TWO USES AND GRATIFICATIONS OF VIDEO GAMES

Video games show a few different uses and gratifications. In the Lego Movie, we can see the characters in the game as well as the movie, so we can get to know the character better and bond with them, so you are able to see them twice.

People that play the game will identify with the values like the celebrations in the film and the excitement when defeating the enemy in the Lego video game. It gives people the opportunity to enjoy more of the benefits of the film.

Another way is diversion and entertainment. The game will offer suspense, action and humour. People that play the game will feel that they have escaped into the land of the lego movie and it gives them a new experience that they will enjoy, especially when thy move up levels.

A final reason is the relationships. Players will be able to get to know the character better and it can also help create a friendship as they can talk about it with their friends and it can help people get a better relationship.

MOJO DAVID BOWIE COVER

In this magazine, it is clear that the main splash is a picture of David Bowie and the text that says "BOWIE." The colours are quite clear and appealing to the audience. Although Bowie's head is covering the text of the magazine, we can tell that it is a MOJO magazine as they are a popular magazine brand and people will automatically know that it is MOJO. There is a lot of text around the magazine to fill all the spaces and at the top where it says "FREE CD," that will draw peoples attention as they will be able to get a free cd on one of the pages in the magazine.
There is also a few circles around the magazine to advertise different articles in the magazine and also one of the circles show that there are 145 reviews and that shows us that they are trying to show us how good their company is. There are also 3 or 4 decks around the edges of the magazine to show that there are strong articles inside with appealing text so people want to carry on reading.

EDITING IN CUFFS

In cuffs, there are many different types of editing. One example is when all the police officers are training towards the end we can see some common transitions. This scene is in the car park of the police station where they set up a course for them to run to and from.  There are a few dissolve transitions to show that time has gone past and we can also see that there is sweat on one of the police officers shirt which is another way of showing us that the time has gone past.

Another example is a shot reverse shot. This is used in the scene where the man is about to jump from his balcony. This is effective as we can see the different emotions going through the man’s and the police officer’s mind. The emotions through the man who’s about to jumps head, is thinking shall I do this, we know this as he look back at the very young girl sitting on the bed inside and with the police officer, we can see that he is hoping that he doesn’t jump so that he can be arrested at a police station. Just as he is about to jump, the police officer pulls him back and within a scene or two later, he gets arrested.

Mark: 3 out of 5

1.     Cut general opening sentence. Only write sprcific points.

2.     First example. No such term as ‘common transitions’. What do you mean?  A series of cross dissolves? Refer to this scene as the training session. EAA needs amplifying: it shows how hard and long they train. In particular, which officers keep going whilst the others flag, showing who has the most determination and stamina. The event itself also shows their teamwork, with Jake invited and accepted for the first time as an equal, as he did well tackling the previous crime.

3.     Second example: be specific about identities (‘Lauren’s dad’ and ‘Felix’). Good on this example: thoufhtful points on shot /reverse shot.

4.     A strong student would do more than the minimum 2 examples!

MISE EN SCENE

In cuffs, there is a variety of different costumes, props, location and different types of lighting. In the first scene, we can see that the police officers are wearing their uniform, as it seems that they are announcing a new police officer joining the team. This shows us that they are very smart and formal as they are wearing white gloves. People would not just wear white gloves on a normal day; they would usually be worn on a special occasion.

Another example is when the police officers enter Nathan’s house, we can see that there is a lot of mess. In this scene, Nathan cuts his own wrist and we can see that there are so many bottles around his house, if these bottles were alcohol, this shows that he was really drunk when he was cutting himself. Later on, we see that he is really sympathetic to the police officers as he is hugging them and says that he’s sorry.

1      

            Cut opening sentence which is general. Only ever be specific.

2        Good observation on the gloves but there is a great deal more to be pointed out such as the superintendent’s podium (raising him higher), lectern (reading a formal speech), ranks lined up hands clasped (to show respect and formality), police office building overlooking Brighton Pier, audience of parent and so on.

3        Second example: accurate about the bottles (alcoholism) but no supposting evidence fo ‘alot of mess’.

4        Describe Nathan himself: his unkempt hair, skin, bruises, knife, shaking ands and so on.

5        Marks: 2 and a half out of 5

Q1 - CAMERAWORK IN CUFFS

There is a variety of camera angles in Cuffs. One of the first ones we see is an aerial shot of Brighton. This is a pan shot and I think it’s a good shot because it shows us a lot of the city and we get to see the surroundings of the beach and how busy or empty it is.

Another shot we see later on into the programme, is a shot of Jake peeking into Nathan’s house through the post box and we get to see the emotions he was using for his first time doing this. Using the camera angles, we can tell that this is a wide shot. We can also see that Nathan was a bit scared as he was holding a knife towards the door and the camera was slightly shaking and moving about. This shows he was scared and he did not want to see anyone at that current moment.

1

.     Cut opening sentence which is general. Only ever be specific.

2.     Aerial shot (bird’s eye view shot) sets the scene as an establishing shot to indicate location of programme. Also serves to demonstrate how big and bustling the city of Brighton is and its coastal location.

3.     The CU ( close-up) of Jake’s eyes through the letter box is a very restricted frame. What emotions can you discern? It’s quite hard from such a small frame. A difficult example to pick.

4.     Handheld? ‘the camera was slightly shaking’

5.     Marks : 2  and a half out of 5

Q2

One feature about teenage dirtbag is the comedy about it, which Lavringe doesn't use. An example of this is when we are shown that the boy thinks that the girl is smiling at him and next minute we see that he's on the floor as he realised it was her boyfriend who was behind him. The comedy is delivered through controlled camerawork, slow-paced editing and saturated colour. The documentary style of mostly hand-held camerawork contrasts with the controlled camerawork of teenage dirtbag.

