which is an agressive act however the speakers are kids which not only applies to the advertisement more but also takes away the agressive tone of the advert.

There is no reference to past times as the offer being advertised is new. On the other hand it does make reference to other medias as a rendition of a nursery rhyme is used as they sing the tune of the rhyme with lyrics that apply to the offer being advertised.

The advert uses repetition as its main selling point technique as the kids sing the rendition of a memorable nursery rhyme repeating ' kids eat free ' . This repetition makes the advert memorable as its repetitive style and use of other memorable media remains in the listeners mind.

The purpose of the radio advert is to inform listeners that pizza hut has a new offer available. Another purpose is to increase customers at their store as more people will be drawn to their products if their is special offers.

This advert would be rated U and shown at anytime throughout the day as it does not include any sexual references or strong language. The advert would aim to be broadcasted earlier in the day however as that is when parents and their children tend to be together as they may be driven to school. This time allows their offer to be promoted to the majority of their target audience.

Example 3 : Snickers advert

This radio advert opts to use comedy and reference to other media to promote its product.

The popular A team character Mr T is heard talking through a phone to someone about eating snickers. Not only is this media crossover appealing because the audience will be familiar with the character but the odd situation of Mr T talking on a phone about chocolate will make the viewers laugh making the advert memorable,intriguing and successful in promoting the chocolate.

The advert uses a somewhat narrative as Mr T is essentially performing a monologue on why you should eat snickers. This promotes the benefits of the product whilst also entertaining the listener.

Similar to the previous advert aggression is used in a comedic tone as Mr T shouts the brand slogan " Get some nuts ! " . This demanding tone will convince listeners to buy the product and as he says get some nuts !

The advert doesn't use any repetition it instead uses its slogan once which listeners are familiar with already.

The purpose of the advert is to convince viewers buying the product benefits them by making them cool,strong and masculine. Although potentially controversial this is all done in a comedic tone and will be viewed as comedic as viewers are aware the narrator is simply a characters and expressing his characters stereotyped views.

This advert would be rated U although the phrase get some nuts could push it to a PG as it may be mistaken as a sexual/bodily reference. The advert would be played during all times of the day as it is overall appropriate for all time frames.

Drama acting styles

Realistic acting

Realistic acting is also called naturalistic drama. It is drama which replicates real life and shows the realistic version of it. Stanislavski developed naturalistic acting, as he wanted his actors to become emotionally and psychologically involved with their roles, in order to create a convincing, realistic performance. When preparing for some

naturalistic dramas , actors often spend lengthy periods of time trying to 'live' the role they are playing, in order to create a convincing performance on stage.

Some characteristics are; characters who act and talk like real people, settings that are real and from modern times like homes, workplaces, bars and restaurants, and the subject matter deals with real events and social/political issues.

A dollshouse - deals with losing jobs, unfaithful partners - everyday life problems

Ibsen is wellknown for his realistic playwrights.

Non-realistic acting

Non realistic drama is drama that, in content, presentation, or both, departs markedly from fidelity to the outward appearances of life. Non naturalism (non-realistic acting) in theatre is a way of describing and portraying something that isn't necessarily there. It argues the aspect of reality and pushes another dimension into it, either using space, time, object.

Non-realistic acting means that the actor in no way acts as he would do in real life. It is also called a non-naturalistic style. Since Naturalistic Drama developed so late in thetheatre time-line , however, every form of theatre before it is thus, by definition, Non-naturalistic.

The non-realistic acting styles are seen in the Theatre of the Absurd. Wellknown playwrighters in this genre are Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Eugene Ionescu, Edward Albee and more.

Epic theatre

Theater of Alienation, also called epic theatre or dialectical theater, is an acting style or form of theatre based on the principle of using live performance as a means of social and political commentary.

To prevent melodrama or emotion from overtaking the audience, comic songs and music are often used to provide emotional details. The effect of this practice can be extremely jarring on an audience unused to Theater of Alienation.
It was Berthold Brecht who introduced epic theatre.

Absurdism

Media proposal

The proposal

Our group has been tasked with creating an advert for 2 products we could possibly sell.  The 2 products we decided on were Headphones and Speakers.

