Workshop 2

                                                      Work shop 2

For this workshop we as a class looked at the movie Shaun of the dead. We had to look at and analyse two scenes from the film and see how they differ from one another in the sense of the sound effects used whether the sound fx was diegetic or non diegetic to the scene, we also looked at the music and whether that too was deistic or non diegetic. The two scene were the about the main character Shaun doing his daily routine, the first scene that we saw was Shaun doing his routine of him getting out of his house and going to the shop encountering things on the there such as a man asking for change. Where as the second scene we again see Shaun getting out his house but due to his current break up, he is completely oblivious to the aspects around him such as the people who were in the first scene either not doing there daily routine or were zombies and the aspects such as the continuous dining of the unanswered phone,  with the sound effects of birds singing in the morning, the opening of a gate, when he trips on the step ect. Each pair was assigned a scene to look at, my partner and i was assigned to analyse the second scene. Between the two of us we split up the sound fx and music, i decided to look at the sound effects where as my partner looked at the music. We both had to pay attention to whether what we was looking at was diegetic or non dietetic or whether their was a sound bridge. 

After we looked at the two scenes from the film, We then as a class looked at the film 'God Father', are objective was to watch the scene from the film and explain how the sound effects and music effect the mood and the meaning. for example at the end of the scene music was played, the music conveyed the mood that the scene was over and that the worse had been done. 

We then had to in our pairs pick a scene of our own and analyse the same aspects such as the sound effects and music. The person i was paired up with was Cynthia Ankunda the film that we picked to look at was Underworld the Awakening. We picked this film simply because its an action film which means there would be a wide range of sound effects and music. The scene which we picked from the film was when the main characters goes to save her love and encounters numerous threats and enemies on the way. Due to the fact this was basically a fighting scene there was a lot of sound effects such as punching and kicking.

Furthermore their were an equal amount of diegetic and non diegetic sound, some of the diegetic sounds used were the emphasis on the punching sound, and the sound of when the main character crushed the threats head. These dietetic sounds were used to create an excitement mood for the audience and make the scene exhilarating  and thrilling. Some the diegetic sounds used were things in the film such as the helicopters  shooting, slashing of blood, kicking, punching ect. The use of all these diegetic sounds create the mood of the film, the atmosphere that is conveyed through these sounds is thrilling and the emotional response from the audience is excitement and amusement. In addition the sounds used also give the audience a sense of the genre of the film which is action.  the timing for these sound effects were extremely good and made the sequence more realistic and created the right mood. 

There were some non diegectic sounds used in the film to convey the mood and meaning of the film. Some of the non diegectic sounds used were some of the shootings and explosions. The use of theses sound set the scene of the film but also made it more realistic to the audience. Furthermore these sounds also supported the excitement of the emotional response from the audience and again portray the action genre of the film. In addition the music used for this scene was synchronous to the action that were happening in the scene, furthermore the music also conveyed a exciting and thrilling mood, and also conveyed the genre of the film which is action. in addition the timing again was at the right moment creating an at ion like atmosphere. 

i didn't feel as if anything in this workshop needed to be improved on, i think well looked at and analysed the film sequence well. Doing this workshop has opened my eyes to all the things such diegectic and non diegectic sounds that have an effect on the mood and meaning and should help me for future reference such as when i  am looking and another film sequence or create my own using sound effects and music. 

Task 2: Moving Image Soundtrack report

Task 2: Moving Image Soundtrack                                   report

                          Vampire Diaries-Tv shows  

Voice-over- Elena: Dear diary I couldn't have been more wrong, I thought I could smile and nod my way though it. Pretend like it would all be okay. Stephan: I had a plan I wanted to change who was create a life as someone new, someone without the past, Elena: without the pain. Both: someone alive. Elena: but its not that easy the bad things stay with you, they follow you. Stephan: you can’t escape them as much as you want too. Elena: all you can do is be ready for the good, so when it comes you invite it in because you need it, I need it.


In this scene the director has used voice-over for two of the characters.  Outside the diegesis the voice-over is used to give the audience information, but in this case it was to express and convey the main characters personal thought to the audience. Furthermore it also gives the audience a better understanding of the characters, from the voice-over in this scene what the characters portrayed and were feeling to me was that they were both understood and hurting because they both suffered a great loss, the crossing from the main characters voice-overs told me that they both felt the same way and could relate to one another. Also what was being said in the voice-over also conveyed the genre of the film, due to the fact that the voice-overs were a male and female and the voice-over were cut between them both, telling the audience their feelings and tells the audience that the characters have some relations with each other which portrays a drama and romantic genre.


