Institutions.

Institutions.

Everything that we do is controlled by an institution of some sort, you cannot escape it, and we follow the rules with questioning it. School and home are institutions which contain rules and regulations that we just follow them without releasing that they are constricting and controlling our lives.

To understand the concept of an institution is knowing 3 important keys terms which are listed below:

1. Who produces the media texts.
2. Their set of values and codes.
3. And the relationship between them and us as individuals

The press and TV give us a general awareness of values on the basics of what it is producing and the producers. For example if a journalists were to post something in a newspaper 'The Sun' we automatically think that they share the same values of that newspaper. However 'The Sun' and 'Daily Mail' are both owned by the same company but have different values and tell different stories.

A key word within institutions is conglomerate this means a company owns and produces different types of the media, but we don't associate them with it.

The 'Big 5' are the worlds five biggest media corporations, one person may just think that they deal with only one type of media because that is what they are taught to believe. Just think that they own so much more and this is where their income builds up, an example of what they own is the film companies.

• Walt Disney > Walt Disney Pictures
  
• Sony > Columbia
  
• Time Warner > Warner Bros
  
• News Corporation > 20th Century Fox
  
• Viacom > Paramount Pictures
  

Due to this, it is virtually impossible to escape these 5 companies. For example, I had never before heard of Viacom but I am always watching Paramount Pictures films and that is because Viacom don't want to tarnish their image by producing children's film so they created or bought shares in Paramount Pictures to gain more money.


Walt Disney

Touchstone Pictures - The walt Disney company is known for their pretty in pink princesses but wanted to produce films with many different variety’s to gain a wider audience and make more money from then. They produced over 200 films through Touchstone Pictures, including Good Morning Vietnam, Sister Act, Pretty Woman and Armageddon.

Marvel Comics - In 2009 Disney wanted to become the biggest media institution so they bought shares in Marvel who were independent until then. This deal was expected to strengthen Disney's position as the leading global provider of high-quality branded entertainment and build long-term shareholder value.

Camera Angles and Shots.

Camera Angles and Shots.

For our first A-Level Media class we looked at how the positioning of camera angles creates and changes the meaning of scene withing in film. To do this we watched an extract of 'Good Will Hunting' and 'A Knights Tales' and then recalled what we had noticed and the differences between the two.
'Good Will Hunting' started with an establishing shot then long camera shots as the two people in the scene were having a conversation. Although the extract had started with an establishing shot showing the background and scenery the rest of the shots were close-ups to emphasis how serious the conversation actually is and you get emotional because you feel like you are the person the man is talking to. Another thing that emphasis's the emotion is that there are no reaction shots from the other character until the end of the conversation which is really unusual for a film or any piece of Media.
'A Knights Tale' had quicker camera shots which turned slower due to the fact that at the start there is more happening in the start and to get the full effect and all the reactions of different people. The camera shots slowed down because there wasn't as much going on but the other people were reacting and the director or editor thought it was important to keep.

Different types of Shots!

• Extreme Long Shot: An establishing shot, this is used to determine the place of which the film or scene is set. They are usually identified by landmarks for example the Hollywood sign or Big Ben.
  
• Long Shot: Where the person or object is shown in small which could mean that the person is walking down the street because this type of shot provides for movement.
  
• Medium Long Shot: Usually a shot of a persons head and torso used when two or more people are having a conversation because you are able to position them with in the smaller shot.
  
• Medium Close-ups: The medium close-up shows both facial expressions and body language. A medium close-up is normally used when filming a conversation between two people.
  
• Close-ups: The scale is usually quite large and this is to show the facial expression of a person in a conventional way however it could include anything (e.g. a hand or an object).
  
• Extreme Close-ups: Focused on one feature, normally a feature to do with a person. In 'Of Mice and Men' there is an extreme close-up of a hand and in 'Inception' the extreme close-up is of an object.
  
• Crane Shot: This is shot from above and different viewpoint as many films are usually shot from ground level, and this can also be moved round and zoomed because the person is on a crane or something similar.
• Pan: A pan is when the camera is stationary but moves from one direction to the other to follow what is happening.
• Tracking: The camera is following the action on a horizontal line going from one direction to the other.

Why Media Studies?

Why did I chose Media Studies A-Level?

I chose Media Studies because I had done it for my GCSE and found that it was really interesting!

I found that the work last year was rather laid back and easier to get my head round and after doing the homework for Law, Psychology and Sociology that I would need it. Last year I left most things to the last minute and needed to redo some of the work to get a higher grade but after freaking out, and actually sitting down to do it all - I got a B.

I thought that it would be a nice contrast to my academic subjects and that I would excel. It will be a challenge to do some of the work and figuring out how the I-Mac’s work. Currently I have only used them twice in the entire 5 years at Rainham School for Girls and they still confuse me. I hope to work them out before doing too much so that I don’t fall behind due to the lack of handling them.

I have a creative side to my knowledge and I love to watch films. Whilst at GCSE level we had to annotate the covers and review extracts of the film. Paying close attention to the films has shown me how they all work and when I got home, I had a try for myself. It will be great for me to do this as my mind is rather creative but I can’t draw to save my life!

I have thought about the range of knowledge that I would gain from this A-Level and a career in this department would be like living a dream! I can’t imagine anything else than a job within the Media and this A-Level will help me gain the background I will need to get into any job.