The media is always controlled by middle-aged white men who mediate everything that is fed to the audience. They select certain pieces of media which is then organised and shown to audience. This then leads the audience to concentrate on certain things and ignore others. The media that is seen by the audience tends to become the dominant ideology - this means that the majority of society accepts whatever is shown to them. Due to the fact that the media is controlled by middle-aged white men, the media is commonly directed at making the youth look bad. The media creates a negative approach to the youth due to the fact that they're fearful of them. Stanley Cohen said that the dominant group in society - in this case the middled-aged white men, worry about the youth changing/taking over society and are therefore seen as a threat. In order to make sure that the youth do not challenge or overtake the dominant group in society, they represent the youth in a certain way through different types of media i.e. films, music videos or news, etc.
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
Monday, 11 May 2015
Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions.
For this question, I am going to analyse my film opening which I completed in my first year as a media student. My film opening consisted of a old woman who had lost her husband and was a widow. The genre I decided to use for my film opening was the romance genre. The film opening featured the old woman reminiscing about her memories with her husband as well as a flashback which showed the couple when they were younger. I decided to do this theme because I thought it would be interesting and slightly different to most existing romance film openings.
When researching for my film opening, I had to ensure that my main character was stereotypical of existing old women that were found in romance films. In order to do so, I had to look into what features/characteristics/behaviour was present with old women. I went onto the web 2.0 and looked into existing films that featured old women as characters - in this case I focused on the film 'The Notebook'. When watching the film opening, it was evident that she was reminiscing about a memory - although it is not clear what exact memory it was. I thought that it would be key to be include use of reminiscing because a lot of old women like to remember the past and look back on their lives. I also used the web 2.0 to look up characteristics that are commonly associated with older women. These stereotypes have been created by males who control the media. Hegemony states that the power group - in this case middle-aged males, have the control over the representations within the media. Due to the fact that they're not associated with older people in general, the stereotypes feature both negative and positive characteristics - but mostly negative. After going onto the web 2.0, I had found a variety of different words that related to the stereotypical behaviour of an old woman. These consisted of words like lonely, annoying, always complaining, overprotective, pitiful, sorrowful, sad etc. I thought that it would be a good idea to incorporate some of the representations. I did not want to make her appear annoying or boring towards the audience who were watching it and therefore I wanted to ensure I used the correct characteristics/behaviours that were relatable towards the storyline. Due to the fact that my main character had lost her husband, I thought it would be important to incorporate the stereotypes 'sorrowful' and 'sad'. This representation was key when researching older people because it is what the media feature the most.. I thought it would be a good idea to use these two stereotypes because they also fit in well with the emotions that are felt when losing a loved one. I think that the characteristics that the old woman used worked really well and developed the existing stereotypes found within the media.
In terms of representation, I thought that it would important to incorporate historical factors. When completing the flashback, I had to ensure that it was as realistic as possible. I therefore had to ensure that I represented the young male and female in a way that was justifiable and historical. I therefore ensured that both of the male and female were white. This is due to the fact that in that time zone (captured 1930s/40s), it was unacceptable for two different skin colours to be together because of the racism. I therefore had to represent them in a way that was featured in the media in that time zone. I think that this worked really well and demonstrated that I knew the timezone and had an understanding of the historic racism that was present. I think that representing the couple as both one skin colour was important to do and showed what it was like to be a part of that era.
