Representation
3rd October 2017
Representation Definition: The description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way
Media Representation: Representation is concerned with the way that people, ideas and events are presented to us by the media
This could be represented in magazines, news, soaps, films, TV game shows etc.
The Media rely on the audience understand these representations and accepting them.
It is not possible for the media to present the world as it really is (reality). This is because the media constructs meanings about the world and therefore they change or mediate what is really there.
Re presentation: The media re-presents the world to the audience. The ideas are a representation of the reality
Further Research of Re-presentation:
A few days after the research of re-presentation, I stumbled upon an interview with Michael Dougherty, the Director for the upcoming American Godzilla sequel set to release in 2019. I noticed that his life is very similar in many ways. In this interview he stated that "A film doesn't have to always have to be about entertainment value or blood and guts" which links into Re-presentation of films being mediated by the media. To put Godzilla into context, Godzilla is a metaphor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Furthermore, the latest 2016 instalment was the second reboot of the franchise in 60 years and was a metaphor for more than the original 1954 and was also the metaphor for the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011.
I made another version of my re-presentation poster but this time on the original 1954 Godzilla
Who is represented?
4th October 2017
Lifestyle Class Age Gender Ethnicity Sexuality (This is not the same as for Audience)
Lack of representation - is one group of people, place or situation being represented more than another?
How are they represented to us? Through the uses of micro elements (media languages, technical and cultural codes)
Mise en Scene
31st October 2017
Definition: A French term meaning what is put into a scene or frame.
Visual information in the frame
Communicates essential information to the audience, Represents people, places and events.
5 Examples and Elements that make up Mis en Scene:
1. Setting & Props
During the time of release, Godzilla was only shown in major cinemas around Tokyo. The city in which Godzilla is attacking happens to be Tokyo; during its path of destruction, the monster destroyed the miniature TOHO theatre which is one of the main cinema that the movie is being shown at. Since there were no movie of the genre back then and with the recent World War II that happened 9 years prior, this lead to audience getting freaked out so badly that the fled out of the venue in fear that the cinema is actually under attack. This is shown through various low angle shots and footage slowed down to calculate for it's immense size.
2. Costume, Hair and Make Up
In both of the movies and throughout the 60 years franchise, we can see Godzilla having a more rough texture rather than scales that are typically found on a lizard or amphibians. Reasons for this is because TOHO Studios, the conglomerate behind Godzilla wanted the monster to have a skin that resembles skins and wounds that are exposed to nuclear radiation to represent the victims who suffered or either died through the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Image in between the two Godzillas show an example of what the skin will look like if it's exposed to high amount of nuclear radiation.
3. Lighting & Colour
Perhaps the most subtle element in all 5 of the elements but if it is executed properly, it could be very effective. In the film Shin Godzilla (2016), the colour grading and lighting is combined together in a way which makes the skin tones of the character posses a yellow hue to it. The reason of TOHO Studios for doing this is because it is to show the audience that that the characters are Asian and not any other race.
4. Facial Expression & Body Language
This element is the way we as audiences and the film connects. We can know exactly how the character is feeling just simply by looking at their body languages and facial expressions. In Shin Godzilla, there consist of over 300 lead characters with such memorable faces that tell story of their own. Fear, frustration, terror, determination, grit, helplessness, anger, sadness, despair, and relief are just a few words that describe those faces.
5. Blocking/ Composition Positioning of character/ objects within the frame
Ensure that everything in short film had been chosen wisely and represents something to do with the film e.g. preferred reading, character, genre and helps the audience understand the film and add meaning to it.
link 5 elements to gratifly
Tzevetan Todorov's Narrative Theory
7th November 2017
Today the team and I researched on Todorov's Narrative Theory. We found out that our film does not fit in with this theory as GratiFly does not go beyond the repair stage. As the protagonist attempts at repairing the situation however he is oppressed by the power bloc and could not get out of the hegemonic structure. In this video we try to make GratiFly works with the theory.
Stages of Narrative
1. The Equilibrium - Everything is normal
2. The Disruption - Something happens
3. The Recognition - Realisation that there is a problem
4. The Repair - Take steps to correct the problem
5. The Restoration - Return to normality