Planning: Psychology of media

What is psychology?
Psychology is the study of the mind as it pertains to human behaviour.


If you were to ask people if psychology and media relate, quite a few would disagree but we beg to differ, as psychology can be used everywhere as it is the study of human behaviour. Now a days media is such an important part of our lives and it is everywhere and it is incorporated into everything such as, print media, broadcastings, recordings, films, the internet, video games and most importantly mobile phones, that is why we believe that media affects human behaviour.

Sigmund Freud
A psychologist by the name of Sigmund Freud came up with the theory 'Psychic Apparatus', which is a theory which says that the human mind can be broken into three main parts which govern our behaviour this being the:

• ID- it is said that the ID is only concerned with pleasure. It cares nothing of consequences and operates on instinct and impulse.
• EGO- it is said that the Ego is concerned with the reality of consequences. It is highly aware of how others perceive it, and is constantly demanding that we act in a way which others will find approving 
• SUPER EGO- it is said that's the super ego negotiates between the two parts of the brain, making decisions on whether or not to follow instinctual impulses {pleasure} or act accordingly to expectations of others {consciences)  

Why do we watch cinema according to Freud?
In films the protagonist {hero} and the antagonist {villain} are usually hyper-exaggerated example of either good or evil. Watching these characters is a way of appeasing those facets of out behaviour. When watching we can relate to the behaviour of doing bad or doing what you want to get whatever you want.


The Mirror Stage and the Ideal I
The Mirror Stage was created by Jacques Lucan. It is the ideal that infants do not recognise themselves as themselves until they are 18 months. From this age they start to establish their interpretation of themselves.
The Ideal I is the idea that we are not capable of thinking of ourselves in a negative way, therefore we see ourselves as perfect.
This is why we tend to find movies and hyper-exaggerated characters funny due to disassociation, we find them funny due to the fact that we ourselves would not be able to do that.

Laura Mulvey
Laura Mulvey is a feminist who is known best for her essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Her article, which was influenced by the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, is one of the first major essays that helped shift the orientation of film theory towards a psychoanalytic framework.
She believes that in Hollywood cinema women suffer from Voyeurism, Scopophila and the 'Male Gaze'.
Voyeurism- is sexual pleasure gained through looking at the human form when they are unaware (spying)
Scopophila- is pleasure through looking at the human form (often sexual)
The Male Gaze- is that the idea of looking is what fulfils their sexual needs, also the structure of looking is formed through how we look at the characters and how they in return look at us.

Objectification
Sexual Objectification- through our gaze females are portrayed as sexual objects. they are represented as being weak in many different ways.

Male Representation
Male models ,while still objectified are looked at as powerful, strong and having a great deal of sexual energy.


Differences in Representations


Females                                           Male
1. Seen as a Child                           1. seen as adult-like
2. seen as vulnerable                      2. seen as powerful
3. not able to look at people          3. able to look at their
    who are looking at them               subjects head on


The Gaze and Roles in Film
As strong plots go the lead actors is the "head man", he is able to deal with the problems ahead.
Females will be seen as supporting the "hard man", while they may be clever, they are dependant on the lead.


Are Females Ever Powerful?
Females may seem powerful in some instances but through analysis, it can be seen that they still fall in the binary structure.

Planning : Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene

The definition of Mise-en-scene is used to describe design ideas in theater's or films production. It is also called 'visual theme' because it is used in artful ways through story boarding, cinematography and stage designs through direction. Mise-en-scene is everything that is appeared before filming or the eyes of its viewers. The various elements of design help express a film’s vision by generating a sense of time and space, as well as setting a mood, and sometimes suggesting a character’s state of mind. Mise-en-scène also includes the composition, which consists of the positioning and movement of actors, as well as objects in the shot. Containing Mise-en-scene that are in charge of individual sets are:

Costume

A costume simply refers to the clothes for the characters to wear. Also, it is a style of dress, including garments, accessories, and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period, hysterical or people. eg- this image beside shows a hysterical costume, you can tell that it is a costume because of the amount of material is on and how big it is, also the hair shows that it is hysterical as now a days no one dresses like that.

Props

Props refers to objects in theater and film as characters use them. Props in film or theater are used for either decoration, display or characters using them. Props are good use in theater and filming because it also make it interesting and more realistic for the audience so that it can be more exciting. eg- in this image the man is holding a prop, the reason why it is interesting and realistic is that it is helping the man to guide or demonstrate what the man is portraying as if there was no props it will not look as interesting.

Sets

The definition of sets in film studies to put something in a particular place or position. in films or theater it is the surroundings for the characters in which something is placed. The scenery, properties, or background, used to create the location for a stage play. eg- in this image you can see a background showing a location or what it is as the character is surrounded by a smokey environment which makes it look adequate.

Space

The representation of space affects the reading of a film. Depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a film can be manipulated through camera placement and lenses, lighting , decor, effectively determining mood or relationships between elements in the diegetic world. 