When researching for my film opening, I had to ensure that my main character was stereotypical of existing old women that were found in romance films. In order to do so, I had to look into what features/characteristics/behaviour was present with old women. I went onto the web 2.0 and looked into existing films that featured old women as characters - in this case I focused on the film 'The Notebook'. When watching the film opening, it was evident that she was reminiscing about a memory - although it is not clear what exact memory it was. I thought that it would be key to be include use of reminiscing because a lot of old women like to remember the past and look back on their lives. I also used the web 2.0 to look up characteristics that are commonly associated with older women. These stereotypes have been created by males who control the media. Hegemony states that the power group - in this case middle-aged males, have the control over the representations within the media. Due to the fact that they're not associated with older people in general, the stereotypes feature both negative and positive characteristics - but mostly negative. After going onto the web 2.0, I had found a variety of different words that related to the stereotypical behaviour of an old woman. These consisted of words like lonely, annoying, always complaining, overprotective, pitiful, sorrowful, sad etc. I thought that it would be a good idea to incorporate some of the representations. I did not want to make her appear annoying or boring towards the audience who were watching it and therefore I wanted to ensure I used the correct characteristics/behaviours that were relatable towards the storyline. Due to the fact that my main character had lost her husband, I thought it would be important to incorporate the stereotypes 'sorrowful' and 'sad'. This representation was key when researching older people because it is what the media feature the most.. I thought it would be a good idea to use these two stereotypes because they also fit in well with the emotions that are felt when losing a loved one. I think that the characteristics that the old woman used worked really well and developed the existing stereotypes found within the media.
In terms of representation, I thought that it would important to incorporate historical factors. When completing the flashback, I had to ensure that it was as realistic as possible. I therefore had to ensure that I represented the young male and female in a way that was justifiable and historical. I therefore ensured that both of the male and female were white. This is due to the fact that in that time zone (captured 1930s/40s), it was unacceptable for two different skin colours to be together because of the racism. I therefore had to represent them in a way that was featured in the media in that time zone. I think that this worked really well and demonstrated that I knew the timezone and had an understanding of the historic racism that was present. I think that representing the couple as both one skin colour was important to do and showed what it was like to be a part of that era.
Thursday, 30 April 2015
A2 EXAM - 1B
paragraph 1 Intro: which of your projects are you going to write about? briefly describe it
paragraph 2: what are some of the key features of the concept you are being asked to apply? maybe outline two of the theories/ideas of particular writers briefly
paragraph 3: start to apply the concept, making close reference to your production to show how the concept is evident in it
paragraph 4: try to show ways in which ideas work in relation to your production and also ways in which those ideas might not apply/could be challenged
paragraph 5: conclusion
Again remember you only have 30 minutes and that you really need to analyse the finished production, rather than tell the marker how you made it
paragraph 2: what are some of the key features of the concept you are being asked to apply? maybe outline two of the theories/ideas of particular writers briefly
paragraph 3: start to apply the concept, making close reference to your production to show how the concept is evident in it
paragraph 4: try to show ways in which ideas work in relation to your production and also ways in which those ideas might not apply/could be challenged
paragraph 5: conclusion
Again remember you only have 30 minutes and that you really need to analyse the finished production, rather than tell the marker how you made it
Tuesday, 28 April 2015
A2 EXAM - 1A
1a is about what you actually did. No theorists. And will track your journey across both years in one of the following areas digital technology, creativity, post-production, research and planning, or using conventions from real media texts.
paragraph 1 should be an introduction which explains which projects you did. It can be quite short.
paragraph 2 should pick up the skill area and perhaps suggest something about your starting point with it- what skills did you have already and how were these illustrated. use an example.
paragraph 3 should talk through your use of that skill in early projects and what you learned and developed through these. Again there should be examples to support all that you say.
paragraph 4 should go on to demonstrate how the skill developed in later projects, again backed by examples, and reflecting back on how this represents moves forward for you from your early position.
paragraph 5 short conclusion
paragraph 2 should pick up the skill area and perhaps suggest something about your starting point with it- what skills did you have already and how were these illustrated. use an example.
paragraph 3 should talk through your use of that skill in early projects and what you learned and developed through these. Again there should be examples to support all that you say.
paragraph 4 should go on to demonstrate how the skill developed in later projects, again backed by examples, and reflecting back on how this represents moves forward for you from your early position.
paragraph 5 short conclusion
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Describe the ways in which your project work was aided by your use of digital technology
Describe the ways in which your project work was aided by your use of digital technology and how your ability to use digital technology developed over time.
What they mean is to cover both your AS year and A2 year. Include research and planning as well as construction in our answer, and do not forget to state what products you are
talking about.
