My Favorite Genre-Video

Video Link:  https://youtu.be/UFOZpHc_-eU

Our favorite Genre

My Favorite Genre - PowerPoint

    

        

        

 

Q2 Week 3 Essay on Marvel's clip

The clip from Agent Carter expresses a multitude of both media editing techniques as well as camera angling styles; which include camera shots, angles, movement and composition, editing, sound, and mise-en-scène.

A key component to the viewed portion of the agent carter clip is the use of camera features in the filming of the scenes.  The way the camera is angled and shot in the clips we see has an especially large impact upon the way the viewer sees agent Carter.  By the camera always giving a full angle view and shot of the headquarters where Carter works at, the camera shows clearly how Carter is very much alone being the only woman present and being tucked away in a corner.  The camera angle and shots also manifest their importance in the scenes where agent cater is fighting through only showing her from behind or with very close range and narrow perspectives.  The movement of the camera is also an important part to the way Carter and her surroundings are portrayed through the way the camera follows here as a focus throughout all the scenes to show Carter as the key character the viewer should be focused on.  The camera composition seen in this clip further adds to the clips overall effect through placing the people and physical objects such as when Carter is walking by the car in a very equal fashion to show and bring balance to every scene shown in the clip.  A part where the camera composition is somewhat uneven is when carter’s hand with the gun is shown pointed at the last bad guy’s head due to how much of her hand and gun the viewer sees, and yet so little of the villain’s head. 

The clip from Carter’s TV show also features several examples of editing techniques.  A jump cut is featured between the scenes where Carter goes from hanging up the phone to walking towards the building where the villains are at.  A cross cut is featured when carter and the last villain both have guns and are searching for each other as the image rapidly switches between the two individuals.  A shot/counter shot reaction can also be seen In this clip from Carter’s TV show through the relation between the phone and alarm, her attention every time the alarm goes off, and her boss’s actions towards his men and her when the call comes in. 

Sound effects are also a very key part to the way this video clip is assembled and tied together as well.  A use of diegetic sound in the clip is well seen when Carter can be heard shuffling through papers and moving her desk drawers as information is asked of her.  A crescendo from the clip is very well shown from the change from carter answering the phone to when she is walking to confront the villains.  A diminuendo can be seen in the clip when carter beats the two villains and the music does down as it is just her and the other villain with the gun left.  A sforzando is shown in Carter’s clip when she makes contact with the face of the two villains using her large suitcase.

A final key component to the Carter clip is Mise-En-Scene.  The setting of the large bustling room with continuous activity and the shuffling of papers in the beginning of the clip creates a setting of focused and active people in a very fast paced business.  As the clip progresses, the setting changes to an outside group of men in a building that Carter confronts at night where it is very dark, and as a result the setting becomes ominous and low key.  The only type of lighting shown throughout the entire clip is low key lighting through the dark room, office, street at night, and buildings shown near the end of the clip.  All of the costumes are 1940’s vintage in very dark colors with no bright or outstanding styles that differentiate much between the characters shown.  The clip form Agent Carter mostly features deep space scenes showing in great detail what is behind and, on each character, and individual shown.  In the clip shown, there are several examples of blocking; especially during the confrontations between Carter and her boss at the office.  Furthermore, special effects are used in the opening scene of Captain America crashing the enormous plane into the frozen arctic as he is still talking with Carter. 

Through these several key elements of camera shots, angles, movement and composition, as well as editing, sound, and mise-en-scène, the Agent Carter video clip does a very thorough job of expressing and developing all of these elements. 

 

Q Week Study Chart

I decided to do my mise-en-scene project based upon the 1980's TV show Miami Vice.  This episode is the eight episode from the first season of Miami

Vice, which is called "The Great McCarthy".  

This episode opens up with a wide angle view of a very large bank building in down town Miami, with the bright sun reflecting off of the concrete and glass panel windows of the building creating a very vibrant and lively open scene as all of the police cars and Vice detectives converge on the bank robbery.  Through this opening setting, the TV show helps give viewers especially from other parts of the United States a view of Miami's setting as vibrantly beautiful and stunning with large buildings and interesting features that were very unique and not present in any other parts of the country.  

