Kick Ass Essay

Kick Ass

AS Coursework Schedule

G321 AS Course Work Schedule 2010-2011

Working Title Synthesis

Development of Working Title and the influence of ownership

Video Preliminary

Ethnicity - Stereotypes

Stereotypes of white people in the media:

• Skinny women
• strong class structure
• law abiding
• blonde women
• drink alcohol
• stressed/worry a lot
• talk about the weather
• trailer trash/ hillbillies
• educated/academic
• eliquent
• nerdy
• uptight
• stiff upper lip
• stupid characters in films
• British actors often play bad guys in films
• bitchy women
• different hair/eye colours
• white men cant jump or run fast
• speak formally/posh
• recieved pronunciation
• protestant/catholic
• dry humour/sarcastic

Stereotypes of black people in the media:

• big booty's
• gangsters
• rappers
• drugs
• chilled out/laid back/relaxed
• black people cant swim
• black characters tend to be the characters that die in films
• criminals
• power hungry
• cooler than white people
• more muscular
• soul music
• reggae
• bubbly personalities
• attitude
• swagger
• have own lingo/slang
• black men are bad fathers
• single paretn families
• focus on religion
• gospel
• large families

New Technologies Essay

Essay, New Technologies

Targets

Targets:

• Examples from the British Film Industry must be used.
• Examples from our cast study, Working Title, need to be used.
• Refer back to the question throughout the essay.
• Discuss Audience and Institution.
• Use appropiate terminology in the essay.
• Include detailed points and explain don't describe.

I think the main targets that I need to focus on are; discussing audience and institution and using the terminology we have learnt. I am going to do this by trying to learn more of the terminology associated with audience and institution so that I can include it in future essays. Also, I will try and always relate the essay questions to our topic focus, audience and institution.

Age Representation

Age representation

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Age Stereotypes

Here is a list of obvious stereotypes for teenagers and old people:

Old People:

• dress smartly
• strongly opinionated
• interested in puzzles and crosswords
• prefer things 'how they used to be'
• tend to have illnesses/physical problems
• grumpy
• flatcaps
• don't like young people
• moan a lot
• traditional
• narrowminded
• deaf
• hunchbacked-walking stick
• racist
• stubborn
• sleep a lot
• lonely

Teenagers:

• lazy
• rely on other people/parents
• interested in video games and shopping
• sometimes seen as disrespectful
• take care over appearance
• immature
• gangs
• anti-social behaviour
• rude
• noisy
• modern
• drugs
• outgoing
• criminals
• violence
• sexual
• teenage pregnancy
• sub groups; chavs, emo, goth, geek, greb
• moody
• argumentative

Animoto Presentations

Let the Right One in

Let the Right One In

Theories

Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009)

He came up with the theory of binary opposites, for example:

• Good v Evil
• Black v White
• Tall v Short
• Old v Young      etc.

Vladimir Propp (1895-1970)

He came up with the theory of character roles.

• the hero - the character who seeks something
• the villain
• the donor - who provides an object with some magic property
• the helper - aids the hero
• the princess - reward for the hero, often the object of the villains schemes
• her father - who rewards the hero
• the dispatcher - who send the hero on his way
• the false hero - seems to be heroic initially, turns out to be evil or a red herring

A red herring is a character or object that is introduced as seemingly important. it is then left behind/forgotten/not mentioned again, this character then turns out to have no real importance.

Tzvetan Todorov

This theory was that every story has an equilibrium that is disturbed and then restored.

It has a 3 part narrative structure:

1. equilibrium
2. distruption of equilibrium
3. restoration of equilibrium or new equilibrium

Prezi - Hardware Spider Diagram

Hardware on Prezi

The 'Male Gaze' in a Music Video

Akon - Don't matter  (click on image above to view)

At the begining of the video we get an image of the woman walking out from the house towards the camera. She's not looking at the camera, so we get the idea that she's looking at the man in the video. She produces a 'chocolate box' smile to draw the audience's attention towards her. After seeing her, the male audience have their attention focused on her, and therefore will want to see her again. The rest of the video is focused on her, and she uses many of the other classic looks that Marjorie Ferguson and Trevor Millum suggested.

When she originally walks out from the house, as we talked about before, the female character produces the 'chocolate box' smile, which is described as warmth, where their features are perfect and smooth. This is what is shown here at the begining of the video to introduce us to the character.