Digital technology played an important role in both my AS year and A2 year. It allowed me to be more professional and gave me the opportunity to expand my knowledge of existing products as well as with video editing. Digital technology helped me throughout all the stages - research, planning and construction.
During my time as an AS student, I had to complete a preliminary task which involved having to make a practice video which allowed me to test out a variety of different shots that could be used during my film opening. The video featured shots that included over-the-shoulder, panning and close-ups etc. In order to shoot this video, I used a D3100 Nikon camera. I placed the Nikon camera onto a tripod and filmed the required shots. Once I had those shots, I then had to edit them. I started to edit the shots on iMovie. I placed the shots next to one another in order for the sequence to flow as smoothly as possible. Using iMovie helped me to understand how shots are cut and placed next to one another. This was an important lesson when video editing as it indicated to me what the best way to do it was.
For my main task, I had to construct a romantic film opening. The main digital technology that I used during this task was the web 2.0. The web 2.0 was used during the research and planning stages of the task. I was able to use the web 2.0 to understand the common conventions that were found within existing products. I also was able to use the web 2.0 for Youtube to look at the existing romance film openings. It allowed me to understand what had to be featured within my film opening to allow it to be similar to ones that had already been made as well as developing/challenging what had already been completed. I also used a camcorder to record the shots that I had planned. During the filming, I also had tripod that I used during the majority of the shots that I took. Once I had the shots that I required, I had to edit the shots. I did this on a digital piece of technology called 'Premier Pro'. I had not previously used Premier Pro and this was therefore my first attempt at it so I did not have much knowledge of how it worked. I had only previously used iMovie to edit clips together. It was quite difficult to start of with as I did not know what I was doing 100%. In order for me to understand what I was doing, I used the web 2.0 to go onto Youtube and look up how to use it professionally. I also had to use Premier Pro to edit a clip to make it appear old looking. I went onto the effects and played with the timing of the shot as well as the colour. I then went onto Youtube to see how to create white marks on the shot in order to make it old fashioned. I followed the Youtube instructions and was able to do what I had planned. A feature within my film opening was the use of credits and company logo. I had not had any previous knowledge of what the credits or company logos looked like on existing films. I therefore went on the web 2.0 and did some research into transitions and font/font size. Once I understood what existing films used, I then was able to do my own credits and company logo for my own film opening. Another feature within my film opening was two separate pieces of narration. In order to record this narration, I had to use a mic and boom to capture it. I then uploaded it to my desktop and placed it in Premier Pro - where I then positioned it where I wanted it. Using the web 2.0 and Youtube helped me to use Premier Pro and gave me a little bit more knowledge of the technology. I think that the digital technology was a huge help in the development of my film opening because it allowed for it to be more advanced and professional.
During my time as an A2 student, I had to complete a film trailer as a main task alongside two ancillary tasks which were to create a poster and magazine. To start of this year, I had to do a bit of research into existing film trailers. I therefore used the web 2.0 to explore what was commonly found within romance trailers. I looked into the trailers 'TFIOS' and 'My Sister's Keeper'. I looked into these film trailers on Youtube because they were the type of story line I wanted to follow. As development from my AS film opening, I realised that I had to take a lot more shots in case the ones that I took did not work well or weren't well shot. Therefore for my A2 film trailer, I took a lot more of each shot to ensure I had exactly what I wanted. In order to capture the shots, I used the same camcorder as I did previously for my AS film opening. Due to the fact that I had used it prior, I knew how to use it and was more comfortable this time around when it came to filming. After I filmed the shots required for my film trailer, I then had to edit them in order for them to fit together how I wanted them too. Due to the fact that I had already used Premier Pro, I was a lot more aware of how to use it and therefore I did not struggle which was a lot easier for me personally. I gained the knowledge of how to crop, move and position clips from the previous year which therefore helped me out. Since I decided to complete a romance film trailer, it was easier for me to understand what was needed for that genre - because I had already used that genre for my film opening. Although I had gained this knowledge from completing my AS year, I still ensured that I had researched as much as possible when constructing the trailer and featuring credits and my company logo as well as narration and speech. I had not previously completed speech within my film opening last year (only narration) so I thought it would be an interesting idea to develop the level of wording that I used. I used the web 2.0 to to look into this information and I feel like it gave me that little bit extra to complete my film trailer.
