Sunday, December 9, 2018

Media Representation


 Dear Fellow Passionate Media Followers, 

 I have to admit, sitting down to write this blog was pretty hard. There were so many groups, issues, and events that I could choose from to represent in my project. After going back and forth for about an hour, I finally came up with a plan about what to write about. I decided that a very important issue I should talk about in my film opener is the issue of  gender roles. In today's world, the media constantly reinforces certain characteristics that embody males and females. The media usually portrays males as being muscular, non-emotional, and being very ridged. On the other hand, the media usually portrays females as being very emotional, warm, and having alot of care for people.


A couple examples, of films that gender roles were enforced very heavily where: Magic Mike and Pain and Gain. These movies all portray males as being very muscular, adventurousness, strong, and independent. For example, Magic Mike is about Mike and Adam two males who are strippers. Since the movie is about strippers, it is almost a given that this movie has males in it who are very muscular and visually appealing. Specifically, the movie portrays the two main male characters as being very strong and independent. Similarly, the movie Pain and Gain is a movie about bodybuilders at a gym in Miami that kidnap a member of the gym that has a lot of money. The movie portrays the main characters, which are both males, as being very strong, non-emotional, and independent.
Personally, I feel like the gender constructs that the media helps to reinforce are not good. I feel like they are an overgeneralization of the male and female figure. I don’t even think they represent males correctly at all. Personally, I know that a lot of males that are very emotional. Furthermore, there are only a minority of males that are very strong and overly muscular. A majority of males have average strength and in today's society a lot of males are overweight, especially in the United States. Similarly, I don’t think the media represents females properly. I think women are not always the gossip crazy, emotional, and caring individuals that the media makes them out to be. The majority of the women that I am around around gossip  and/or emotional. Furthermore, I feel like the media exaggerates the characteristic that women are caring. While I do agree that usually women are more caring than males, I don’t think they are caring to the extent that the media makes them out to be. So, with that said, I really don’t think the way media represents the characteristics that embody both males and females are correct.
After doing my research on media representation, I have decided that in my film I want to portray women as caring and emotional like the media does. On the other hand, I want to challenge the way regular media portrays males. I want to portray males as emotional and caring. I do not  want to challenge the characteristic in which the media represents males as independent.


