Media Magic

Media Magic

If given two types of film, a Hollywood blockbuster, and an average American's home-video, it would not take long for one to determine which is which. Aside from perhaps the obvious difference in acting experience, our text, America on Film (2009), depicts five major elements that enhances a film. These five elements are literary design, visual design, cinematography, editing, and sound design. Within this journal entry I will discuss a few examples regarding sound design, cinematography, and editing.

Sound Design

Have you ever found yourself sitting next to someone during a scary movie that could not keep their eyes open? It is a popular tactic for one to divert themselves from a frightening scene taking place. However, aside from the obvious visuals that one receives from a scary movie, the audio is just as important.

In this first clip I ask that you watch it twice:
First: With the audio off.
Second: With the audio on.



Okay, now that you have finished watching the trailer for the film twice, I am sure you would agree that the audio played a very important role. Not only did the audio allow the viewers to understand the script from the actors, but it enabled the viewers to hear things such as the commentary at the beginning of the scene, pain and screams coming from the actors, and what many would consider most important, the popular Halloween theme song. Together, all of these different audio enhancers, brings a very intense and needed aspect to the film.

Cinematography

Another element one can observe from the Halloween (1978) trailer above are the different elements that went into the cinematography. A key aspect within cinematography are the camera angels. The suspense one generates with the curiosity of who is behind the mask at the beginning of the trailer is a great use of camera angels. Rather than showing the young boy walking down the stairs dressed as a clown, they put the viewers watching the film in the mask. This tactic allows for the exposure of the child being the killer to be an element of surprise.

The other camera angel that can be noted within the trailer occurs when the victim falls down the stairs. As the camera focuses on the agony she is feeling with her injured leg, the camera angels up the stairs to show Michael. Not only does this scene allow the audience to see Michael in his entirety, but it also shows him as the superior. It is almost as if though he is looking down on his victims. Scenes such as this are prevalent throughout many of the Halloween films.

Editing

The last form of film that I want to discuss is that of editing; continuity editing to be exact. This type of editing is when a scene appears to be continuous even though it probably took many takes in order to create the specific scene. The mistake however, is that many times the creators of the scene misplace a prop on the set or an element of costume between takes. With these simple flaws, many can find the errors within the "continuous" scene.

The example I chose was of no mistake. Being that it is Black History month I found this scene not only to display a mistake within it's continuity editing but there is also an interracial acceptance to be acknowledged. Enjoy.



Did you catch it?

The mistake within the continuity of the scene occurs around one minute. Feel free to watch it again.

Okay, so I am sure your eyes have caught it by now. The centerpiece of the scene, the cookie, was a mistake. They used two separate cookies for the one scene. It can be observed through watching the clip that the cookie goes from having white frosting on the inside of the cookie, to having the white frosting on the outside of the cookie after a quick change of camera angle. Mistakes like this occur repeated throughout many films and television shows and can often be entertaining.

The impact of the five elements our text book, America on Film (2009), brings up regarding forms to enhance film are imperative. Whether it be literary design (script), visual design, cinematography, editing, or sound design, they are often the difference that separates a Hollywood Blockbuster from a home-video.

Gender Representation in Cinema

Upon Observing the current status of our society's views on masculinity and femininity, the author, David Gauntlett, explains in his book, Media, Gender and Identity (2008), that attitudes toward traditional roles are changing. A great example of these changes has be duly noted within Gauntlett's text.

The award winning sit-com, Friends (1994-2004) played a valuable role in portraying to our society what these changes look like. While maintaining what is often perceived as a conventional looking comedy, this sit-com pushed the envelop in exposing a new side of what masculinity and femininity can look like.

In comparison to these new looks of acceptance, I will also peruse the concept of our society's views of gender representation in the past.

Gender Representation of Our Past

In regards to our society's perception of gender roles through years past, Gauntlett states in his text that, "Men were more likely to be assertive... where as women were more frequently shown as weak, ineffectual, victimised, supportive, [or] laughable." (p. 47). What I find interesting about this concept is that it not only portrayed the supporting cast memebers in male dominant television shows, but it also defined the few women that were considered superstars in the area of television.

One of the most popular celebrities of of the 1950's was a woman by the name of Lucille Ball. Though she gained much of her success from the Emmy award winning show, I Love Lucy, she was also well known for making guest appearances on many primetime game shows.

In the clip below, Lucille Ball is embracing her well known ability to be laughed at. Some things to keep in mind while viewing this clip is that it certainly portrays what Gauntlett refers to as male dominance. Although Lucille is being asked the questions, I found it interesting that a male figure was the one to respond/translate to her humurous remarks.

Present Changes in Gender Representation

Though the spotlight of gender representation appears to be primarily focused on femininity, observing the unique changes in the way we perceive masculinity should also be in question. The following clip portrays two characters that are considered to be a new look on how our society views gender roles. As brought up in Gauntlett's text, the characters of Friends carry the traditional style of masculinity and femininity while also exposing a rather new take.

What is interesting about this clip (along with many others from the sit-com) is that the men are often categorized as being sensitive to certain issues or in this case no athleticism. This idea of a man not necessarily acquiring all of the masculine features such as being macho, is where I believe our society is changing. Our society is slowly losing its grip on criticism for men that choose to take on what in the past was considered to be feminine qualities.

The other interesting concept that can be discussed from the previous clip is that of the feminist movement. The woman in the clip, Monica, wearing a loose fitting sweatshirt and sweatpants, appeared to be "wearing the pants" in the conversation. Unlike the example of Lucille from the first clip, the advancement of women carrying a more idependent look has increased.

There have certainly been changes in how the media portrays different gender roles. Whether it be the decrease in machismo amongst males or a new independent look for women, it is evident that things have changed. Understanding and observing the drastic changes in our society over the last fifty years leads me to wonder what the future of our society will look like.