In addition the voice-over in a way tells or hints to the audience the narrative of the scene; it tells the audience that the male and female audience will be the main characters of the narrative.

The mood in which the voice-over portrays to the audience is quite serious, I think the atmosphere of the voice-over is serious because what is said in the voice-over tells me that both characters have been through a lot of pain and that they wanted to leave the past and the pain behind, and become a new person who is happy and lives for the moment. But reality hit them and they both realized that its not so easy to leave the past behind, its easy to say you will and tell yourself you will be happy but deep down both characters no that you cant just leave the past behind. Which is quite a serious topic in itself. In addition the emotions that the audience gets from the voice over are that the characters are very wise but also a sad and unhappy emotion due to what again is being said in the voice-over, for example one of the things said in the voice-over is 'its not that easy, the bad things stay with you', that tells you that the character is quite unhappy due to past events. In addition the timing of voiceover comes in a good time it helps to create the right mood that the tvshow is trying to pot ray.


In this scene the music used is 'The Fray- never say never', the meaning that the audience gets from the music is the plot in a way. I say this because the music in a way is saying that you cant give up and that you never know what might happen next, so this tells the audience that there something more to come in the characters life and that something is going to happened to her life or that she going to meet someone who will perhaps make them stronger but also give them a reason to live in life. The timing of the song also supports this, the song comes it at the right moment so instantly sets the mood for this scene. Also in the song the words 'don't let me go' are said quite a lot which tells the audience that perhaps the genre would be romance due to this reference and relations to the scene it is being played in. In addition the mood of the music, is quit hopeful in a way I say this because the words ' you can never say never' is said quite a bit which tells the audience that things might change for the better for the character which gives a very hopeful and optimistic atmosphere. Furthermore the emotional response that is stirred up in the audience is a romantic and lovely feeling dues to not only the scene but the use of music. 

Additionally the music is a non diegetic sound because the soundtrack music doesn't come from anything in the field of vision, it is something that only the audience can hear and has been added in the editing process I think that the music was added to this particular seen to add a significant meaning to this particular scene as if to say that this is where everything begins but also to give the scene bigger and better impact of the scene and create a romantic mood to the audience.


Diegetic sound is used in the scene of the door when the character opens the door we hear the sound of the door opening. The timing of this sound was well in synch with the moving image on the scene, so this made this very effective. I think that the diegetic sound is added to maybe emphasis and symbolize the opening of the door a way of the main character also opening the door to her life to the person at the door. Furthermore when she close the door behind the character the sound is used again to maybe symbolize that she has let the person into her world/life. Also the use f the diegetic sound of the door opening sound gives more of a realistic and convincing sound to the audience. All of the other sounds in the seen are muted all the audience hears is the opening of the door this is perhaps to emphasis on this sound.


Sound Bridge is used in this scene, instead of sound the music is continues across or onto the next cut. The use of this is also well timed in with the scene, so is more effective for the audience. For example at the start of the scene it shows a girl in her bedroom sitting on her window shelf and the music is playing in the background, then the scene changes to a guy in his bedroom and the music is still being played in the background. In the scene there is about four cuts each with the music being continued into the next scene.


In the scene dialogue is used to convey the meaning and mood to the audience. The dialogue used in this scene was set outside Elena house. Stephan: I know it’s late, but I needed to know that you were okay. Elena: you know for month that's all anyone's wondered about me, if I will be okay. Stephan: what do you tell them? Elena: that I'll be fine. Stephan: do you ever mean it? Elena: ask me tomorrow. Elena: its warmer in the house we can talk, would you like to come in? Stephan: yes. This dialogue used gives the audience an understanding or the genre; it portrays a dramatic and romance genre. It also gives the audience an understanding of the characters and their relationship; from the dialogue used it tells you that the characters are just getting to know one another and that they care for each other as well. In addition the dialogue used also tells the audience that these two characters will be the focus of the narrative and plot due to the focus on this scene. 


         

                  Mortal Instruments City Of Bones-Films


Dialogue -Jace: No one comes up here any more we have the place to ourselves. Clary: this is breath taking.  Jace: Sorry there’s no cake. Clary: Well I was expecting nothing so this is great. Jace: Everyone should get something for their birthday. Clary: hmm what did you get, Jace: weapons obviously, I sure that doesn’t surprise you, clary: at this point nothing does, Jace: when I was nine my father gave me a falcon told me to make it obedient, I was suppose to make the bird blind but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, instead touch and stroked it wings until it trusted me, I tamed it to perfection I took it to my father expecting him to be proud of what I’d done. he said i told you make it obedient, instead you taught it to love you, you didn’t tam it you broke it, he took the bird and broke its neck, I cried all night, never cried again clary: did you ever forgive him, Jace: he did it to make me stronger, clary (takes Jace hand, looks at his ring) does that stand for Wallan? Jace: (nods) mid night watch this, (music starts playing), clary: when a girls says she wants a big rock, she doesn’t actually mean a big rock, Clary: we have company. Jace: that’s Hogers bird, we should probably go, clary: (nods reluctantly, then falls onto Jace, they both kiss) (starts to rain) Jace: (laughs) yeah we should definitely go.