For my ancillary tasks, I had to create a poster and magazine that represented the film trailer as a form of promotion. In order to do this, I had to go into the studio and use the studio camera. I decided to use a grey and brown background for the two separate tasks. Once I had taken the photographs, I had to upload them onto my desktop. After I did that, I had to open Photoshop up and then I opened the photos. In order for my poster and magazine to be accurate and realistic, I first had to research existing magazine covers and posters. I went onto the web 2.0 and looked into the key features. This played an important part in creating my own magazine and poster because it made me aware of what I had to include. After looking at the research, I then went onto the poster and ensured that I included a billing block, main title, main image, model's credit etc. I then completed the magazine and ensured that I included a main image, masthead, barcode etc. Due to the fact that I did photography as an AS and A2, I was aware of how to use Photoshop and this therefore helped me out massively because I knew exactly what I wanted/needed to do.
In terms of digital technology, I feel like it has developed well over time. This is due to the fact that I had started using iMovie and then I went onto using a more developed piece of technology - Premier Pro. I think that using some of the same digital technology again in the second year allowed me to work really well as I had gained the knowledge from the previous year and was therefore able to develop my work further.
During my time as an A2 student, I had to complete a film trailer as a main task alongside two ancillary tasks which were to create a poster and magazine. To start of this year, I had to do a bit of research into existing film trailers. I therefore used the web 2.0 to explore what was commonly found within romance trailers. I looked into the trailers 'TFIOS' and 'My Sister's Keeper'. I looked into these film trailers on Youtube because they were the type of story line I wanted to follow. As development from my AS film opening, I realised that I had to take a lot more shots in case the ones that I took did not work well or weren't well shot. Therefore for my A2 film trailer, I took a lot more of each shot to ensure I had exactly what I wanted. In order to capture the shots, I used the same camcorder as I did previously for my AS film opening. Due to the fact that I had used it prior, I knew how to use it and was more comfortable this time around when it came to filming. After I filmed the shots required for my film trailer, I then had to edit them in order for them to fit together how I wanted them too. Due to the fact that I had already used Premier Pro, I was a lot more aware of how to use it and therefore I did not struggle which was a lot easier for me personally. I gained the knowledge of how to crop, move and position clips from the previous year which therefore helped me out. Since I decided to complete a romance film trailer, it was easier for me to understand what was needed for that genre - because I had already used that genre for my film opening. Although I had gained this knowledge from completing my AS year, I still ensured that I had researched as much as possible when constructing the trailer and featuring credits and my company logo as well as narration and speech. I had not previously completed speech within my film opening last year (only narration) so I thought it would be an interesting idea to develop the level of wording that I used. I used the web 2.0 to to look into this information and I feel like it gave me that little bit extra to complete my film trailer.
For my ancillary tasks, I had to create a poster and magazine that represented the film trailer as a form of promotion. In order to do this, I had to go into the studio and use the studio camera. I decided to use a grey and brown background for the two separate tasks. Once I had taken the photographs, I had to upload them onto my desktop. After I did that, I had to open Photoshop up and then I opened the photos. In order for my poster and magazine to be accurate and realistic, I first had to research existing magazine covers and posters. I went onto the web 2.0 and looked into the key features. This played an important part in creating my own magazine and poster because it made me aware of what I had to include. After looking at the research, I then went onto the poster and ensured that I included a billing block, main title, main image, model's credit etc. I then completed the magazine and ensured that I included a main image, masthead, barcode etc. Due to the fact that I did photography as an AS and A2, I was aware of how to use Photoshop and this therefore helped me out massively because I knew exactly what I wanted/needed to do.
In terms of digital technology, I feel like it has developed well over time. This is due to the fact that I had started using iMovie and then I went onto using a more developed piece of technology - Premier Pro. I think that using some of the same digital technology again in the second year allowed me to work really well as I had gained the knowledge from the previous year and was therefore able to develop my work further.
