Critical Analysis: Film/ Genre Review

Audience Theory: Hypodermic Needle and Uses and Gratifications etc...

This is a short video of me outlining the differences between the Hypodermic Needle theory, Uses and Gratification and receptive theory in regards to the audience and  mass media productions.

DVD Menu Design and Authorizing

IS DVD DEAD?

DVD (Digital Video Disc) is an option disc storage invented and developed by Phipps, Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba in the year 1995. Even though it has only been accessible to the world for only  18 years, its has left a great lasting effect on the evolvement of the technology formats.

A normal format of a DVD case/ packaging is simple. It would usually have a still image of the lead actors and supporting actors, which relate to the premise of the film. This image could either be taken from the movie or shot for the fabrication of the DVD. It will definitely have a title and a caption that, again compliments the narrative of the film.

An example of what the portrait of a DVD cover should look like is from one of my favourite comedic films: The Proposal.
The rear of the DVD is also shown there.
On the back you would find a short synopsis of what the film is about, exactly like you would find the blurb on the back of a book. It is that small piece of information that will make people rent or buy that DVD when reading it.
In order to persuade people further, it will most likely include reviews from magazines and newspapers and star ratings. At the bottom you can find a copyright infringement declaration. They will specify an age rating certificate to show exactly who it's appropriate for and the running time of the film.

The conventions of a DVD:

The feature menu on a DVD includes more information that the viewer might want. It will usual have a soundtrack playing in the background and moving images or animation from the film.
The menus may consist of:

• Play Movie: To play the full feature length of the film
• Scene Selections: This is so the viewers can choose the scenes they want to watch as opposed to sitting through the whole film waiting for 'their Part' to come on
• Deleted scenes: These are usually the scenes that could have been in the final film but had been decided against in the end for whatever reason. (I personally, like this options as it changes my whole prospective on a film and gives me the chance to see alternative endings.  
• Directors Notes: This is the least common of all the features. It is just a few words from the Director and/or Producers and actors to explain a little about the film, their inspiration behind it and what they aimed to achieve. 
• Outtakes/ Behind the Scenes:  This is a good way for the audience to see the making process of the film and the mess up made by the cast and crew. 

Most of the time the animation and still images can be found on the actually DVD CD instead of just having a blank DVD. I've put an example of this on the left. 

DVD VS EVOLUTION 

Over the years, as the media platform/formats have developed it prompts to ask the question; Is DVD dead? Or even dying? 

First came, the Video Cassett, then DVD's, now Blu-Ray....what is next? 

There are so many online media film co-operations currently running such as Netflex and Love Film that it makes streaming movies from anywhere around the world so easy, what's the point in using DVD's anymore? Some may argue that having a physical DVD is better as you may get a better quality film (HD) and the novelty of having a menu section is useful. However, major film and games stores are shutting down such as blockbuster making it harder to purchase a DVD should you ever want to. 

The Blu-Ray Disc seems like the DVD's only competitor as of yet and the market for it is vastly growing. With it only having been released in 2006 it has taken the world by storm. It has a 50 Gigabytes of memory available on it and it is ideally used for feature length films. The name Blu-Ray, refers to the Blue laser around the ring of the CD which is used to read the disc.  

Despite all that, people still tend to collect DVD's in the form of television show series box sets and film sequels which I think is still encouraging. 

In all, I do agree that DVD is dying in some way. I don't believe that it is still as highly valued as it once was. I, personally cannot remember the last time I physically watched a DVD, so I hope that's testimony enough to back up my points above.

Analysis of Installation: THE BOX

Before starting my installation, as always we had to begin with the pre-production.
I researched three famous installation artist, Sam Taylor Wood, Bill Viola and Matthew Barney. One thing that they all had in common was meaning behind their art. As opposed to just creating an installation for the sake of getting through the college unit, I wanted to produce something with a little more depth.

Thus, The Box.  The concept shows how easily us, as members of society conform to what we see on television, sometimes subconsciously . The boxes represent us as empty vessels waiting to be used and filled up. We have no identity excepted what is imputed into us, much like the hypodermic needle theory.

I decided to produce my installation with Gill, which turned out to be a good decision. We made mind maps, story boards, mood boards and more in order to prepare ourselves for the shooting.

The shooting was harder than we anticipated to be honest. We knew what we wanted our end project to look, however finding the best way to film was tricky. We tried most things, until finally settling with red colour gel sheets over the light lambs whilst filming, in aim to captivate our audience and allow them to be taken on our journey.

We used the photography studio for location, two DSLR cannon HD cameras and tripod for equipment.

The editing process, seemed the most challenging. As we were creating an installation, we had to use a lot of transactions and effects that we wouldn't have normally used. Adding and deleting footage which may have made the final piece look a bit distorted, but that was the risk Gill and I took and by the looks of things, it paid off. I believe we spent about two weeks trying to find the best soundtrack for our video. We need something that complimented what was happening on screen and two we finally choose, definitely did that.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Video Installation unit more so than I thought I would.
I hope that our audience enjoy and relate to our work too, and understand what we were trying to achieve.

Three Visual Artist (Video Installation)

My Three Installation Artist

Sam Taylor-Wood

London, Croydon’s born and bred, Samantha Taylor Wood was born on 4^th March 1967.

She’s known as an English Film Marker, photographer and visual artist. Many people would remember her for having directed ‘Nowhere Boys’ which followed the lives of famous Liverpool band: The Beatles. This film starred, Aaron Taylor-Johnson who is now her husband.