In this scene the director has used spoken word to give meaning to the scene, the dialogue used in this scene was intended on setting a romantic type atmosphere By the dialogue the audience can tell that the two main characters are getting to know each other this conveys a relaxed and sweet emotion to the audience. When the guy says 'Jace: when I was nine my father gave me a falcon told me to make it obedient I was suppose to make the bird blind but I couldn't bring myself to do it, instead touch and stroked it wings until it trusted me, I tamed it to perfection I took it to my father expecting him to be proud of what I’d done.

He said I told you make it obedient, instead you taught it to love you, you didn't tam it you broke it, he took the bird and broke its neck, I cried all night, never cried again Clary: did you ever forgive him, Jace: he did it to make me stronger' this changes the atmosphere a little bit, the atmosphere becomes very tense and heartbreaking as the guy tells the girl his sad past, this conveys a sad emotion to the audience. By this dialogue it also conveys the personality of the character to the audience, from what the guy says it tells the audience that he’s had a difficult life and could only depend on himself but also his relationship with his father wasn’t good at all and that they weren’t very close. Furthermore by the dialogue used, it also hints to the audience of the many genres the film has that is romance. In addition from the dialogue it also hints to the audience what part of the narrative is going to be about, it tells us that part of the story is going to be about these two characters getting closer. The emotional response that the audience would get from this dialogue is we would feel sympathetic, towards the male character due to what he is telling us. 

Documentary Conventions in Bowling for Columbine and The Lift

      Documentary Conventions in Bowling                         for Columbine and The Lift

After watching both of the two documentaries which were ' The life' and 'Bowling for columbine', I realised they both had a immense amount of similarities and differences in terms of the conventions used to convey the documentaries.

                                          Bowling for Columbine 

There were a fair amount of conventions used in both of the documentaries  For bowling for columbine one of the many conventions that was used in this documentary was interviewed. There were a series of interviews used, the director used this conventions to find out more about the issue his documentary was based on which was weaponry  In a part of his documentary people were blaming teenagers violent rebellion and causes due to the rock singer Marilyn Mason, the director interviewed the formal star wanted to get his opinion on what he thought of people blaming him of teenagers for doing acts of violence and what he were the cause of kids being violent. Manson opinions on the general public of america blaming him for teenage violent rebellion was that, the public are just looking for someone to blame and due to the fact that he represents bad aspects such as suicide, killing and violence he was the perfect and reasonable fit for the blame.He quoted ' I do know that, and I think that's really ironic, that nobody said 'well maybe the President had an influence on this violent behaviour  Because that's not the way the media wants to take it and spin it, and turn it into fear, because then you're watching television, you're watching the news, you're being pumped full of fear, there's floods, there's AIDS, there's murder, cut to commercial, buy the Acura, buy the Colgate, if you have bad breath they're not going to talk to you, if you have pimples, the girl's not going to fuck you, and it's just this campaign of fear, and consumption, and that's what I think it's all based on, the whole idea of 'keep everyone afraid, and they'll consume.' Furthermore he voice his opinion when saying that he thinks the government have more of an influence than he does, so in other words the government are to blame for the teenage violence. The use of interviews was good because it gave you a deeper look into the subject matter, also it gave a realistic feel to the subject matter and showed you all the people who were either the cause or effected by the topic. 

Another convention used in the documentary was victims, the director interviewed and showed the victims of weaponry  For example the director featured to boys who had been severely affected by fire arms, one boy had numerous bullet hole scars in his body where as the other boy had been paralysed the waist down. I think this convention were used to show the audience the consequences of fire arms and the people who have been affected and suffered the penalties. I also think to really point out the seriousness of what weaponry can result too and to point out the audience don't just worry about the person who is carrying the fire arm but those of will be affected. Furthermore I think the director deliberately used victims to target specific parts of the audience, those who perhaps own a gun themselves and get them to think about their decision and see the results of what it could cause. 

The convention re-enactments are used in the documentary, the director a cartoon re-enactment to show the history of america, and how they look Africans from their country and brought the to North America to work for them, then eventually black people started to fight back such as Rosa Parks the first lady of the civil rights. The re-enactment was used to tell the audience the story of america, but in a comedic and interesting way. Furthermore I think the director showed the history of america in this way to perhaps appeal to a younger audience or to make it more interesting for the target viewers and not boring or uninteresting. 

