The product I am studying is the film "La La Land". The plot of this is that the two main characters are drawn to be together as they have a desire of being connected by the things that they love. They are both faced with decisions that they need to make and this it’s a tear in their relationship. Sebastian joins a band and Mia trying to become a successful actress. Years later we find out the decisions that they made before and realised Mia and Sebastian aren't together anymore however there is a feeling that they still have some love for each other and wish that they were.



The film is aimed at couples. Alex is 28 and Charlotte is 32. They enjoy going on dates to the cinema and dining out. They have stressful lives at work and like to take some downtime by watching films and relaxing together. Alex works as an accountant and has a hard time at work with a lot of clients to work with. Charlotte is a teacher in a secondary school and works with older children, she enjoys her job like Alex, it can be stressful at times. Both of them enjoy jazz music and candlelit dinners, but also having adventures like going on walks in the countryside and travelling.

LO3: Narrative Theory

Flash back/ montage - none continuity editing technique (none-linear and breaks reality)

Story - a sequence of events, the plot

Narrative - the techniques used to tell the story, how the story is structured. 

• Claude Levi-Strauss - Binary-Opposition (Good vs Evil)
• Todorov - Progress of a traditional story (19770

Narratology - to study a text through relative theory 

Practice questions - (marked for SPAG)

"Analyse how the production techniques are used to create meaning in a media product you have studied" (12 marks)

"Analyse the concepts of 'narrative' in a media product you have studied" (12 marks)

The product I am studying is the film "La La Land". The plot of this is that the two main characters are drawn to be together as they have a desire of being connected by the things that they love. They are both faced with decisions that they need to make and this its a tear in their relationship. Sebastian joins a band and Mia trying to become a successful actress. Years later we find out the decisions that they made before and realised Mia and Sebastian aren't together anymore however there is a feeling that they still have some love for each other and wish that they were. 

Key Theory 1 - Tim O'Sullivan et al (1998)

All media texts tell us some kind of story. Through careful mediation, media texts offer a way of telling stories about ourselves ( as a culture) through ideologies. These are the beliefs, values and ideals of people which are nailed into us through film and media. 

Wider meanings of the texts are that you have to choose between love and doing the things that they love. There are ideologies of needing to make money to be successful. 

Key Theory 2 - Pam Cook (1985)

The standard Hollywood narrative structure should have:

• Linearity go cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution - The actual narrative structure will solve any problems
• A high degree of narrative closure - No clues or puzzles to things that wasn't resolved
• a fictional world that contains verisimilitude (illusion of realism) especially governed by spatial and temporal coherence (governed by realistic space and time laws)

There is the enigma of how theres a struggle between trying to balance being in love and trying to carry on pursuing and striving for their goal or career that they want. This is then solved as they both manage to pursue what they love, Mia becomes an actress and Sebastian wanting to open his own jazz club but ends up joining a jazzz band but they end up not being together and getting married to someone else. 

Key Theory 3 - Tzetan Todorov (1977)

Stage 1 - a point of stable equilibrium 

Stage 2- the stability is disrupted by some kind of force, which creates a state go disequilibrium 

stage 3 - Action directed against the distortion

Stage 4 - Restoration of a state of new equilibrium 

Mia and Sebastian meet and start to fall for each other. There dreams and aspirations get in the way of their love together. They bother decide to pursue what they love and become successful. Mia ends up with a different partner. 

Key Theory 4 - Claude Levi-Strauss (1958)

Binary oppositions - good vs evil, rich vs poor, men vs women, love vs hate

There is the binary opposition of love vs hate and both Mia and Sebastian act as if they hate each other at first however both begin to fall in love with eachother.

Also there is rich vs poor as at the beginning both the characters are struggling with money however in the end Mia is a successful actress and is very rich. 

Key Theory 5 - Vladimir Propp (1928)

All narratives feature stock characters and that audiences understand stories because of such features

• Villan / Antagonist
• Hero / Protagonist
• Helper / supporter (sidekick)
• Princess (the prize for the hero - not necessarily a person) one that is rescued / saved / helped 

The dream careers are the princess for Mia and Sebastian because this is what both the people are striving to do and want. 