During the years she has be responsible for making some of the most controversial video installations of her time. Her first; Still Life, shows a bowl of fruit rotting over a period of months in slow motion. Taylor-Wood had beaten cancer twice before hitting 35 years. The virus attacked her once in her colon and the other in her breast. When asked about her inspiration behind the ‘Still Life’ installation, she said ‘I saw it as more of how our bodies decay but our thoughts endure. Pens are use to document our thoughts... And the impression we leave in this world is not by the physical presence of the body, but the thoughts we implant unto others’. The second installation is a more disturbing one in my opinion. It has the power to make you feel uncomfortable, on edge and frankly disgusted. However, having said that, you are yet unable to take your eyes away from the screen. ‘A Little Death’ sees a rabbit body decaying, again over a period of months.

Bill Viola

Viola was born on the 25^th January 1952 in New York, USA. He is a contemporary visual artist. He is considered the leading figure of artist in New Media. His works mainly focus on the ideas behind the fundamental human experiences such as birth, death and aspects consciousness.

Whilst researching the works of Bill Viola, I came across one of his installation videos called ‘Emergency’ which I thought was absolutely stunning. It shows a man emerging out of what looks like a well full of water. Keeping in line with Viola’s nature of Art, the video is presented in an extreme slow motion. There are two women sitting at beside the well as this man rises. His body is pale and almost lifeless. Viola says his inspiration behind ‘Emergency’ was a picture he once saw of Jesus Christ but, argues that this art piece is not linked to religion.

He almost always involves the usage of water in his video as it brings out a nostalgic feeling for him.

Matthew Barney

Barney was born 25^th March 1967 in CA, USA.  He is an American artist who dabbles in sculpturing, photography and film. His most famous piece was a project which took 8 years to produce, from 1994-2002 called ‘The Cremaster cycle’. It’s a combination of five feature length films which consist of different art methods. This piece of art primarily explored the cycle of creation.  ‘The Guardian’ described it as ‘"one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-grande cinema.”

Viewing of Installation: THE BOX

PREPRODUCTION FOR DVD: Screen Grabs

Amiee Wolf and Gill Ucar's Video Installation: THE BOX

Video Installation: PRE PRODUCTION.

Photography Evaluation

During this unit, we were given the opportunity to experiment and try our hands at something completely different. To launch ourselves into the unit, we were asked to research different types of photography and then make a presentation concentrating mainly on two types. I choose to focus on the two genres of photography that mostly interested me; War and Fashion. The presentation had to include what these photographies achieve, how they were used, how the photographers made money from them. I also had to compare the similarities and difference of War and Fashion photography.

Having complete task one, I looked closely at the cannon DSLR's camera and learnt how use the settings to capture the images I wanted. I then familiarised myself with these settings by producing, blured motion, shutter zoom, frozen movement shadow depth of field, light graffiti and large depth of field photography.

Using all the new skills I had now learnt, it was time to produce my own set of photographic images. Having had the chance to play around with and research different types of photography, establishing the kind of photos I wanted to produce came easily to me. I initially decided to produce Music photography, but changed my mind later on. After looking for a plan B, I finally settled on Commercial fashion photography.

With my mind made up, I began to Pre produce my final images. This consisted of me creating a mood board of the images I wanted. I also started to contact the people I wanted to use during the shoot and plan out my photo shoot concept in the form of a video pitch and mind map. The pre production stage of this unit, for me was one of the most rapid and enjoyable of any other units I've produced in the past. Everything seemed to occur according to plan and when scheduled. 

However, the day of the shoot could have ran much smoother. Although the photo studio was booked for 10am, CWC technicians were not available therefore delayed our setting up process, so forcing the shoot to start much later.  Unfortunately, the fire alarm at the college was set off, again eating into our shooting time. Aside from those little misfortunes, overall it was a good shoot. 

The Post Production stage was amazing as I learned how to use Photoshop to professionally edit the my final images. I took over 200 images and had to choose 10 pictures that had the most potential. That was difficult, so insisted the help of Mahan and Ngozi in helping me decide which was helpful.

I think I've worked very hard and well with the time I had. I used a professional photography studio with a plain infinity backdrop. I feel that the ambient lighting used created an elegance and simplicity to the final images. During the post production, I familarised myself with the photo editing software, Photoshop which professionals use when adding the final touches to their photos. I tried my best to create a professional atmosphere all throughout the shooting process by actually hiring a professional model (Ava Roeg) and make-up artist (Ngozi Amaechi) to help out. I provided our visitors with a refreshment table that they could help themselves to in between shots and wardrobe for my model of a set of outfits that I wanted her to wear during our shoot. I think some of my pictures would look and suit the style of Glamour magazine because of the minimal background and set used therefore bring attention to the outfits being shown.

In all, I enjoyed this project much more than I thought I would. I was highly apprehensive when I first found out what the unit was. I think I surprised myself. I think that my final images have some levels of professionalism. From what some of my classmates have said they can pass as features in a printed magazine or online magazine which I'm very pleased about. 

PRE-PRODUCTION FOLDER

Emails sent out to all those involved in the shoot, making sure they knew what would happen on the day and what to bring along. 

PRE PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHY

Final 10 Photography Images

The Photographic images below are the pictures I've produced of commercial fashion photography. They've been created for an online magazine as opposed to a printed magazine to advertise the latest trends.