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Analyse one of your products against narrative theories

Our AS coursework product 'Conflict' conforms with several narrative theories. Although we only filmed the opening, we had the key narrative elements within that and also the storyboard/treatment serves well in supporting this analysis.

One theory that can be applied is Strauss' theory of binary oppositions as when events take a turn for the worst and the protagonist is in the alleyway, the lighting in front of the protagonist is light whereas the lighting the threatening youths is very dark and blacks out all of their features, leaving only silhouettes, which creates further enigma. This mis-en-scene encapsulates binary opposition at its best, as it helps clearly portray the roles of the victim and the oppressor.

Another theory that can be applied is Todorov's three part structure which begins with an equilibrium, then a disruption which causes disequilibrium, and at the end a resolution where a new equilibrium is reached. In Conflict the equilibrium consisting of the protagonist's life is established using establishing shots such as of him walking down the road, listening to music in an ordinary manner and also lighting to depict a normal day. The disruption occurs as the main character encounters danger from a  group of antagonists, and in the opening there is no resolution as otherwise the film would be completely pointless. This 'cliffhanger' effect used early on in the narrative is to hook the audience to the product.

A contemporary theory that can be applied is Allan Cameron's 'modular narratives' theory (2009). His theory has 5 parts, and relates mostly to modern cinema. Only one part can really be applied to Conflict. Cameron suggests that products can be 'anachronic' which means that flashbacks/flashforwards and a general lack of chronological structure is used as a key feature of the narrative. In my film, this is the case as is seen in the opening which further on turns out to be a flashback. By using this method we hoped to make the narrative more exciting and complicated for the audience to decipher, in the hope of gaining full attention and also just to experiment with alternate filmmaking.

Development of skills

Whilst making my A2 coursework I learnt a range of skills on both Photoshop CS5 and Final Cut Pro. On Photoshop it is difficult to comment on what exactly I learnt, as most of it has been experimental since I knew nothing on the programme before. To create the digipak I searched for basic Photoshop tutorials and from those learnt how to make layers and duplicate layers. With that I discovered text layers and also how to change/download fonts. I also learnt how to import images such as industry information into Photoshop to use on our original images. From experimenting I was able to see how to select certain areas and erase, change the amount of blur or colour them. I used gradients in drafts of the digipak but in the final I mainly used pixelation effects, a change in colour levels and text layers to create the final piece.

For the music video, I used Final Cut Pro to edit. From searching the internet I found various techniques that would positively enhance the product. Firstly, I discovered how to use the 'b' & 'a' letters as a short cut for using the blade to cut which proved very useful. I learnt how to delete audio, such as the unwanted talking on our original footage, by locking the visual and then being able to delete the audio layer. From experimenting with various colour and image effects I learnt which ones worked well with different lighting and also how to change the overall atmosphere of the picture. I used desaturation throughout to make the tone dark and bleak, to suit the song. A very useful tool I learnt was the one for adjusting speed of a clip by pressing 'ctrl+j' because it was simple but made scenes in the music video work much better than originally planned.

Research; Kidulthood

Media texts created by institutions about youth have complex backgrounds as to who made them, who for, what this does to the reputation of youth and whether or not they conform to news stereotypes.  

The 2006 film Kidulthood, written by Noel Clark, is predominantly an 'anti youth' film as it represents youth in a negative light throughout with the use of graphic violence, promiscuity and prostitution, drug abuse and disrespectful language.

However, beneath these disturbing scenes portrayed by characters all around 15 to 19 years old there are emotional qualms which spur empathy in the audience for the characters such as the distress attatched to being pregnant, and thus the text becomes a pro youth piece made to educate the ignorant and possibly change their views by forcing them to look beneath the surface.

Henry Giroux explains the empathy factor by stating that 'for youth, especially those who experience ruthless subordination and oppression, nihilism often translates into senseless violence, racism, homophobia, drug addiction, date rape, suicide pacts, escalating homicide rates, and a refusal to participate in building communities of hope and alliances with other oppressed groups'.

The film was made by Noel Clarke, distributed by Revolver, and has a wide range in the target audience. The first is adults who may not have previous first hand experience of the topics depicted, many middle or upper class and those interested in niche films that aren't necessarily quintessential British products such as Notting Hill. The other main target audience is young people aged 14-25 who can identify with the themes and therefore find the film to be highly entertaining whilst at the same time witnessing the consequences of actions that may not be dissimilar to their own and thus acts as a warning.

The product conforms heavily to the 'thuggish' stereotypes of youth that are created and projected by the press because of the themes, mis-en-scene, locations and even the actors. It also slightly mocks the racial prejudice as sometimes seen in the press when Moony says 'Ain't it ironic though, bllack cab don't take black man'. On the other hand whilst their actions conform, their emotions subvert as a personality is rarely conveyed in the press unless it is that of a victim. This is to show the gritty reality that Noel Clarke was so passionate about showing.

essay plan; 'Analyse a product you created on representation'

- Product: Conflict, include genre and background narrative information.
- Representation of characters: Yobs, use key terms like 'short cut' and explain.