Wednesday, 21 January 2015
Analyse your film opening with regards to genre
Genre is highly important when it comes to institutions. It is important because it allows for the marketing porcess to be a lot easier as audiences can be predicted and targeted through the films in that specific genre. Genre is also important for audiences because it lets them choose/categorise what genre the film they're watching is - in terms of prediction, expectation and anticipation. The genre that I chose to use for my film opening was romance. I decided to do a romance genre as I thought it would be more appealing and interesting for both myself and the audience. My film opening consisted on a variety of different conventions that are found within the romance genre. It was important for me to include common conventions within my film opening to ensure that audience were able to connect my opening with a specfic genre - in this case romance and therefore know what to expect within it.
One key convention that I used within my film opening was the use of narration. It was important that I used narration within my opening as it is very common within existing romance films such as 'Dear John' and 'The Notebook' which were key films I anaylsed during the researched stage. Using narration allowed for the audience to categorise what genre my film opening was. It was also important for me to use a female voice to complete the narration as this was the most common type of narration used and therefore was a huge factor within my opening. I also decided to go against common conventions and use the voice of a male as well within my opening. I decided to do this to ensure that I was trying to expand the common conventions found and try to expand the genre as a whole. Stephen Neale (1980) said that 'Genres are instances of repetition and difference'. I think that this theory is an important part of my opening in terms of genre because I feel like I did exactly that with the narration. I ensured that I used a common convention that had be repeated within different romance films- in this case a female voice, as well as mixing it up and trying to create a sense of 'difference' by using a male voice.
Another important theory that is relatable to my film opening is Nick Lacey's 'Repertoire of Elements'. Nick Lacey broke down anaylsing genre into five specific areas. These areas were: setting, character, narrative, iconography and style. The setting was a huge part when deciding my genre as I needed to use a setting that created a sense of 'love' - in this case it was the house of the old woman and therefore helped show the audience that she had an emotional connection with the setting. The character played an important part within the role of the romance genre. In my film opening I featured an old widowed woman who had lost love. The use of an O.A.P indicated that the genre was romance because they are most commonly found within that specfic genre. I had to ensure that the narrative was similar to existing romance films by including common conventions such as love and tragedy - love being the past relationship between the main character and her husband and tragedy being the death of her husband. Iconography also played an important role within my film opening. The use of a hand written letter and old photograph of a couple indicated that the genre was romance because it allowed for the audience to understand the relationship between the two characters. Finally, the style of my film opening was the final piece in the puzzle which allowed the audience to break down the conventions and therefore decide what the genre was. The shot lengths were not face past but instead were slow and gave enough time to understand what was going on. The use of slow shots informs the audience that the genre is not fast or frantic but instead is calm and peaceful. The use of a slow piece of music also gave the audience a good idea to what the genre was because it set a calm and peaceful atmosphere/mood for the film opening. Nick Lacey's 'Repertoire of Elements played an important role within my film opening because it helped the audience to break it down and relate it to similarities within existing romance films.
In conclusion, genre played an important role within establishing whether my film opening related to romance. It was very helpful towards the audience as it was a huge factor in understanding what to look for in certain genres and to understand that the common conventions within my genre were found in other romances films, therefore demonstrating that I successfully used the conventions to show what genre my film opening was.
One key convention that I used within my film opening was the use of narration. It was important that I used narration within my opening as it is very common within existing romance films such as 'Dear John' and 'The Notebook' which were key films I anaylsed during the researched stage. Using narration allowed for the audience to categorise what genre my film opening was. It was also important for me to use a female voice to complete the narration as this was the most common type of narration used and therefore was a huge factor within my opening. I also decided to go against common conventions and use the voice of a male as well within my opening. I decided to do this to ensure that I was trying to expand the common conventions found and try to expand the genre as a whole. Stephen Neale (1980) said that 'Genres are instances of repetition and difference'. I think that this theory is an important part of my opening in terms of genre because I feel like I did exactly that with the narration. I ensured that I used a common convention that had be repeated within different romance films- in this case a female voice, as well as mixing it up and trying to create a sense of 'difference' by using a male voice.
