Basics of Media

Media language:
It is the way in which the meaning of a media text is conveyed to the audience. One of the ways Media Language works is to convey meaning through signs and symbols suggested by the way a scene is set up and filmed. Audience perceive meanings from what they are being shown for example if a red rose is being focused on then it may represent romance and love however if a red fluid is being shown then it may represent blood and danger giving the audience an indication that things might go wrong or problems might arise 

Camera:
While filming it is very important to keep the camera angles in mind similarly these angles are set according to the need of the scene for example if a character has to be shown in as superior or more powerful then a low angle would be used in order to make it more realistic and give the audience the feeling that yes this character does have an edge over the other character, Camera includes a vast variety of features which consists of rule of thirds, camera movement, 180° rule, balance and camera shots etc. if one of these factors go wrong then the entire filming will be affected


Mise-en-scene:
This includes props, lighting, the placement of objects, location, costumes, acting and the expressions of the characters etc. hence all the visual elements present in a scene. The audience may not realize this but these elements in plays and movies help guide their attention towards what the film maker and producer want them to focus on.

Editing:
Editing refers to the way sound and images are assembled to tell a story, this consists of jump cuts, visual effects, flow of shots, pace of continuity, fade out, dissolve, cut away match on action and many more. Editing is the invisible effort put into the film which is not usually noticed by the audience however the film is incomplete without it and if the editing is not on point a very well executed film might also not succeed. Hence Editing is another imperil part of film making 


 Sound:
Sounds make the audience connect more with the film that they are watching this makes them dive into the film itself as the sensation and intensity of the situation can be felt through the sounds by the viewer for example incidental music is played in situations in order to create certain atmospheres according to the situation being shown this helps connect the audience more with the situation and if the situation shown is critical then these sounds help intensify the viewers emotions creating suspense and interest. Diegetic non diegetic, synchronous, non synchronous sounds and sound bridge/effects/motif etc. All these sounds play a vital role in the formation of a film worth watching for the viewers.

semiotics

SEMIOTICS AND DECODING MEANINGS:

INTRODUCTION OF SEMIOTICS:

- Semiotics is basically the study of signs and symbols.

This term refers to how signs and symbols are used to communicate and develop interpretations.

ADVANTAGES OF SEMIOTICS:

- Allows us to break down a message into its component parts and examine them separately and in relationship to one another.

- Allows us to look for patterns across different forms of communication.

-Helps us to understand how our cultural and social

conventions relate to the communication we create and consume.

-Helps us to get beyond the obvious which may not be obvious after all.

SIGNS AND SYMBOLS:

- Sign is a symbol which is understood to refer to

something other than itself - Symbol is an object that represents, stands for or suggest an idea or visual images.

This picture has been taken from the internet for a better understanding of semiotics

 FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE:

-He was a Swiss linguistic who created the term “semiotics”. He distinguished between Signifier and Signified. According to him a Sign is made up of:

Signifier 

- The image or sound that gives a meaning e.g. blue colour Signified.

-The concept or meaning that the sign refers to e.g. blue colour is often associated with sadness or the sea.

-Therefore for a sign to be considered a sign it must have a signifier and the signified.

-Saussure argues that words are verbal signifiers that are personal to whoever is interpreting them.

- A signifier can have many different representations which can turn into a different sign.

RONALD BARTHES 

He was a French literary theorist , critic and like Saussure was also interested in semiotics. His semiotic theory focuses on how signs and photographs represent different cultures and ideologies in different ways. These messages are established in two ways through: 

      -Denotation • The literal meaning of the sign.

      - Connotation • The suggested meaning of the sign and the cultural conventions associated with the sign

 

STUART HALL:

- He is a cultural theorist and sociologist.

- Hall's encoding/decoding model is a part of the reception theory that looks at how audience interpret and respond to particular medium whether it be a newspaper or television show.

- He said that the institutions encode a particular media message which creates a new form of communication and then the audience decodes this meaning using their own methods of logical interpretation.

- For Hall the denotation an connotation process is an analytical tool.

-He also argues that it is very rare for signs to signify their literal meaning in the world and most of the signs will combine both the denotative and connotative process and work simultaneously together to create meaning.

- He also argued that for those decoding readings there can be a number of unlimited readings and that the decoding process is "polysemic" meaning that one text can have a number of meanings.

Camera Techniques

RESEARCH INTO CAMERA TECHNIQUES :

WHAT WILL WE BE DOING IN As?

COURSEWORK OUTLINE 

in our course we are to focus on two aspects;
-Theory
-Practical aka Foundation Portfolio 
Our theory will be consisting of 'Media Language' and texts as well as Institutions and Audiences.' 
Will be tackling the media language which includes;
CAMERA, MISE-EN-SCENE, EDITING, AND SOUND 
and how institutions use these elements to convey a certain message, while also looking at the many different theories included on what each institution tries to do while conveying any message through the use of media  for example: 
Laura Mulvey's theory of the camera holding a male gaze and many more 
The 'Foundation Portfolio 'includes the making of a 2 minute short film opening all while implementing the elements of media language creativity!!
the short film is supposed to have an ENIGMA leaving the audience in a state of awe and extreme curiosity as to what will occur next!

Team crew

 Here is my team along with their positions

Azka Imran

Cameraman

Screenwriter

non-linear editor

researcher

Assistant director

collection of evidence for the blog

Fatima Iqbal

Cameramen

Producer 

Director

Researcher

Huma Mubeen 

collection of evidence for the blog

Making BTS

Introduction

My name is Azka Imran and I made this blog in order to build my portfolio for media studies which  is one of my major subjects in A levels, I want to share what I experience and learn on my new journey towards cinematography📷📷