Sincerely,
Matthew Liebman   
Filmmaker
November 11th, 2018

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More Research on Genre

 Dear Fellow Passionate Media Followers, 

 After I wrote the blog about possibly creating a drama film opener for my media class, I had this thought in my head that I could even possibly do a film opener for a horror film. With that said, I sat down a couple days later and did some research on horror films. This is what I found:  I noticed that there are a lot of specific elements that go into producing and creating a horror film. In terms of content, horror films usually are set in isolated areas where there is no help for the characters and finding somewhere to run. For example, in the film Get Out the setting was in a home in the woods secluded from the town.  Furthermore, many horror films also seem to use natural elements such as: the use of thunder, lightning, and rain to further enhance the feeling of isolation or intense scenes. Specifically, I noticed that lightning is a specific part of almost every horror film. I did a little research and found that many times horror is use lightning because it  gives the effect of something bad is about to happen. For example, shadows and light flickering causes the audience to feel scared and nervous. As well as, lighting helps to cultivate a overlying tone in a horror film. In terms of costumes, I noticed that costumes vary based on the films setting and time period, In terms of props, I noticed that a lot of horror films use weapons or  a lot of antiques. Colours used within horror films are usually reds or blacks because they suggest danger and death. Lastly, horror films always use the same stereotypical characters which include:  the character that dies first (the blonde character), the character everyone in the film looks for guidance for guidance (the athlete character), and the character that usually survives and isn’t impacted by evil in the film (called the virgin character).
Not only do horror films have specific conventions of content, but they also have specific conventions of production techniques. For example, sound is a very important part of horror films, as it is to any other type of film,  Foley sound is utilized in many scenes in horror movies to help build suspense. There is also a lot of exaggerated diegetic sound to help build tension in a film and fast and loud non-diegetic sound to make the viewers “jump out of their seats”  like in the shower scene in Psycho. Furthermore, a lot of horror films are shot underexposed to give each shot a dark and dreary tone. As well as, many horror films, utilize a lot of extreme closeups, to emphasize certain things in the film. For example, during the bathroom killing scene in Psycho, there an extreme close-up of the womens face when she was killed.  The last two big production technique that are seen in almost every horror film is the use of haze and they are usually shot at night.
Two examples of horror films and why they fit in the horror film genre include:
Insidious: The Last Key
All the Insidious movies are horror movies, but I saw this one in theaters. That is why I decided to analyze how this film embodies characteristics of a horror genre. Right off the bat, this film takes place at Ted Garza house which is very isolated from the rest of the world and  a very common characteristic in horror films. Furthermore, the main characters in this film embody stereotypic characters of a film. For example, Melissa is the blonde character because she dies first and isn’t the smartest. Elise is the athlete character in the film because everyone kind of follows her lead throughout the whole film. Imogen is the virgin character in the film because she is not impacted by any of the evil spirits throughout the whole film. Furthermore, the majority of the film is shot very underexposed to give it a dark and dreary look. As well as, there is thunder, lightning, and rain in the movie. Lastly, Foley sound  is utilized in a lot of scenes to help build suspense and there is a lot of exaggerated diegetic and loud non-diegetic sounds in the film.
The Purge: with Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey
This is another example of a horror film. Right off the bat, you can notice that this film is all about isolation which is a major convention of horror films as stated previously in my blog. During this film, James Sandin and his family have to lock down their house to make sure no one can enter during the Purge, which is a night where all crime is legal. This causes the family in the film to be very isolated from the rest of the world because they only can be in their home. Furthermore, the film was mostly shot at night and very exposed. Like in all the Purge movies, foley sound is utilized in a lot of scenes to help build suspense and there is a lot of exaggerated diegetic and loud non-diegetic sounds in the film. Furthermore, like Insidious, the main  characters in this film embody stereotypic characters of a horror film. For example, James Sandin is the athlete in the story because he is the father of the home and everyone seems to follow his orders for most of the movie. Charlie Sandin is seen as the blonde character in the movie because he lets to wounded man in whom shoots at James. As well as, Zoey Sandin and her mother are seen as the virgin characters in the film because they are not impacted by the evil in the film.

Other examples of horror films include:

The Babadook (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5WQZzDRVtw )
Paranormal Activity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074 )
Sincerely,
Matthew Liebman   
Filmmaker
November 11th, 2018
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Sunday, November 11, 2018

The Genre.


Dear Fellow Passionate Media Followers,


 It’s me again! I think I have finally chosen the genre I want my film opener to be.  I want to use the genre drama. I did some research that made me solidify my choice..
  I discovered  that the typical conventions of a drama movie are as follows: they capture real life situations, they have characters that are real,  the settings are real, and a story line that is real. Drama films are really rooted in the conflict portion of a film. They mainly focus on a character's journey. To keep the audience engaged these films usually have very intense social interactions. The purpose of a drama film is to capture a dramatic story line. This helps to move the audience emotionally. Most of the time, they capture the struggles, hardships, difficulty, and pain characters do through. These types of films usually follow the same plot line. The beginning of the film is usually very sad and the ending is usually happy.  Generally, it portrays a journey that a character adds to its own development. During the film, there's a lot of intense social interaction filled with climaxes to keep the audience emotionally attached to the story.
  Throughout my research, I found that drama films have certain characteristics. In order for drama films to get this type of look and feel they utilize certain production techniques. Most of the time, they portray real world events/situations. The production techniques that are utilized  are as follows: set designers in drama films create authentic looking places including: offices, cities, nature settings, etc. Costumes usually will be representative of the time period or the plot taken place. Costumes are usually not complex but tend to reflect the real world. There is not really a universal type of lightning technique used in these types of films. The lighting in these films is all dependent on the mood of the scene, emotions that the director is trying to communicate to the audience, and time of day the scene is taking place. As well as, drama films like all other films utilize special effects, sound,  music used to develop and shape understanding of atmosphere, characterisation, conflict, and theme. As well as, visual language techniques such as acting, gesture and use of props.
 Furthermore, I thought it was very interesting to learn about how drama films are marketed.  I learned that due to this genre being so broad and containing so many sub-genres that their is not one universal way that all drama films are marketed. I did find that a lot of the time drama films appeal directly to the female audience. These films usually try to appeal more to emotions and they use this emotional appeal to market the film. The way these films are marketed is no different from the way any other films are  marketed. For example, drama films use marketing tools such as creating trailers, creating film posters, having directors and actors of a film be guests on talk shows, going on promotional tours, etc. An interesting thing that I found was that drama film trailers show more of the core plot of the film than anything else. For example, The Wolf on Wall Street movie trailer focused on the plot of the story more than anything else.