Our headphones are specifically wireless headphones as these have become recently popular and sell well on the mass market. Our second product being speakers was chosen as it is similar to the first product and again has mass appeal. We also wanted our product to be based around music as it is personally important and appealing to us as well as the majority of people our age ( our target audience ) and other ages.

Both our products would receive similar adverts as we feel they have a similar target audience (teenagers and young adults) and purpose/aim ( to solve problems/listen to music ) . Our speaker product would solve problems for this specific audience as speakers are commonly used at parties to play music and our speakers would provide partygoers with the most sufficient and high quality sound.  Other problems people may face at a party are the speakers blowing or being too quiet, our product would solve this however as high volume and quality is guaranteed. Making the headphones wireless also solves our buyers problems with having wires which tend to get tangled up or caught on to objects, which can cause a bad listening experience.

Both adverts would be created with a video camera utilising some effects in the editing process. The location of the wireless headphones advert would be at a place associated with our target audience (teenagers and young adults) such as a park or a college/high school. Our advert would more than likely be filmed at a college where it would be deemed more appropriate to be listening to music in headphones.  Props used would be the wireless headphones as well as a pair of wired headphones in order to show the contrast between the two and the benefits of our product. Actors of our target audience’s age would be used so that the viewers can identify with our characters. These actors would be used to present the contrast between a teenager who has our wireless headphones and a person who has wired headphones.

For the mis-en-scene the viewers will see a teenage friendly setting. If our advert is set at an college the extras on set will all be teenagers socialising and talking about music and/or listening to music together with our wireless headphones. We would show this as it puts the core message across that with Trendz headphones you will be able to socialise with people more easily through music. This is because the headphones are capable of Bluetooth songs to each other. This factor allows young people to come together as a community through music and our headphones.  The mis en scene will also feature technology such as computers and phones and everything associated with the Internet generation of today. Technology will be heavily featured in our advert to show how technologically advanced our target audience has become and also how advanced our headphones are.

The speaker advert although similar to our other product idea would be set in a different location as in contrast to that product the music will be played out loud rather than in ear. Locations used could be again familiar to our target audience of teenagers so at a house party or perhaps a public event. We would opt however for an inside space as it is easier to film.  Props used would be teen party iconography such as plastic red cups, party poppers etc. to present that the teenagers our having a fun time listening to music with our speakers.  Actors used would again be teenagers. These actors would again be chosen so our target audience can identify with them and so that the actors can present the benefits of having our speakers and the disadvantages of not having our speakers. This would be shown in a contrasting style similar to the other advert in which we see the life of someone with our product and the life of someone without our product.  The mis en scene will feature technology such as laptops in the room and phones being used to show how advanced technology has become and that our product is technologically advanced.

The impact both adverts will have on the viewer is a feeling of playful jealousy towards people who have our product as they will want to be trendy and up to date with the latest trends/technology like their friends. This jealous emotion will also encourage the viewer to buy the product as they will want to feel current and be up to date with technology like their friends.

My two adverts are very different from current adverts which advertise musical devices such as headphones as our advert has a more strict but wide audience and a comedic tone that recent technology based product adverts are lacking. In example Beats by Dre headphones commonly use celebrity endorsement to promote their headphones to show their audience the people they listen to listen to music through the same headphones they will be wearing. Whereas beats focuses on the connection between the fan and the artist,my advert will focus on the connection between people,young people making new friends and gaining confidence with our headphones. My advert encourages the idea that through music we can come together as a community and with our headphones our listeners really will as they can Bluetooth music to each other and discuss and listen to the music together. Both our adverts have a comedic tone which will make the audience laugh and appeal to our young target audience who will be able to relate to the jokes made as thee jokes will be current and impacted recent media.

The advert which would be cheaper to make would be the headphone advert as it can be filmed in controlled and inside space with less props whereas the speaker advert will be filmed outside and need to contain more props to present the party atmosphere. The speaker advert would also need more actors as a party tends to attract more people than a casual headphone listening session, this means filming would have to take place over a longer period of time. For these reasons and technical restraints I would opt for filming the headphone advert as the speaker advert requires a larger,more quiet yet appealing area for teenagers which is harder to find than a small inside space such as a college or someones house.

