Semiotics Rap

First you need a denotation of what you see or hear
and then from there you see what you can cohere
if there's one symbolic detail it is the signified
but if its polysemic there is a downside
if a text is polysemic it could mean anything

To see a text from different angles use the commutation test
change a signifier to see if it changes the rest
or it could be intertextual and linked to an existing text

Semiotics: The Key Terms

Key Terms:

SIGNIFIER: detail from a text which has a symbolic meaning.

SIGNIFIED/SIGNIFIES: the symbolic meaning/interpretation which links to the reading of the text. 

DENOTE/DENOTATION: a description of what we see or hear within in a text.

CONNOTE/CONNOTATION: the symbolic meaning of these factual details.

BINARY OPPOSITION: they are a key device for generating conflict and drama and when they're placed together we can talk of binary opposites being juxtaposed meaning they're paired together to emphasise the contrast and difference.

POLYSEMY: every media text is essentially polysemic as it has many possible meanings.

ANCHORAGE: this is when we fix an interpretation to a text, because signifiers have been embedded within the text which point the audience towards a preferred interpretation.

COMMUTATION TEST: considering how the meaning of a signifier would be influenced if it was to be changed, which tells us if a detail in a text is important or not.

READING;

- PREFERRED: how the creators hope you will respond to their media.

- NEGOTIATED: the audience mostly understand the preferred reading but don't fully follow it, meaning they reject/are                unaware of some of the signifiers in the text.

- OPPOSITIONAL: the audience constantly rejects the meaning and interpretation that is being encoded by the directors.

NARRATIVE ENIGMA: certain elements are purposely hidden from the audience, to build up a sense of mystery and drama.

INTERTEXTUALITY: creating an overall impression of a text which targets a certain audience, however the meaning is tied to another, earlier text.

Up The Junction Opening Scene Analysis

Up the Junction 

Director: Peter Collinson

Release Date: 25th January 1968 (UK) 13th March 1968 (US)

Company Idents:  Paramount Pictures

Shot 1: This shot shows a medium shot of quite a posh car pulling up outside a large house. This shot is through a tall black gate, and this shows straght away what the social class of the characters in this scene is like. The medium shot continues showing a young woman walking out of the house. The driver gets out of the car to open the car door for the woman, again showing what the social class of these characters could be.

Shot 2: This shot is a medium close up of the car driving away from the house, and a medium shot of the girl in in the car before it drives away.

Shot 3: New characters are introduced in this scene. An extreme long shot shows three women walking out of a terraced house on a busy residential street. The camera stays on the girls as the walk right up to the camera, so that we see a close up of the girls. The girls stay in shot for a few seconds talking to each other.

Shot 3

Shot 4: The next shot cuts to a high angle shot of the same car from the first few shots of the film. It shows the car driving down a long road, before slowly stopping. The girl gets out of the car, walks off down the pavement and out of shot. The camera then pans off to the distance and non-diagetic music is played. This is where the opening scene ends.

Film Opening Conventions Vodcast

Films Mentioned:

• Be Kind, Rewind
• Hidden Agenda
• Star wars
• Atonement
• Heathers
• Up The Junction
• For Weddings and A Funeral
• About A Boy

 

Comparing 2 Past AS Film Openings

The Cellar & Deception

I compared 'The Cellar' and 'Deception' film openings.





I thought that the mise-en-scene was the strongest feature in this opening. In 'Deception, there was a better range of camera angles, however the mise-en-scene was not as strong. Something that lowered the quality of Deception is that we can see the shadow of the camera/person filming in some of the shots.The Cellar uses narrative enigma to intrigue us, and also Deception uses this but not for all of the characters.

Final Cut Pro X - First Impressions

Before doing Media A Level I had never used Final Cut Pro, and after using it for the first time I found that it was not as complicated to use as I thought it would be. There are still a few features that i think will take some time to get used to but the basics are quite easy to use. The things I found most difficult to understand were importing and especially exporting files into the right format.

21 Jump Street Opening Scene Analysis



21 Jump Street Film Poster

21 Jump Street

Director: Phil Lord

Budget: $42m

Release Date: 16 March 2012

(UK) 12 March 2012 (US)

Total Gross (Worldwide): $201.3m

Opening Scene Length: 1 min 29 sec

Company Idents: Columbia Pictures
                              Metro Goldwyn Mayer
                              Original



The first few seconds show the company idents for Columbia Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, and Original Film.

Shot 1 (0:44)

Shot 1: We are given some information about the setting in this shot.



Shot 2 (0:48)

Shot 2: The next shot is a high angle shot of a typical yellow american school bus, with children coming out of the bus.

Shot 3 (0:53)

Shot 3: Next it flashes to animated writing which says 'Columbia Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Present'

Shot 4 (0:59) 

Shot 4: In this shot the camera moves down from a high angle shot to a medium shot of one of the people who got off the bus. There is narrative enigma as we can only see the back of this characters body.           

Shot 5 (1:01)

Shot 5: The next shot again shows animated writing in the theme of the film, which says 'In association with Relativity Media'

Shot 6 (1:04)

Shot 6: The shot then cuts back to a medium close up of the character who got off the bus's head, and still narrative enigma is used as we don't yet know what the person looks like. The camera follows this person walking up some stairs in a high school setting. 

Shot 7 (1:07)

Shot 7: This shot is again animated writing which shows the production company ident 'An Original Film SJC Studios production' 

Shot 8 (1:12)

Shot 8: This shot simply shows the film title '21 Jump Street' in animated themed writing.

Shot 9 (1:15)

Shot 9: In this shot we get to see the characters face, and it shows a medium close up of the character walking through a door.

Shot 10 (1:21)

Shot 10: This next shot shows a medium close up of the character walking down a corridor. The corridor is very busy and the character is pushed around, which tells us what the character could be like

                                              

Shot 11 (1:24)

Shot 11: This shot shows a close up of a prom poster, which gives us a clue about the setting of the film.



Shot 12 (1:26)

Shot 12: This shot is a medium close up of the character walking down a corridor from behind, and he sees a girl walking up the corridor. He turns around, now facing the camera until the girl walks past him and then dialogue starts. This goes on to a shot-reverse-shot of the two characters having a conversation.