She then gets into a car with the male character, and they drive off towards the beach. During their drive, the female character produces the 'super-smiler' look, in which her chin is thrown back, hair wind swept, as if implying that she wants the men to look at her.

Later on in the video, around 1 minute and 45 seconds, the female character is looking back towards the camera with her head titled to one side. Her mouth is shut, almost like it's about to turn into a smile. This is the iconic 'invitational' look, as she is almost suggesting something mischievous may occur.

Throughout the video, the two character's feature in the same image. They're are looking towards each other in a way that suggests that they are in love. This look is known as the 'Romantic or Sexual' look as this shows the love between the two characters in the video. Although it may be romantic, I don't think that it is included to attract a male audience.

This is England '86

Notes:

• Same producer as film, Mark Herbert, but there was a second producer, Derrin Schlesinger
• Shane Meadows directed the 3rd and 4th episodes
• Same characters as film three years on
• Tom Harper directed the 1st and 2nd episodes (not involved in film)
• Written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne
• Warp films/Big arty production for channel 4
• Supported by Screen Yorkshire Production fund
• Co financed by EM Media
• A lot more characters and people involved
• After the Big Brother demise, channel 4 decided to invest an extra £20 million a year into dramas
• How skinheads went to mods
• Unemployment
• Left over ideas from film used
• Warp is a developing company
• Sponsored by Peugot
• Different fashions and styles
• Bigger cast
• More artificial lighting used than film
• More props
• Same humour
• More locations
• Still pre fabricated sets
• Different feel of cinematography
• Post production enhancement used
• Shaun isnt the only main character this time

This is England

Notes:

• £1.5 million budget
• funded by national lottery
• received £90,000 after production from uk film council
• made in 2006
• warp film
• directed by Shane Meadows
• based on his own experiences
• main star: never acted, bad family life, socially deprived area
• filmed in a pre-fabricated set in Sheffield
• props bought on ebay for authenticity
• natural lighting
• element of improvisation from actors
• actors given a creative input
• produced by Mark Herbert
• set in 1983, high unemployment
• skin Head culture focus, trying to change perception of them
• aimed at teenager originally but was given an 18 rating
• montage of England in 1983 shown at the start; Margret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Faulklands War
• working class audience
• British weather humour and fashion shown
• reggae music
• mise en scene; graffiti, iconic, patriotic
• handheld camera work
• no special effects
• slower pace shots than Hot Fuzz

Notes from Disability Lesson

Notes:

• depends on the disability.
• dependant on others.
• brave.
• sympathy.
• awkwardness.
• we feel lucky.
• don't want to patronise them, feel uncomfortable.
• they cant help it.
• unsure on how to behave around them.

Famous Disabled People:

• Heather Mills (1 leg)
• Stephen Hawkins (wheelchair, motor neurone)
• Gordon Brown (1 eye)
• Stevie Wonder (blind)
• Verne Troyer (dwarfism)
• Muhammad Ali (Parkinson's)
• Albert Einstein (autistic)
• Michael J Fox (Parkinson's)
• Motzart (deaf)

Hollywood Films/actors in disabled roles:

• Rainman (Dustin Hoffman)
• Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)
• My Left Foot (Daniel Day Lewis)
• I Am Sam (Sean Penn)
• Born On The 4th Of July (Tom Cruise)
• Waterboy (Adam Sandler)
• 50 First Dates (Drew Barrymore)
• Unbreakable (Samuel L Jackson)
• Million Dollar  Baby (Hilary Swank)

Disability representations:

The Male Gaze Notes

Marjorie Ferguson vocabulary:

1. Chocolate Box: half or full-smile, lips together or slightly parted, teeth barely visible, full or three-quarter face to camera. Projected mood: blandly pleasing, warm bath warmth, where uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness or of individuality.
2. Invitational: emphasis on the eyes, mouth shut or with only a hint of a smile, head to one side or looking back to camera. Projected mood: suggestive of mischief or mystery, the hint of contact potential rather than sexual promise, the cover equivalent of advertising’s soft sell.
3. Super-smiler: full face, wide open toothy smile, head thrust forward or chin thrown back, hair often wind-blown. Projected mood: aggressive, ‘look-at-me’ demanding, the hard sell, ‘big come-on’ approach.
4. Romantic or Sexual: a fourth and more general classification devised to include male and female ‘two-somes’; or the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-heads, or the overtly sensual or sexual. Projected moods: possible ‘available’ and definitely ‘available’.