Here are two examples of drama films and why they are considered drama films :


The Wolf of Wall Street:


The Wolf of Wall Street embodies all the conventions of a typical drama film. The movie tells the true story of Jordan Belfort and how he started and eventually killed his brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont. The characters and setting in the film are all based on people and places that are and were real which is a main convention of a drama film. The film is mainly rooted in the conflict of Jordan Belfort's fraudulent business, addiction to drugs and alcohol, and troubles with his wife and the FBI. Just as most drama films do this film focus on the journey of the main character, Jordan Belfort, and his journey through the world of Wall Street. One major convention  of a drama film that this film has a lot intense social interaction filled with climaxes to keep the audience emotionally attached to the film. For example, there was a scene in the movie depicting Jordan with friends and family on their private boat almost drowning in the middle of the ocean because of a very intense storm. Due to the fact that, Jordan told the captain to drive the boat through the storm due to not consciously being award of the captains questions because of the use of drugs. Another example of an intense social interaction in the film is when Jordan came home one night bareilly being able to get into the house because of being so coked up on drugs.


The Post


This film also truly embodies all the true characteristics of a drama film. The whole  purpose of the film is to capture the dramatic story of Katherine Graham’s rise to fame. It stars Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of The Washington Post.  The characters and setting in the film are all based on people and places that are and were real which is a main convention of a drama film. This film is truly rooted in the conflict between whether Katharine Graham and Ben Bradley should publish the Pentagon Papers. It also captures the journey that Katherine Graham goes on during her start at the Washington Post. The beginning of the film is  very sad with the death of Katherine Graham's husband, the portrayal of Katherine’s depression as she takes over the Post and mourns the loss of her husband,  but the ending is very happy with the successful release of the Pentagon Papers, and the winning of the Supreme Court case, and with Katherine Graham successfully taking the Washington Post public. Furthemore, the target audience was very easily understood from watching the film… females. The film is about a woman's struggle and success  in the workplace. As shown, the movie the Post clearly embodies the specific characteristics of a drama film.


Other examples of drama films that I found are:


  I hope this blog entry wasn’t too boring. I hoped it helped to enrich your mind about a particular film genre. My next blog entry will hopefully will not be as boring.


Sincerely,
Matthew Liebman   
Filmmaker
November 11th, 2018

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The Start.

Dear Fellow Passionate Media Followers,

      I am excited to start documenting my creative process in the making of my new film project. A couple weeks ago, my teacher assigned my media class a new project that consists of creating a film opening for my AICE Media Studies class. As soon as this project was assigned, I instantly had so many ideas of the type of film opener I wanted to create.One idea I had was creating this blog to not only to  help me put all my ideas down on paper and help me to organize my thoughts, but also help me document my creative process from start to finish. I hope you guys enjoy this blog. Some posts will be happy, some will be serious, and others will be filled with mixed emotions. I just hope this blog can help fellow filmmakers with their creative process and possible even inspire some readers. I think this is going to be a really rewarding experience.

 I know the journey to make this film opener is not going to be easy, but  I am so excited to see where this journey will take me. Please, follow me through the whole journey and recommend me to your friends and family. The journey to make the best film opening, in the world starts NOW!
Sincerely,
Matthew Liebman   
Filmmaker
November 11th, 2018

at No comments:
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Link to Film

Dear Passionate Media Followers,    Here is what you have all been waiting for: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Su294K2Kj2zU4MPIT-cNn...