Sk8er boi is made up of a series of montages with hard cuts, whereas teenage dirtbag is more linear narrative. Sk8er boi also shows a difference of colours than in teenage dirtbag as sk8er boi has more grey and realistic colours, whereas teenage dirtbag shows more saturated colours.

EXAM Q5

There are quite a few references about social context throughout Avengers. One example is when we see a pair of men's boots in a primary school. You wouldn't see a pair of these in a school for children. This shows us that this programme was based around the time of the war because soldiers would be wearing the boots that they showed on screen.

Another reference was in the pub where we could see spitfire planes attached to ropes, which were attached to the ceiling. This again is a reference showing that it could've been based around the war time as spitfire planes were used in the war.

A final reference about social context is when we see a cupboard filled with rations for the soldiers that were involved in the war. This shows us that they have stocked up on food as they are thinking that maybe there could be a third world war breaking soon. This also links to the war.

Overall, I feel that there are many references of social context and a majority of them link to the war. 

ANALYSE HOW FAR THE EXTRACT DEPICTS THE POLICE'S POINT OF VIEW RATHER THAN THE CRIMINAL'S POINT OF VIEW - NOTES

• The voiceover at beginning
• The accident on the beach, who do we sympathize.
• Experience of training

At the beginning of the show, we can hear a voiceover at the start. This voiceover is from a police officer who is saying that "it takes courage and conviction to become a police officer." This line is depicting the police's point of view as they are talking about the police officers and how heroic they are and how they need to be strong and courageous to do the job they are doing. 

On the beach, there are a group of people from a stag and two people from the public. As the public call the police officer over, he can tell that the people from the stag are drunk. The members of public are trying to get them off the beach and the police officer ends up getting punched in the nose by someone from the stag. When this happens, we feel sympathy for the police officer as this shows us how hard and difficult their job can be at times.

Overall, I feel that we see much more of the police's point of view, rather than the criminal's. When we see the police's point of view it shows us what situations the police have to go through and how hard their job is. 

EXAM Q1: SOUND IN CUFFS

In this extract from cuffs, we hear a variety of different sounds. We can hear other police officers talking through their radios and we can also hear sirens. As we can hear the talking through the radios, we can hear a description of someone who the police are trying to find as they describe him as "dark hair, wearing a brown coat and dark trousers." This indicates to us how busy the police are as they have stopped for a few minutes and they are already trying to find someone else. This shows an effect of realism as what they are doing in this episode, could be happening right now in real life.
We also hear some police sirens from the car chase, earlier on in the extract. The way that the background music was added in then made it seem really tense as we don't know what could happen next. This siren effect is loud and brings attention to the audience as it makes them feel like they are involved in the car chase scene.

PRACTICAL LESSONS

In our lesson, we watched a trailer for Forest Gump followed by a swede, which is a recreation of a clip in a movie. After we watched this, we got into groups of 3 and then we went outside and filmed a swede of Forest Gump. In my group there was Ben, Daisy and I. We filmed from different angles and different views, especially when Forest Gump was running, we showed that he went from one place to another to make it look like he has run for ages. It was our first times using the cameras, so I think we all enjoyed it and got used to the cameras.
When we finished filming, we went back inside and started editing on iMovie. We watched a tutorial and then started editing on the Macs. I am looking forward to finishing off the edit as I think that it will turn out very well.

THE AVENGERS: MUST SEE TV

• All women beautiful
• Men stylish
• Too unreal to be true
• Humorous 
• Man holds umbrella - looks innocent
• Man obsessed with hats
• Many different women characters
• There are 3 series of the show

TV SCHEDULING

• ·        BBC1 Sunday 10 September 9 p.m. Strike
• ·        BBC1 Monday 11 September 9 p.m. Rellik
• ·        BBC1 Tuesday 12 September 9 p.m. Doctor Foster
• ·        BBC1 Wednesday 13 September 9 p.m. How to Stay Young
• ·         BBC1 Thursday 14 September 9 p.m. Ambulance
• ·        BBC1 Friday 15 September 8:30 p.m. Celebrity MasterChef
• ·        BBC1 Saturday 16 September 8:45  p.m. Casualty

Does long form narrative seem to be a popular form?

Yes, because on 3 out of the 7 nights, shows repeat every week at the same time.

CUFFS

The function of an opening sequence for a TV programme, is so we get to know the characters, and what they are like, e.g. their personality and how they act as a police officer in this programme. Also, when they played the title sequence for the programme, they were crediting the characters and the music and visual effects played behind it went really well with the programme.

The opening sequence appeared to the audience because the effects in the background of the title scene were quite vintage and the different colours were good as the music went well with it in the background.

The opening scene tells a story about Brighton's diversity as it was shown on a beach, and Brighton is quite popular for Brighton Pier and the beach so it showed what Brighton is about and how they act on the beach. Also, they hit the police officer and he got up and by that time, they ran away and he couldn't catch them.

The spread of the different characters engaged with the audience as there was a wide range of characters as there were police officers, someone who got stabbed, a group of people who were trying to beat up someone and it showed a variety of different reasons on why people get arrested and for what reasons.

I think it should be after the watershed as the first scene is on a naked beach and also there were a lot of blood shown. There were also people stabbing people and I think that it would be better to be aired of TV after the watershed as I feel that some parts were inappropriate to be shown to younger children.