Key Theory 5 - Roland Barthes (1977)

Narrative codes: 

Enigma codes - work to keep up setting problems or puzzles for the audience

Action codes - work to inform the audience. in terms of what is happening in the next shot/scene (always a closeup insert shot edit) 

The enigma codes in La La Land is how 

Action codes 

Camera work and editing techniques 

LO3: Genre Essay Feedback

Holmes HW

The company, Cactus TV, was founded in 1994 by Simon Ross and his wife Amanda Ross. Cactus TV specializes in a broad range of entertainment features and chat shows. Many of its productions are based around Amanda Ross’ passion for things such as cookery and books along with big scale entertainment shows. Cactus TV has so far produced 37 distinct titles in the UK, these were for 9 different channels including ITV and Channel 4. They are renowned for providing outstanding programming to all of the British major broadcaster and were ranked the third biggest supplier to the BBC in 2017’s Broadcast Independent Survey. They have also provided over 210 hours of original content for ITV meaning that they were ranked ITV’s fourth biggest supplier. Cactus TV have also produced the British Soap Awards which is the the highest rated entertainment show on ITV for three years running. Richard and Judy, which was one of Channel 4’s biggest ever commissions, was made daily by Cactus TV for over 8 years. One of the BBC’s most recognizable and hugely popular shows was the live cooking show, Saturday Kitchen Live. This was created by Cactus TV and has even has spin-offs such as the Sunday morning show, Saturday Kitchen Best Bites. The Saturday Kitchen Brand has eve expanded further to include Kitchen Garden ve with the likes of the Hairy Bikers. Cactus TV was under the ALL3Media umbrella however left this in 2012. Due to the culinary routes of some of the shows, Amanda Ross has opened the Cactus Kitchen Cookery School in partnership with Michel Roux Jr. Cactus TV has an unrivaled reputation within the industry due to pioneering advertiser-funded content and programming. Over the last 10 years Amanda has broken record-breaking TV deals with major UK brands which include Galaxy and Specsavers. Cactus TV creates programs aimed at different target audience however most of the programs they create are family friendly. Most of the programs they create are for entertainment, this even includes programs which are more educational.

LO4:

LO2 : Recap Test

"Explain two ways products are advertised to audiences in digital age. Use examples to suport your answer."

In the digital age, products are advertised using social media. This is a type of below the line advertising, this means that it is down to individuals. Social media campaigns can be successful due to people being on their smartphones in todays society and checking social media regulally. An example of a product that is advertised on social media is the film "everything, everything", there are lots of trailer ads shown on social media platforms such as instagram and facebook. Another way that products are advertised are film trailers as these are a form of above the line advertising. This form of advertising is shown to a large audience due to film trai;ers being shown before films at the inema, before films on DVD and also shown on social media. The trailers give a snippit of some of the interesting parts of an up and coming film which will make people want to watch it.

Identify three channels of distribution that are considered successful in digital age in terms of products reaching audience. Justify your answer.

Video on demand services are one channel of distribution. This is intregrated into things like Netflix because it is a service that provides many different programs and films on demand. This means that people can view films that they might not nececerally know about or entitled to watch as they come up in the suggested section so that reaches a wider audience. Another channel of distribution is TV, this is done by adverts in between programs. These are repetative and mean that ideas get put into a person head so that they are more likely to buy the product. One other channel of distribution that is successful in the digital age is social media. This is effective for products to reach audiences as so many people use social media nowerdays so therefore it will reach a range

LO1 : Mock Test

• Examples of products needed. - Real companies and real products. 

* LO3 : Genre

Media companies like to use the same genres as it helps the company create profit as the audience knows what to expect.

Key Theory - Barry Keith Grant (1995)
All genres have subgenres which is a genre within a genre. 

Key Theory - Rick Altman (1999) 
Genre offers pleasure

• Emotional Pleasures- happy, sad, nostalgic 
• Visceral Pleasure- "gut" responses (physical feelings), excitement, fear, laughter 
• Intellectual Puzzles- Makes the audience think and want to solve the enigma 

Key theory - Patrick Phillips 
 Genre offeres audiences comfortable reassurance. Genres fulfil audience expectations by following predictable patterns - we know what to expect from a text. 