Another important theory that is relatable to my film opening is Nick Lacey's 'Repertoire of Elements'. Nick Lacey broke down anaylsing genre into five specific areas. These areas were: setting, character, narrative, iconography and style. The setting was a huge part when deciding my genre as I needed to use a setting that created a sense of 'love' - in this case it was the house of the old woman and therefore helped show the audience that she had an emotional connection with the setting. The character played an important part within the role of the romance genre. In my film opening I featured an old widowed woman who had lost love. The use of an O.A.P indicated that the genre was romance because they are most commonly found within that specfic genre. I had to ensure that the narrative was similar to existing romance films by including common conventions such as love and tragedy - love being the past relationship between the main character and her husband and tragedy being the death of her husband. Iconography also played an important role within my film opening. The use of a hand written letter and old photograph of a couple indicated that the genre was romance because it allowed for the audience to understand the relationship between the two characters. Finally, the style of my film opening was the final piece in the puzzle which allowed the audience to break down the conventions and therefore decide what the genre was. The shot lengths were not face past but instead were slow and gave enough time to understand what was going on. The use of slow shots informs the audience that the genre is not fast or frantic but instead is calm and peaceful. The use of a slow piece of music also gave the audience a good idea to what the genre was because it set a calm and peaceful atmosphere/mood for the film opening. Nick Lacey's 'Repertoire of Elements played an important role within my film opening because it helped the audience to break it down and relate it to similarities within existing romance films.
In conclusion, genre played an important role within establishing whether my film opening related to romance. It was very helpful towards the audience as it was a huge factor in understanding what to look for in certain genres and to understand that the common conventions within my genre were found in other romances films, therefore demonstrating that I successfully used the conventions to show what genre my film opening was.
Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions
For my first year within media, I decided to create a film opening with a romance genre. I decided to do this because I thought it was different and interesting for me personally. Within my film opening I used an widowed old woman who was the main character. She was seen to be reminiscing about old times with her husband through photographs and letters.
In terms of narrative, Roland Barthes can be related to my film opening. This is due to the fact that some of his five codes can be linked to it. For starters, the enigma code can be relatable to my opening. The enigma code refers to the way the story avoids telling or revealing all the facts/truth. This therefore creates a mystery. I thought that this related to my opening because within it, we see a flashback that shows the woman with her husband when they were younger. This flashback shows the couple hugging, but does not show what happened to the husband. This therefore gives the opportunity for the clues to be dropped further on during the film and therefore eventually allows for the audience to understand what happened to the husband - why/when he died. The second code that can be relatable to my opening is the referential code. Although it is not 100% obvious within the opening, there is a use of historical knowledge during the flashback. The two main characters are seen to both be white. This was an important factor within my opening because of the timescale that the flashback was set in. The fact that the old woman was in her 70s/80s when it was filmed indicates that the flashback would've been in the 1960s/1970s. During that time, it was not seen as 'normal' to have a couple of two different ethnicities. It was therefore important that I had the couple as the same ethnicity to ensure that I was following historical factors. Another code that can be related to my film opening is the symbolic code. This code can be used for the expression of the old woman. There can be opposite expressions seen within my opening. During the flashback, we can see the woman is smiling and looks particularly happy to be with him. But in the rest of the opening, we can see that she looks low and sorrowful. This contrast allows for the audience to be able to see that he meant a lot to her and indicates that their relationship was something special and important to the main character. This therefore informs the audience in a way that creates a greater/deeper meaning and allows for the audience to establish the couple's relationship within the first couple of minutes of the film opening. A different code that can be related from Barthes theory is the semantic code. Additional meanings can be found within my film opening. The first one being the use of the photograph in the frame. To the naked eye, it is just a photograph in a frame. The connotation of this however, can be that he is her husband and is on her wall because she loves him. This is also similar to the photograph of the couple that she pulls out during the reading of the letter. At first look, all we see is a photograph. But, the connotation indicates that the photograph has meaning and shows that the couple is the old woman and her husband when they were younger and therefore has a connection with the old woman who is holding it.