- Representation of context: London, gang culture, crime

- Representation and how it's portrayed through mise-en-scene, editing, sound, lighting and camera movements.

- Include some constraints that affected representation; budget

- Refer to representation of the above to existing theories:

• Gaye Tuchman and sexism, men twice more likely to be in the product.
• Hegemonic marxist theory.
• Audience gratification

• Collective Identity - A sense of 'one ness'. A membership in a social group that is a collective and has a sense of togetherness.
• David Gauntless - ' Identity is complicated - everybody thinks they've got one'... 'The power relationship between the media & the audience involves a bit of both, or to be more precise, a lot of both. The media sends out a huge number of messages about identity & acceptable forms of self - expression, gender, sexuality and lifestyle. At the same time the public have their own even more robust set of diverse feelings on the iddies. The media's suggestions may be seductive but can never simply overpower contrary feelings in the audience'
• David Buckingham - A focus on identity requires us to pay closer attention to the ways in which media & techniqies are used in every day life & their consequences for social groups'
• Ideology - a set of ideas
• Portrayal - The way in which something is presented
• Stereotype - A typical representation
• Readings: Dominant - how the  creator wants the audience to view the text
                 Opposition - when the audience rejects the preferrred reading, and creates their own
                                     meaning of the text
                Negotiated - a comprimise between the dominant and opposition readings where the
                                   audience acceps parts of the director's views, but has their own views aswell. 
• Subculture - A different social group within society
• Construction - how things are put together
• Conform - goes with the norm
• Subvert - goes against the norm
• Dissonance - two conflicting ideas
• Archetypal - something something that is typical
• Subservient - hierarchy 
• Richard Jenkins - Suggests that we need to interract with others in order to form our identity
• Stuart Hall - ' the media appera to reflect reality, when in fact they construct it'
• Jacques Lacan -  theory of the mirror stage, that a child copies what they see in order to develop their identity.
• Hemegony - the dominant view
• Intertextuality - The reference of media text inside another
• Marxism - theory started by Karl Marx which determines that all members of society will be governed by work and in a class less system. All members of society must follow the same rules and hold a common perception of each other.
• Neo-marxism - The view that class divisions under capitalism are more important than gender divisions or issues of race and ethnicity.
• Merleau Ponty - anything in which we use our bodies to create new things builds our identity i.e. creating a blog
• Michael Foucault - Believes that we are born with a basic structure of our inner identity but it adapts and changes for who we meet and through discourse. He argues that surveillance in society is obtrusive
• Richard Dyer - His 'star' theory suggests that stars are a construction of what record labels want them to be in order to sell records. The dramatisation of their life becomes their USP and music isn't important.
• Post-modernism - The belief that many realities are only social constructs, and that it is not race, gender and so on... that brings collective identity but mutual interests
• Moral panic - When the media creates a sense of fear
• Web 2.0 - User centered information sharing i.e. twitter, facebook etc...
• Enigma - a sense of mystery or the unknown
• Iconography - Visuals associated with a person, can be part of their persona.
• Mediated - A persons understanding of a media text

Web 2.0 - Viral and Online Press

How does the internet provide an enormous challenge for regulators?  The internet moves at a faster rate than the rate at which a board of regulators could move because it is global and is updated billions of times every second. Regulations come in the forms of consent pop ups on 4oD for example but are easily surpassed with a click of a mouse leaving almost any site open to people of all ages around the world.
 In the 2011 London riots, communication was viral due to the use of Twitter and Blackberry Messenger which are both accessible and free.  An Ofcom survey revealed that 37% of youth aged 12-24 favoured Blackberry and its almost free BBM service. Messages sent on BBM are private to those who aren’t on the network and connected by ‘pin’ but can still be sent quickly via a broadcast to everyone on a contact list. 
 Untraceable messages such as "Everyone from all sides of London meet up at the heart of London (central) OXFORD CIRCUS!!, Bare SHOPS are gonna get smashed up so come get some (free stuff!!!) f**k the feds we will send them back with OUR riot! >:O Dead the ends and colour war for now so if you see a brother... SALUT! if you see a fed... SHOOT!", taken from The Guardian website, were spread in seconds which contributed to the levels of violence seen in the riots.   
Although the widespread failure of regulation is favoured by many including youth as it goes against Marxist society, it is debatable that more regulation is needed to ironically, protect the youth. An example of this is Angie Verona who became an internet sex symbol at the age of 14 when her photobucket account was hacked and personal photos leaked. None of the provocative pictures have been taken down and is a burden on her life. For cases like this regulation is needed to protect the youth.  

BBM

How does web 2.0 present a change for rioters since the Brixton riots?

The actions of rioters over time have changed from the 1981 Brixton riots to the 2011 London riots. In 1981, the riot was caused by serious social and economic problems which had consequences of bad relationships between the police and local communities. It could be argued that this was also the case with the 2011 riots, dissatisfaction with the police and government but the difference was that the original spark was the death of Mark Duggan, who was killed by the police. The original march was in Tottenham but it is argued that the use of different forms of Web 2.0 such as Twitter and BBM left the protest open to opportunists who relished in the violence and stealing aspects of it.



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