Key theory - Branston and Stafford (1999)
Genres:

• Help to minimise risk and predict expenditure
• Are a blueprint to success
• Genre conventions also make it easier to market and sell products

Key Theory- David Bordwell (1989) 

Any theme may appear in any genre

• Theme - the ideas, ideaologies, concepts, "myths" that are encoded into a media text. 

The Girl on the Train
The film is in the genre of thriller. The subgenre of this is psychological thriller. This can be seen through the use of:

Girl on the train has themes of:

• Motherhood
• Mental illness- alcoholism
• Betrayal

The purpose of camerawork:

• Involve the audiencee in the scene/narrative
• Create spectacle (excitement)

Camera work is divided into:

• Shot types 
• Camera movement 
• Camera angles 

Medium long shot- Show the character and
their key props

Wide shot/ long shot (WS/LS)- see characters on their key locations

Extreme long shot- used to show a character in a location
before an enigma.

Medium close up- Draws attention to key character.
Uses a narrow depth of field

Extreme close-up - Gives the audience key information about
the narrative or story and helps them solve an enigma.
Also used to show fear

Two Shot- shows the relationship between two characters

Crowd Shot- To show the relationships between
different characters

Close Up (CU) - The connotations of this
shot type are to show emotions of
 the main characters feeling

Enabling Shot- 

Connotations of a low angle shot- 

• Strength 
• dominance 
• power

The audience will see the protagonist when this angle of shot is used as this is the good character or the main character

Connotations of a high angle shot- 

• subordinate
• vulnerable 

The audience will see the antagonist as this is a character who could be seen as a "damsel in distress".



Dutch or Canted angle

• Unease
• Disorientation
• Add to the spectacle and action

Camera movement is one of the most important ways for a director to create spectacle for an audience 

Tracking shot 

paling movement- camera movement from left to right or visa versa. Also used to create a sense of movement or action too. 

Tilt shot

This is where the camera moves or sweeps up or down. This is used to exaggerate movement/action and create spectacle. 

Tracking shot

This is where the camera follows the subject on a dolly or track. This is to exaggerate movement/action and create spectacle (running/car race). 

LO3 :

Meaning or macro ideas and elements are made up of micro elements. Codes and conventions are the "ingredients" that make up a specific genre of a product.

Technical conventions that we call micro elements fall into four areas for audio-visual products.

Mise-en-scene - Everything in the shot
Camerawork techniques
Editing techniques
Sound

• Scientific things
• Technology - iconography (things in the background that represent a certain place or time period)
• death - fire colour
• Wearing boiler suits with face masks- lycra so they can move quickly
• different locations - set in space
• night and day shifts -night signifies danger
• special effects - explosions
• sad music with a voiceover - eerie
• High tech lighting 
• medical rooms & tables 

Genre os a critical tool that helps us to duty texts and audience responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements. These common elements are called generic conventions/ characteristics/ elements or tropes.

All genres have subgenres which is a genre within a genre. 

LO2 : Key Terms

Technological convergence - The coming together of media technologies to provide new services for the audience e.g the creation of smartphones (phone, internet, apps, camera, microphone, telephone, bluetooth, touchscreen, computer, wifi)

Synergy - When a company cross promotes across different media products to maximise the success of a product

Cross Media Ownership - When a company owns a range of media sectors
Black Box Devices - Smartphone or sky box. Convergence culture - Henry Jenkins 2006.

Technological convergence has changed how advertising by allowing advertisers to advertise on a range of different platforms like social media instead of just using traditional platforms like print and television advertising.

Above the line advertising - any advertising that reaches a mass audience whether it is digital or traditional. These are the likes of TV adverts, billboards, magazine and film trailers.

Below the line advertising - advertising that targets individuals. This could be things such as flyers, social media, popup ads and emails.

Timeshifting - watching TV at different times due to on demand services. Traditional TV is still set to a time schedule.