Another convention used in the documentary is students, i think the director featured and looked at students because he wanted to show the audience that not only adults use guns or are affected by them but also students and that weaponry usage can start from the adolescent stage. In addition Bowling for Columbine uses actual footage such as phone calls in the documentary, the director used this convention to show the audience what actually happened but also to bring realisation to incident that happened. Additionally the use of students in the documentary may have been to serve the purpose for teenagers their age that can relate to the predicament, but also to target different ages of the audience and show us that teenagers play a vital roles in weaponry use not only in america but in other parts of the world. 

                                                               
                                                                 The Lift

There weren't many use of conventions in The lift documentary however their were some. One convention that was used in the documentary was opinions, the purpose of the documentary was to get the people who lived in the building which was going to be torn downs opinions. I think the director used opinions to tell the audience how the people of the building have or will be effected by this cause. 

Another convention used in the documentary was interviews, when in the lift the director would ask each person who came into the lift a series of questions. I think the director used this convention to give the audience a feel for the people who lived in the building, and for us to get to know a little bit of them as people. However i also think this convention was used much like the opinion convention which was to find out the people who lived in the buildings opinion on the cause which is about to occur.

In addition the director used cut away shots, when he moved on to the next interview. This was used to convey to the audience that he is interviewing a different interview and that the interviews were in fact separate. 

        What conventions do they share? What might be the reason for this? 

Although the documentaries 'The Life' and 'Bowling for Columbine' were two very different pieces they do have some similarities which they both share between them. Firstly the age of their target audience both documentaries were targeted at a much older and mature audience. For 'The Lift' I thought that the age for the target audience was between late 20s (25- onwards) going onwards, I said this because their weren't any features in the documentary which would really appeal to a younger audience but also seeing that most of the people which he interviewed and lived in the building were also off these ages which is why it would appeal or target a much older audience. In similarly to 'Bowling for Columbine' I thought the age group for that was between 21- going onward, I said this because the documentary focuses on a serious issue in america, which main features adults and their opinions. However I did say that a niche youth audience might be targeted or attracted to the documentary simply because, the documentary does focus some parts on younger people and shows how they can or have been effected by the issue. In addition I think the reason why both documentaries are aimed at an older audience because the issue talked about are more serious, but are also something of a concerned to adults.

Another similarity that both documentaries have, is the gender of the target audience. For both documentaries I didn't give a set gender to appoint, for 'The Lift' I thought that the gender was both male and female because the director feature both genders in his documentaries, treating them off equal grounds, furthermore he didn't differ between the two genders. In similarities to 'Bowling for Columbine' I thought that to didn't have a set gender from the audience because the director featured both genders equally and got opinions from both sides of the gender. However I did think that the documentary was targeted a bit more at a male audience, I felt as if the documentary was in a way male dominated, when some women were represented it was either looking quite vulnerable and also the image of women at the beginning of the documentary wasn't good due to the showing of women being quite revealed  These aspect are why I think the documentary maybe aimed a bit more at a male audience. In addition I think the reason that both documentaries are aimed at both genders is because both women and men are affected by the topic the directors are representing. 

Both directors of the two documentaries use interviews, in 'Bowling for columbine' their were numerous interviews that were conducted. For instance the director conducted interviews with students who went to 'Columbine high school'. The director went straight to source to hear there opinions on the violent shooting and if they knew the two boys who were the cause. In similarly to 'The lift' that also used the interview convention, in the lift when asking the people questions. In addition the reason that both documentaries used interviews in their work, is to simply get the other sides perspective and to also get the people who are or have been effects opinions which another convention used in both of the documentary, and to get their views on the topic at hand. 

In addition one last thing that bother documentaries have in common and share  are the interest of the audience. For both documentaries I said that their wasn't really a specific interest that the audience who is being targeted through the documentaries. However I do think that some interest which the audience could perhaps have are newspaper, those people of the audience who read newspaper and like to know what is going on in the economy. Or those of the audience who enjoy video dairy documentaries. I think that both documentaries don't really have specific interest for their target audience is so that the documentaries attract and target people of different if not all interest.

Give examples of conventions they do not share and explain the possible reason for this.