Our key audience for both adverts is as mentioned before teenagers and young adults as music is although appealing to all ages most appealing to people of younger ages who have more time to listen to music. Due to this I would propose our TV advert be shown mid day and before prime time as a younger audience are likely to be watching TV before prime time more so than after and also because mid day is when teenagers will be arriving home from school and college. If the advert is shown at a later time less of our key audience will see it. Also the advert has a fairly lighter tone which would be more appropriate for daytime tv as the later the time the more adult adverts tend to become including sex references and scenes innapropriate for some of our target audience.

Drama - blood wedding stimulus performance

the life and deaths of eric. Drama/horror.tells the story of a guy who is murdered each day only to wake up in slightly different lives to experience the terror of being murdered again. Eric is a sad loner who knows nobody and therefore his life would not be missed. He has not spoke to another being in years.Both the blue and red cloth represent the alternative routes he can take to his death or how on his choices. He is then given flowers by an old woman as a random act of kindness ( in real world the mom gives him flowers, hes getting better from coma ) in for once he feels alive and has interaction with others. he does not die that day.hence the green cloth higher up to show a change in his life. Everything is not as it seems however. hence the reason the black cloth is hidden under the green. This whole time eric has been officially dead in a coma hence the chair in bad condition holding everything together to represent the machine holding his life together. He sees this after surviving that day in a " dream " he realises rather than just dying he has been given a chance to fight for his life each day to wake up from the coma and come back to life. In the end he finally kills the person killing him and wakes with flowers on his chest in a grave bc he took too long to understand the appreciation of life. Image of box throughout.

Media official advert log

1/2/16

Advert 1

Type : Wireless Headphones

Name : TRENDZ

Techniques : Music,Imagery,Language,Trends

Target audience : Teens

Idea : Today we decided our initial idea for our proposition of the first idea. Our first advert would at first focus on the benefits of wireless headphones  and the comparisons between wired earphones and wireless headphones. We decided it would then Be appealing to show a split screen of the lives of two teenagers,one with the product and one without. The teenager with TRENDZ will have a happy,bright life and gain frIends and listen to the new song out ( the advert will be endorsing this new song ) whereas the teenager without will have a sad dark and dim life with sad face emojis and lightning etc. Our first decision of what to to show in the advert stemmed from the problem of wires being dragged which is why our actor would be shown being dragged by his wired earphones. At the end of each circumstance for both characters the slogan " don't be like ___ be like ____ " could be repeated. 

After concluding this idea we decided our job roles. My job roles include acting,filming and editing. Annabelle and David will also be Acting and filming whereas Alex will be Prop master. 

Advert 2 

Type : Speakers 

Name : TRENDZ speakers 

Techniques : Music,Imagery,Language,Trends

Target audience : Teenagers 

Idea : The speakers would be similarly advertised as the TRENDZ headphones however with different scenarios such as a party setting where one speaker set works poorly and the advertised speakers work perfectly. Both adverts would essentially focus on the benefits of buying our product and having it in your life  

Job roles would then be the same however we concluded that working with Speakers would be much less practical and accessible then working with headphones which you can move around easily and have better control of.

2/2/16

Today me and Dave searched for images on the internet that connoted to us our products and its purpose which is to create new trends and make people happy,dance and meet new friends or gain popularity. These images included things such as house parties and speakers blasting musical notes.

As a group we also did our storyboard for the trailer in which we concluded the advert would be approximately 25 seconds. The first scene would feature a sad instrumental and a sad boy walking down the hall upset because his headphones are old and have wires followed by him tripping over. The next shot would then be a happy girl walking down the hall because her headphones are new and wireless. The next scene would then show this girl socialising with friends because of the headphones showing the contrast between the girl and the boy who is lonely because he doesn't have the headphones. The advert will then end with the girl helping the boy up to show that having the headphones has essentially made her a better person.

8/02/16

I was absent this day as i was ill however i received messages from the group updating me on the progress which was that we were now working on a powerpoint to explain our product.