Throughout all of the office scenes during this episode, the detective's office is always shown with very bright lighting that reflects off of all of the white and occasional bright teal walls in the office.  Through the choice of this TV series always showing the police office in a high-key lighting, it makes all of the characters in their pastel colored clothing and snazzy hair styles stand out when put in front of the barren large white walls.  This high-key lighting is especially prominent in the interrogation room scenes where there was usually only two or three people in brightly lit clothes in a very small baron white room with white furniture.

One of the most remembered aspects about the show Miami Vice was its vibrant and snazzy clothing that always stood out and contrasted everything else in each scene.  From pink blazers and tank tops to fine cut unique outfits, the shows costume aspect was one of the most influential aspects of the series.  In every episode, hours of though were put into every actor's attire, and each episode always featured a new piece of clothes that had never been featured before.  Through Miami Vice's stand out clothes, the series defined itself and kept its ratings high for many years into the series.

Another key aspect of Miami Vice was the setting.  The way in which the performance styling was developed within the series was a major component to the success the show obtained.  In every episode, the characters felt completely real, and it felt as if you had known each individual for years based on how the series had developed the characters as well as how each individual always reacted to a multitude of situations.

Through these four aspects of setting, lighting, costume, and acting, it can be seen how the TV series Miami Vice represents the key components of Mise-en-Scene throughout the entire run of the series.  

week 8/9 project Five Master Edits with sound

https://youtu.be/c_5BWHsJ6iA

Week 7 - Jurassic Park

All five of my "Five Master Edit" videos for week seven are from one of my favorite movies; the original 1992 Jurassic Park!

This first video clip shows a crew of archaeologists excavating a several million year old T-rex fossil near the beginning of the movie, witch is then tied to the second part of this clip with the T-rex roaring in the Jurassic Park visitor building after he killed 2 raptors near the end of the movie.  The type of editing technique that I felt most represented this scene was the use of parallelism since the viewer can see and think how the dinosaurs transformed from harmless fossils left over from millions of years ago to creatures of death in the movie. 

This second video clip shows the difference between how three of the lead characters were stranded out in the jungle with dinosaurs during the night, while the other two lead characters were sitting inside eating ice-cream talking about their past lives.  Both of these scenes were occurring at the same time as well.  I felt the technique of contrast fit this clip the best since both groups of people shown are in such different locations and comfort zones at the same time, which almost consciously stimulates the viewer to think about how each group of people differ so much based on their situation.

In this scene form Jurassic Park, I chose to show how Malcolm sees the rippling of water from the T-rex's thunderous foot steps as it approaches, which foreshadows the T-rex bursting out of the woods ready to eat everyone just as they escape in the Jeep.  For this scene, the main theme of symbolism was a key component to the way the viewer looks at this scene since the rippling water represents the approach of the enormous T-rex in the movie.   

My second to last scene shows two of Jurassic Park's most iconic scenes where the Jurassic Park theme song is playing in both of them.  The theme of leit motif is a very strong fit for these two scenes since they both use the same music which connects the viewer to the Jurassic Park movie whenever they hear it.  

My final clip shows the two separate scenes where Dr.Satler is resetting the park's security and electrical fences, while at the same time three of the main cast members must climb over one of the electrical fences Satler is in the progress of turning on. This scene was a very good representation of simultaneity since both scenes in this clip are tied together through the similarity of Satler having to turn the electricity on to the fence that the three main cast members must climb over.   

  5 Master Edits Link:  https://youtu.be/2Vd4ihtfJGI

Overview of what each theme of editing represents in my video:

Contrast:  In my first section of my five master edits, I used a typed piece of paper and a hand written piece of paper to show contrast between the two.  Since a hand written piece of paper is so imperfect, uneven, unsymmetrical, and often hard to read based on the individuals writing style, I found that when I compared handwriting to typed paper, the two showed a very strong contrast between each other. 