Another theorist that can be linked to my film opening is Claude Levi Strauss. He links to my film opening because of the 'binary opposites'. He said that narratives are based about 'binary opposites'. A huge part of my film opening was the ages seen within it. The main opposite being the use of an old woman as the main character. I also used a young couple to do the flashback and therefore indicates a binary opposite of young vs old. This was essential when making the flashback - ensuring that the woman was younger so the audience were able to understand that it was her. Another binary opposite that can be seen within this film opening was happy vs sad. During the flashback we can see that the woman is happy - because she is with him. Whereas when she is alone, we see her being sad and not looking like her happy self. This indicates an opposite in emotions that can be seen/felt within the film opening.
Overall, I think that the narrative theorists Barthes and Levi Strauss are the two theorists that link most to my film opening because of the codes and opposites that can be seen within it. I think that these two theorists were fairly easy to relate to my film opening because of it's context.
In terms of narrative, Roland Barthes can be related to my film opening. This is due to the fact that some of his five codes can be linked to it. For starters, the enigma code can be relatable to my opening. The enigma code refers to the way the story avoids telling or revealing all the facts/truth. This therefore creates a mystery. I thought that this related to my opening because within it, we see a flashback that shows the woman with her husband when they were younger. This flashback shows the couple hugging, but does not show what happened to the husband. This therefore gives the opportunity for the clues to be dropped further on during the film and therefore eventually allows for the audience to understand what happened to the husband - why/when he died. The second code that can be relatable to my opening is the referential code. Although it is not 100% obvious within the opening, there is a use of historical knowledge during the flashback. The two main characters are seen to both be white. This was an important factor within my opening because of the timescale that the flashback was set in. The fact that the old woman was in her 70s/80s when it was filmed indicates that the flashback would've been in the 1960s/1970s. During that time, it was not seen as 'normal' to have a couple of two different ethnicities. It was therefore important that I had the couple as the same ethnicity to ensure that I was following historical factors. Another code that can be related to my film opening is the symbolic code. This code can be used for the expression of the old woman. There can be opposite expressions seen within my opening. During the flashback, we can see the woman is smiling and looks particularly happy to be with him. But in the rest of the opening, we can see that she looks low and sorrowful. This contrast allows for the audience to be able to see that he meant a lot to her and indicates that their relationship was something special and important to the main character. This therefore informs the audience in a way that creates a greater/deeper meaning and allows for the audience to establish the couple's relationship within the first couple of minutes of the film opening. A different code that can be related from Barthes theory is the semantic code. Additional meanings can be found within my film opening. The first one being the use of the photograph in the frame. To the naked eye, it is just a photograph in a frame. The connotation of this however, can be that he is her husband and is on her wall because she loves him. This is also similar to the photograph of the couple that she pulls out during the reading of the letter. At first look, all we see is a photograph. But, the connotation indicates that the photograph has meaning and shows that the couple is the old woman and her husband when they were younger and therefore has a connection with the old woman who is holding it.
Another theorist that can be linked to my film opening is Claude Levi Strauss. He links to my film opening because of the 'binary opposites'. He said that narratives are based about 'binary opposites'. A huge part of my film opening was the ages seen within it. The main opposite being the use of an old woman as the main character. I also used a young couple to do the flashback and therefore indicates a binary opposite of young vs old. This was essential when making the flashback - ensuring that the woman was younger so the audience were able to understand that it was her. Another binary opposite that can be seen within this film opening was happy vs sad. During the flashback we can see that the woman is happy - because she is with him. Whereas when she is alone, we see her being sad and not looking like her happy self. This indicates an opposite in emotions that can be seen/felt within the film opening.
Overall, I think that the narrative theorists Barthes and Levi Strauss are the two theorists that link most to my film opening because of the codes and opposites that can be seen within it. I think that these two theorists were fairly easy to relate to my film opening because of it's context.
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