Though the documentaries have little similarities they do have an immense use of different conventions. One of the many conventions they do not share is target audience, although I did say they do have a similar target audience there are some parts of the audience which are difference  For example their interest although initially the target interest of the two documentaries are similar there is a difference. For the 'Bowling for Columbine' documentary I thought that some of the interest of the audience would be those who initially have or are interested in guns and those of the audience who have an interest in Americas history. In comparison to 'The Lift', the interest of this audience could be those who like knowing about things that are going on around their area and other areas. I think the possible reason for the interest of the audience being a bit different for the two documentaries is because of the topic matter  for instance for 'Bowling for Columbine' the subject matter is gun which makes sense why the target or intended audience would be those who have an interested in guns themselves. 

Another difference between the audience are the subject matter themselves. For 'Bowling for Columbine' the topic is guns and weaponry. Where as 'The Lift' documentary topic is people in the lift. I think the reason for the different subject matter for the documentaries, are because they both have a different aim or purpose for their documentaries. For 'The Lift' the purpose was to bring awareness to those who lived in the building and how they are going to be affected by the cause. Where as for 'Bowling for Columbine' the purpose of the documentary was to point out Americas issue with gun crime and to uncover the issues in the second amendment  As pointed out in the documentary in some parts of the country such as Canada there are nearly no gun crimes. It gets the audience to think why there is so much gun crime in america and whether America should be allowed to have fire arms in their country even if the second amendment allows for Americans to have guns.

another difference between the two documentaries is for 'Bowling and Columbine', the director uses a convention which is news. He features this convention in his piece to show the audience how serious the gun issue in America is, example of news on the two boys who were students and the cause of the horrific shooting a Columbia High School,  think the reason for the news convention in this documentary was to point out to the audience the seriousness of the shooting. Where as in 'The Life' documentary that didn't use any news features until the end of the documentary, I think the reason for this was to make it clear to the audience the point of him standing in a lift interviewing people. 

Another difference between the two documentaries is, ' The lift' uses cut away shots when watching the documentary I saw that the director used either his reflection or the fly on the wall when going onto another person in the lift. I think this serves the reason to show the audience the change in people he interviewed in the lift and to cut between the interviews so that the audience doesn't think that its just one long interview. Where as 'Bowling for columbine'  Doesn't use this feature, because the director would always interview different people in different places which is clear to the audience that different interviews were being conducted at different times. 

Another difference between the two documentaries is that for 'Bowling for Columbine' straight away it is clear what the topic and subject matter of the documentary is so their is no confusion on the audience side,. How it is clear to the audience is from the start/beginning of the documentary the director gives relations to the subject matter and talks about a bank in america which has a deal which is if you sign up with them you get a free gun, and we see him going to this bank and signing up to the bank and them giving him a free gun. This gives some indication to the audience what the topic of the documentary is. Where as for 'The Lift' which is really clear what the topic is, all the audience sees at the start of the documentary is a guy in a lift filming people who enter, this creates some confusion on the audience side. Only when you continue to watch the documentary and the director is still in the lift interviewing and filming people, does the audience start to realise that maybe the topic matter is people in the lift. I think maybe the reason for 'Bowling for Columbine' has a clear subject matter because the director wants the audience to know the point of the documentary, whereas  'The Lift' doesn't is maybe  because the director wanted the audience to figure out the topic for themselves. 

The Lift

                                                      The Lift 
                                         http://www.4docs.org.uk/films/view/12/The+Lift
                    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410229/

                         Marc Isaacs

Marc Isaacs has made a wide range of creative documentaries for the well known companies BBC and Channel 4. His creative documentaries have won numerous awards such as Grierson, Royal Television society and BAFTA awards. He also won a variety of international film festivals prizes. In 2006  he had retrospective at the prestigious Lussas documentary film festival in France and numerous pieces of his work has been included in documentary books and academic studies. In 2008 at the University of East London , he received an honorary dectorate for his renowned achievements in his profession. Isaac is also a guest to tour at the London Film School but also the National Film and Television school. Additionally his most recent film  called 'All White In Banking' was previously been short listed for a Grierson Award. 

In my opinion I didn't take much to Isaacs documentary, i found that it was usual and quit confusing. It wasn't clear what the documentary was about, when you first watch it you see a man interviewing the people who live in the building in the lift asking them numerous questions and this act continues on. It was clear to me what the point was of the documentary, to me it didn't serve any significant meaning. At first people ignore his in the documentary but as refer to in the review when he becomes more of a fixture in the lift , his blunt questions start to draw information out and also gain trust of the resident. It differs from Bowling with Columbine because that documentary has a clear topic subject, from the start you understand that the documentary is based on fire arms. furthermore Bowling for Columbine uses more conventions such as opinions, interviews and actual footage to support and go deeper into the subject matter. In my opinion I think the second documentary (Bowling for Columbine) was more interesting to watch due to the conventions that were used.