Parallelism.  For the second portion of my five master edits video, I used an example of parallelism.  For parallelism, I used my 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and my friends 1994 Jeep Wrangler.  Even though the two cars look drastically different from each other, they both share the name Jeep, are from the same historical period of Jeep production, and many of the features and mechanics are virtually identical in both vehicles.  Due to these factors, an individual cans see how similar both cars are when compared to each other. 

Symbolism:  The third segment to my five master edits was on symbolism.  For symbolism, I chose to show how an ordinary tree in our backyard can so easily be turned into a cardboard box or piece of paper without us even thinking about it.  When I videoed the cardboard U-Haul box, I also included an image of recycling from the side of the box to include a tad of irony along with the main theme of symbolism.

Simultaneity:  For simultaneity; which shows action occurring in two different places at the same time, I chose to show my mom calling my name from the kitchen because I am in trouble, while at the same time I am seen leaving my room and walking across the house towards the kitchen. 

Leit Motif:  For my final theme of Leit Motif, I chose to show my daily routine from the morning to evening.  A clock from my house is also shown periodically, emphasizing the time of day along with what is occurring.    As I start off my day, the clock shows the early morning when I'm in my bathroom, and when I'm getting in my car to head to school.  Later on in the video clip, I can be seen doing work in class, walking in the hallway, and finally leaving school at 2:05 PM.

The eight images and videos above are from the movie Thunderball.  This movie is focused on a British secret agent called James Bond that's mission is to uncover the plot behind the villain organization SPECTRE, which has stolen two atomic bombs, and is holding the world governments' ransom until its demands are met.  James must travel to Nassau to uncover SPECTRE's plot.  

The first image I have shown in this post is an example of a close up shot of one of Spectre's henchmen turning a canister and combining it with the planes air supply.  This scene creates a sense of curiosity and suspense since the viewer doesn't know what is in the canister, what the man plans to do, and how the rest of the planes crew is reacting to the canister since the image is so narrowly focused.

The second video if have shown is an example of a low angle shot.  This shot makes the viewer feel very small and almost powerless to the capability and terrible outcome one of the bombs shown could result in.  The rapid paced low key music also adds to the feeling of being powerless from looking up at the bombs.

My third video shows James bond being lifted by a helicopter from a hole in a high angle style shot after he was chased by one of Spectre's lead villains: Largo.  Since this scene is so close to when Spectre is planning to detonate one of the bombs in Miami, and how the helicopter pilots are saying they are running out of time, this scene creates a very strong feeling of anxiety and impatience while James is being lifted to the helicopter.

My fourth video is of Largo's boat off the shore of Miami where he plans to detonate the nuclear bomb.  This clip gives a strong example of an establishing shot.  This scene represents the feeling of the "calm before the storm" since everything seems so peaceful and calm while a huge underwater battle is about to occur.

The fifth image I chose is an example of an extreme long shot showing a plane flying off the coast of Miami preparing to drop U.S. troops into the water to battle the forces of Spectre in an epic underwater battle.  This scene creates a feeling of excitement and anticipation since the camera shows the paratroopers in the plane, while the viewer continues to wait for them to start jumping out, and the fighting to begin.

The sixth image I picked out of the movie Thunderball depicts James Bond's entire body in a long shot showing him swimming under Largo's boat just as Largo is about to get away with the second nuclear bomb after he failed to place the first one in Miami.  This long shot shows how small James Bond's figure is compared to Largo's boat, and also makes the viewer realize James must swim a very long distance to reach the front hydrofoil of the boat.  As a result, a feeling of distance and small size is combined with anticipation for this scene to show that if bond succeeds or not, his action would still look small compared to the things around him.

My seventh image is of one of the villains and bond after she picked him up off the beach when his boat capsized and he had to swim ashore.  As the Mustang speeds along at over 100 miles per hour, the camera follows in a following shot style while the car darts through the thick endless night of Nassau.  This following shot creates a feeling of endlessness as the camera and car move at the same pace along the road with no sight of an end along with no change in the cameras angle or pitch.