Trevor Millum vocabulary:

1. Seductive: similar to the cool/level look in many respects - the eyes are less wide, perhaps shaded, the expression is less reserved but still self-sufficient and confident; milder versions may include a slight smile.
2. Carefree: nymphlike, active, healthy, gay, vibrant, outdoor girl; long unrestrained outward-flowing hair, more outward-going than the above, often smiling or grinning.
3. Practical: concentrating, engaged on the business in hand, mouth closed, eyes object-directed, sometimes a slight frown; hair often short or tied back
4. Comic: deliberately ridiculous, exaggerated, acting the fool, pulling faces for the benefit of a real or imaginary audience, sometimes close to a sort of archness.
5. Catalogue: a neutral look as of a dummy, artificial, waxlike; features may be in any position, but most likely to be with eyes open wide and a smile, but the look remains vacant and empty; personality has been removed. (Millum 1975, 97-8)

Notes on Female Model



Look: not into camera, distracted/disinterested, dosen't care who is watching

Hair: messy, wet, feminine, sexual, swimming, shower

Legs: open- sexual element

Stance: hands on hips, tip toes, toned legs, dominant, confidence

Arms: stressed, tired, knows she looks good

Lingerie: sexual, feminine, attention drawn to what is being advertised

Body: toned, perfect, too thin?, confident

Shoes/Feet: tip toes, heels- longer legs, skinnier, heels make it more sexual

Notes on the Male Model

Hair: short, masculine, clean

Bicep: muscular

Bar: he has a good grip on it, suggests he has been to the gym

Background Colour: red- poison, sexual, romantic, heat, danger

Necklace: feminine, fashion, personal, religious, shows sensitivity

Tattoo: in a sexual place, wild animal, rebellious

Underwear: tight, advertising product and brand

Hand: in a fist - could show aggression, suggestive

Pubic Area: shaven, clean, appealing, tan lines

Abs: toned, attention drawn here

Body: tanned, sweaty, wet, sexual look

Stubble: manly, masculine, rugged look

Lips: pouting, full, shiny, not manly

Face: strong jaw line, chiseled, high cheek bones

Look: determined, engaging, confident, inviting, suggestive

The Gaze Lesson Notes

• 'The Gaze' is used in film theory to refer to the ways the viewers look at images of people in a visual medium.
• 'The male gaze' refers to the way in which men look at women in a visual medium.
• The fourth wall is a metaphor for the audience and when an actor talks down to the camera as if they are addressing the audience.
• Laura Mulvey came up with the theory of the male gaze.
• She thought that men were more often shown as active and women passive.
• Also, she put forward the idea that the woman is the 'image' and the man is the 'bearer of the look'.

Male Gaze Powerpoint

Representations

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Flow Chart

Flow Chart

Essay

“Discuss the issues and patterns which enable your institution to thrive as a film business with a focus on the production process.”

     The main thing that helps a film business to thrive is the amount of funding it has for each film it produces. For example, Working Title films are part of a conglomerate of which Universal is the parent company. Universal is a huge American film institution which is known world wide. This therefore means that Working Title have an advantage as they can receive better funding and have access to widely known actors and other above the line costs. The fact that Universal and Working Title are linked also means that Working Title films will have more credibility and be more recognised by different audiences. Another thing that Working Title does in order to thrive as a film business is to use stock actors. For example; Emma Thompson, Simon Pegg, Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant. These people are all very well known and successful actors. If a previous film by Working Title did well by using these stock actors then a future film with them in is more likely to entice an audience and therefore make the business thrive even more.

      Warp films are an independent film company. This means that they have to find their own funding when a producer has an idea for a film as they don’t have a conglomerate like Working Title do. In a way, it could be said that Warp have to work harder to promote and market their films or come up with a ‘must see’ idea in order to gain a profit. Warp generally gets their funding from government grants which they then use to make and produce their films. The main bulk of the profit that Warp makes is through ancillary sales rather than the film being at the cinema so this means that this is something they may chose to work harder on. One of Warp’s most famous productions is ‘This is England’ which was focused on a left wing ideology topic. This therefore meant that it made news headlines through its controversial subject matters including; racism and the struggles of the working class. Media coverage for this film meant that people wanted to see it and wanted to know what it is about and this meant that they watched it and helped it to succeed.