9/2/16

Today we completed the powerpoint which would be used to accompany our presentation on our brand and headphones. We also helped Dave design our brand logo inputting our opinions and what changes could be made to make it more appealing to our target audience.

14/3/16

This lesson i began my evaluation as the computers were unavailable for editing. Because of this i began editing the advert at home and planned to finish editing the advert the following lesson

18/3/16

Today i completed editing my advert by adding text and merging the audio of the advert together. I then burned it to a disc and continued writing my evaluation 

Drama - 25/1/16 exploration.

I believe the exploration of our portrayal of cinderella using structures and forms . We explored the play and the possible structures and forms and used which were appropriate. Using these we made decisions on characters and scenes used which we wouldn't have decided if we had been unsuccessful.
Me and Shannon used melodrama which was effective and as it conveyed the information that these were melodramatic and key characters.

Drama notes 20/1/16

For the drama performance we put verbal techniques with physical techniques. Physically I acted as the horse stampeding across the stage and making sounds. Verbally we did corral speaking on the end of each line or the most important word in the sentence. / definition of voice - a sound formed from the throat which gives someone individuality and the ability to communicate verbally . It's purpose is to present a message or emotion / breathing exercise lift arms breathing in 4 lower arms breath out 4 making different sounds - then tru with days of the week then months of the year .place hands on stomach and ' huh huh huh '.  ( convention - common use which is accepted by the audience / device - can become a convention - the initial idea - something used to make something successful - something to represent the chocolate in willy wonka play )

Drama - Voice preparation

Articulation -the formation of clear and distinct sounds in speech.
Speech organs that belong to the articulatory system
the lips : creating different sounds - shape the speech apparatus  ( Upper lip&lower lip )
 teeth : small whitish structures found in jaws - responsible for creating sounds mainly the labio dental.
Tounge : ( tip - apex , front - blade , middle - dorsum , back ) with its wide variety of possible movements it assists in forming sounds of speech.
Alveolar ridge : a hard ridge behind the upper front teeth between the roof of the mouth and upper teeth,for the sound air from the lungs passes continously through the mouth but the Tounge is raised sufficiently close to the alveolar ridge
Hard palate : a thin horizontal bony plate of the skull located in the roof of the mouth. The interaction between the tongue and the hard palate is essential in the formation of certain speech sounds.
 velum : it should have holes forming that function during speech to separate the oral cavity from the nose to produce the oral speech sounds.
 Uvula it functions in tandem with the back of the throat , the palate and air coming up

Articulation practise - Practise saying red lorry yellow lorry 5 times and then irish wristwatch 7 times. Carry on trying this with sounds that work on constinants and verbs.* - go around in a circle saying this

Articulation practise 2.
Pa Ta Ka Pe pa Ta Ka Pe Pa Ta Ka Pee
Pa Ta Ka Pa Ta Ka Pa Ta Ka Pay

Articulation practise 3.

la la la la
lala lala lala
lalala lalala lalala
Then change the initial sound L, T, D, K, G etc.


Notes
- Its more beneficial to work on your vocals for a short period of time over a long period of time
- *When working on the voice or articulation begin with focusing on the accuracy then speed not the word itself or you will lose concentration.
_____________________________________________

Breathing exercises 

BREATHING : Chair holding - For a warm up hold up chairs for 7 seconds to feel the expansion of our ribs. For an extended warm up do the same whilst humming for 7 seconds. In doing this the possible tension or pain from humming is not felt as the body has now adjusted to the tension caused by holding up the chair.


BREATHING : exercise - Lay on the floor back down and knees up, breath in to feel your rib cage expand. Place hands on side of self.  Do the same but standing up which you will not feel and then against a hard surface such as a wall in which you will feel it.



BREATHING : Hum exercise - Hum from the lowest note to the highest note. If your voice cracks or breaks its unhealthy.

Notes
Breathing is the process of getting oxygen into the lungs and carbon dioxide out of the lungs. It allows forgas exchange to take place so that oxygen can be absorbed from the lungs into the blood and carbon dioxide is removed from the blood and breathed out from the lungs.

Respiration is the release of energy from the break down of glucose in living cells. Respiration takes place in every living cell and all cells need to respire to produce the energy they need.

Voice production