My eight and final image is of the main villain Largo during his underwater battle with Bond in a choker type of filming style.  This shot emphasizes Largos feelings towards Bond, how much he hates him for ruining his plans, and the pure anger that is boiling over in him as he slices his knife through the water.

Week 3 Assigment: comment on student videos

I chose to comment on Kiley's and Laura's blogs.  Both of them had very unique ways of showing their specific camera angles that I enjoyed the most.  In Laura's post, I found the establishing shot, extremely long shot, head on shot, and low angle shot the most interesting.  The first two shots both created a personal feel of Marco inside me, while the head on shot made the viewer feel a personal connection with Laura's dog, and the low angle shot reminded me of how tall and large our palm trees are when we look at them.  When I viewed Kiley's blog post, her establishing shot, cameo shot, extreme close up shot, and head on shot stood out the most to me.  Her establishing shot gave me the feeling of being at home when it panned around the Lely courtyard.  I found the cameo shot very impressive since Cooper was able add dialogue into it.  Kiley's head on shot made me feel as if the subject was actually running at me, which I found pretty cool.  Of all Kiley's shots, her extreme close up shot spoke to me the most since the subject's eye's gave an eerie feeling when they slowly looked back and forth.

This first video is an example of a Dolly Shot, which aims to follow the subject(s) behind them, as if the camera is on a set of tracks.  In this clip, the subject is shown walking down a hallway with the camera following behind him.

This second video is a representation of an establishing shot, where the basis of the clip is to show a relatively wide angle of a scene to establish a setting and mood.  In this example, the court yard of Lely High is shown just as the sun is rising above the tree line. 

The above video is a follow shot, which aims to follow the subject along side while the camera stays at a constant distance, height, and angle.  

This video portrays a low angle shot of a subject where the camera is below the person and looking up towards the sky at the individual. 

This clip  is an example of a tilt shot where the camera moves slowly up and down as if on a vertical axis.  This specific image shows the contrast between the school courtyard and the surrounding sky above.

The clip above shows an example of a long shot, where the objective is to show the subject matter at a distance while also showing normal surroundings.

The image shown here is of an individuals eye, representing an extreme close-up shot of filming.

The media clip above shows a reaction shot.  This video clip was filmed of Trent under the Lely staircase.

The video above is a representation of a flash shot style of filming.  In this clip, Trent is shown quickly popping out from behind a pillar, and then quickly disappearing again.

Here is a representation of a full shot, showing the subject Trent's entire body in a still position.

In this shot, the subject is pictured walking across the Lely court yard from a high angle shot perspective.

Lastly, this image pictures a close-up shot of an individuals hand holding a water bottle upside down.

During the week that I was working on this filming angle project, I was able to discover and better understand many objects of filming and video taping images.  Several filming aspects I now have a better understanding of include the placement of light in front of or behind the subject, the best ways to fill space in pictures, how to work with keeping a more steady filming angle, and editing the video clips to make them proper for each filming shot style.  By the way I developed many of these skills, I found this project to be very fun and enjoyable.

Why AICE Media Studies?

When I look back at why I chose to take AICE Media Studies this year, two ideas came to mind: working towards achieving my AICE diploma for college as well as learning even more about our ever changing media and entertainment industry.  Since  the AICE Diploma is such a helpful and resourceful credential to have for college and later in life, I knew achieving this goal of mine would be a top priority.  By taking this class I can ensure that I have the ability to fully complete my AICE diploma by Senior year.  Furthermore, I also chose this class to expand my knowledge of how today's media is changing as well as fitting in with society.  In the last few decades alone, the world's media has changed drastically.  In any range of jobs, understanding and being able to interact with the world's media is very important in being able to communicate and succeed in our world today.  Since the basis of media is so new, it has so much potential to expand, become even more complex, and  further integrate into our modern society.  Through understanding media and achieving my AICE Diploma, I felt it would be very beneficial to take AICE Media Studies and understand the basis and platforms of how media is evolving and becoming even more and more important everyday.