      Universal is a huge Hollywood production company that can make worldwide famous films with very high budgets, in comparison to Warp which is much less well known and has to work very hard to get a small budget for a film.  

      In conclusion, the production process is the most important thing in determining a films success.  All things from the script to the budget to the actors contribute to this.

Representation and Stereotypes - Shameless

How are Regional Identity and Sexuality represented in the opening sequence of Shameless episode one?

As a class we discussed stereotypes for gay and straight people, and then the differences between people from the north and south of the country. We came up with a few ideas, for example; gay men are camp and flamboyant, have a mincing walk and a limp wrist. A straight man is insensitive and drinks beer, read lads mags and are metro-sexual as they take care of their appearance. 

We then discussed regional identity and decided that people from the north are generally poorer, have strong accents and swear a lot, are heavy drinkers and old fashioned, and they are funny and uneducated. For people from the south, we came up with the ideas that they are rich and posh, intelligent and into golf, have expensive houses and a high disposable income.

We then watched the first episode of Shameless series one, this programme is about the Gallagher family who are from the north and this is very clear even from the first scene. From this opening to the episode it is clear to see that the characters fit the regional identity stereotypes we came up with very well as they are uneducated and swear a lot, along with a few other things.

To start with, I looked at the character of Lip. He is a very stereotypical straight male teenager. Lip has a sexual encounter in the opening sequence of which he later boasts about to his brother which, again, is a stereotypical thing for a straight teenage boy to do.

I then looked at how Ian, Lip's brother, fitted in with sexuality stereotypes. Lip finds out that his brother is gay after finding his porn stash, however this could have been said to be obvious already as Ian had a 'Kylie' poster on his wall. Ian does fit the gay stereotype when we see him crying as this shows his emotional and feminine side. There are also other things though, for example his appearance that doesn't fit a gay stereotype.

Steve and Fiona are two other characters from the opening scenes. They meet at a club and are both clearly straight due to the stereotypes we came up with earlier, and they end up having a sexual encounter that they both believe will be a 'one night stand'. It is apparent to the viewer that Steve and Fiona are both straight as they are obviously attracted to each other and when they are alone, there is romantic music that has purposely been put to play in the background to make the scene more intimate.

Stereotypical aspects of regional identity are shown throughout the opening scenes. This is mainly done by the characters broad northern accents that they all have. It is also apparent to the viewer that they are a poor family. This can be assumed by the clothes they are wearing and where they live. Their clothes look worn and dirty and they live on the 'Chatsworth Estate' which, judging on appearance and using stereotypes, looks like somewhere that a poorer person would live.

Shameless represents stereotypes well and they generally fit in with the ones that we came up with as a class which shows that it is possibly a programme that uses stereotypes to portray its characters. 

Warp Fact Sheet

TV Drama - Generic Conventions

You will find that TV dramas all have the following ingredients:

Characters – even particular kinds of characters: eg, at its most simple, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters.

Stories – they all tell stories, whether those stories involve adventure, crime or romance and they often, but not always, end happily.

The stories are told against familiar backdrops: – eg, homes, police stations and offices (for crime dramas), hospitals (for medical dramas) – most of which are created in studios. However, most dramas also use outside locations to create particular effects.

Camerawork – particular kinds of shots are used: eg, sequences involving establishing shots followed by mid-shots of characters, shot/reverse shots to show character interaction and, in particular,close-ups to show the characters’ emotions.

Stories use dialogue to tell the stories. Occasionally, monologues are built in (as voiceovers, a character telling a story).

Music is used to punctuate the action, create effects (suspense, tension) and underline emotional moments.

Particular subgenres tend to have items which make them immediately identifiable – police cars, blue lights, operating theatres and scalpels, triage/reception areas in hospitals. Icons of the genre, they symbolise the (sub)genre.

Overview of Budget Cuts

Our original budget of £10,000,000 wa cut by a third and therefore, we had to decide which of our above the line costs had to be drppped or reduced first.

We decided to change our B list actors to Z list firstly and by doing this we could help to reduce our budget by a fair amount.

We then changed our director from A list to B list as this meant we could still have qa very good director but it would be cheaper.

After we made these cuts, we decided we had already given the other members of the film crew an amount of money that would also suit this budget so we didnt have to make any further changes.

Rushmore

Is Max a Stereotypical Teenager?

Based purely on the montage sequence at the beginning of the film, it is clear to say that, no; Max is not a stereotypical teenager.

At the beginning of the montage, we see the journal that has bee’s on the front cover. Bee’s may have been used for a few different reasons; they could represent flying to imply that Max ‘flies’ from activity to activity. Or, it could simply be to show that he is in the bee keepers club. Another reasons could be that they are linked with famous sayings, for example ‘busy as a bee’ or ‘the bee’s knee’s’ and these could represent Max and how busy is he is, which goes against the stereotype that teenagers are normally lazy.

The first club that we see Max is a member of is the ‘Yankee Review’ which is the school journal and he is the Publisher of it. This shows that he is in charge of it and likes to be the leader. He is more formally dressed than the other people in the scene and he is standing in the middle. This could show that he likes to be in charge and stand out or he wants to make a good impression. This goes against a stereotypical teenager in terms of fitting in as Max is wearing different clothes to everyone else.

We nest see that Max is the president of the French Club. He stands out from everyone else in the picture and is again wearing his full school uniform, which is different to everyone else. This time he is wearing a red beret and he appears to have no self awareness. This is not how a stereotypical teenager would act, as most would prefer not to be Presidents of clubs in school and stand out in the way which Max does.

In the Model United Nations group, Max is representing Russia. In this scene, Max is again, in the middle of the picture and he is wearing appropriate clothing whilst representing one of the world’s most powerful countries. He is sitting in between students that are representing Mexico and India to help him stand out even more. Using the two other characters in this picture, we can say that Max isn’t a stereotypical teenager as he is sitting very straight and looks interested in what going on, whilst the other two are more slouching and don’t look as bothered about what is going on.

Max is the vice president of the Stamp and Coin club. This is an unusual pastime for a teenager to have. It is noticeable that in this picture, no one else is seen apart from Max which may suggest that he is the only member or the club and therefore he either does it for his own enjoyment. However, a stereotypical teenager may spend most of their spare time with friends, and Max may prefer being on his own.

For the Debating Team, Max is the Captain. He is yet again dressed differently to everyone else which could suggest that he is an outsider. The fact that Max continually wears his school uniform, which is different to what everyone else wears, could be for a few reasons. He may be inexperienced so is not sure what to wear or he may just simply want to express his individuality. However, it could also suggest that Max comes from a poor background and he can’t afford any other posh clothes except his uniform.

From then on, the majority of the clubs shown are to do with sport in some way and for most of these he is the; captain, founder or president. However, taking the Kung Fu club as an example, Max is a yellow belt which is lower than everyone else there. This could be because Max wants to be a part of every club available even if he isn’t the best at it. This shows that he makes the most of every possible opportunity which again goes against the stereotypical teenager.

Based on the whole of the Montage, it appears that Max spends a lot of time on extra curricular activities and probably has not time left for his school work. It is unusual for a teenager to do so much at school and this is the main reasons why I believe he is not a stereotypical teenager.

Production Processes Notes

Production Processes Notes

Analysing Magazine Preliminary

Analysing magazine preliminary

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Financing a Film Idea

Film Financing 2

Lester Burnham

American Beauty

Binary Opposites

Binary opposites

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Magazine Preliminary

Story Board Media

Questions

My first impression of the man when I saw this photo was that he is a man who has little money. I based this judgement on the fact that he was wearing clothes that looked worn and his trouseres are patched up. However, I then noticed that the man was smoking so it occured to me that he maybe does have more money than I first thought. I immediately assumed that the man was possibly homeless, just judging him on his appearance. This assumption changed slightly when i looked at his body language. He is standing very tall and proud in the picture which makes me assume that he is a confident and possibly successful man.

When i found out who the man in the photo was, Doug Bilmaier the head of Ralph Lauren's vintage department, I was suprised but not completely shocked. Once i new his real identity, the aspects of his appearance that made me assume that he was a poor, possibly homeless man began to fade and the body language and other parts of appearance that made him more stereotypical of the man he really is, stood out more.