Deep Space- it is important that components in frames located both close to and far from the camera. It is used to emphasize the distance between objects and/or characters, as well as any obstacles that exist between them. Deep space is used in this image frame to stress how far away Nemo is from his father and the barriers separating them.






Shallow Space- the opposite of deep space is shallow space. Shallow space refers to a 2D flat space that may have width and density, but contains only a limited amount of depth. In shallow space, the image appears flat or two dimensional, because there is little or no depth. In this image from Finding Nemo, the whale is approaching Dory and Marlin from behind, which creates suspense for the viewer, because the fish are unaware of the whale’s presence. There is a loss of realism, but it enhances the viewing by emphasizing the close proximity of the whale to Dory and Marlin and creating concern in the viewers that they may soon be eaten.



Offscreen Space- spaces in the diegesis that is not physically present in the frame. The viewer becomes aware of something outside of the frame through either a character’s response to a person, thing, or event offscreen, or offscreen sound. In using offscreen space, directors employ a more creative method of conveying information to the viewer.

Planning :Camera Shots and Angles

In movies, we might not notice but there are a set of techniques used for us to understand better the meaning of a scene. For this, Camera Shots and Angle Shots are being used.

You might wonder what camera shots and angle shots are, well here are the explanations;

A camera shot is the amount of space that is seen in one shot used essentially to demonstrate different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes. On the other side, a camera angle is simply the position in which the camera is held. For a better understanding of Camera Shots and Camera Angles, we've included pictures with the many different camera shots and angles.

This is an EXTREME LONG SHOT. It usually contains a large amount of landscape. It is often used at the beginning of a scene or film to establish general LOCATION (setting).

This is a LONG SHOT. It gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. A long might show the viewers the building where the action will take place. 

This is a FULL SHOT. It contains a complete view of the characters. It helps to demonstrate the relationships between characters.

This is a MEDIUM SHOT. It contains characters from the waist up so that the viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters.

This is MEDIUM CLOSE-UP. It is half way between a medium shot and a close up, it contains characters from mid bust to head.

This is a CLOSE-UP. It contains just one character's face, so that viewers can understand the actor's emotions and feel empathy for the character.

This is an EXTREME CLOSE-UP. It contains one part of a character's face. This technique is quite common in horror films. This creates an intense mood and provides interaction between the audience and the character.









This is a HIGH ANGLE. It looks down upon a subject. A high angle makes the character look vulnerable or small.

















This a LOW ANGLE. It looks up at a character. This is the opposite of a high angle and makes a character look more powerful.

Planning: Binary Structuralism

Binary Structuralism

What is Binary Structuralism?

Binary Structuralism (Opposition) is a representation which broken into two parts, one being correct (or ideal), and the other being incorrect or bad. e.g.-

Binary Oppositions

Adult - Child

Alien - Human

Deceitful - Honest

Dependant - Self Sufficient

Industrialisation - Medieval

Male - Female

Masculine - Feminine

Patriarchal - Matriarchal

Prisoner - Civilian

Organic - Technological

Violent - Harmless

Age:

• Youths are seen as troublemakers, violent , inexperienced and powerless. On the other hand, still clever. This theory is usually from the elderly's perspective.
• Professionals seen as the ones who hold power.
• Old Age is seen as ultra-conservative, old fashioned and out of touch with reality.

Youths

Professionals

Old Age

Race:

• EMG's (Ethnic Minority Group) portrayed as subservient in work roles.
• Often EMG's involved in drugs, violence and anti-social behaviour
• EMG's often self aware of the inability to climb social ladder.

Drugs

Violence

Anti-Social Behaviour

Class:

• Upper Class associations stick to their own socially
• Any interaction with lower classes are involved in employe/employee relationships
• Usually seen highly educated/albeit ignorant to the plights of the lower class

Gender:

• Objectification to be sexual objects for men
• Women often subservient to men, in both professional and personal relationship

Sexuality:

• Homosexuals often portrayed as ultra-feminine or ultra-masculine depending on the gender.
• Work roles are usually hospitality or industry based. (designer, bar club).
• Party-boy lifestyle prevalent (sex, drugs, partying)

Region:

• Regional representations are often ignorant to the ideals mainstream culture
• Regional representation often very heavily stereotyped

Planning : Lighting

Lighting

The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting have a profound effect on the way an image is perceived. Light affects the way colors are rendered, both in terms of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the composition. Much like movement in the cinema, the history of lighting technology is initially linked to the history of film style. Most mainstream films rely on the three point lighting style, and its genre variations. Other films, for example documentaries and realist cinema, rely on natural light to create a sense of authenticity.

High Key:

High key lighting is a style of lighting that is bright or equally even in the concept and produces little contrast between light and dark areas of the scene having chiefly light tones. Usually with little tonal contrast having a predominance of light grey tones or light colours. It also refers to images that are mostly bright with a range of light tones and whites and not very many blacks or mid tones.  In high-key photography, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, white. This style of lighting was originally developed for films and television, back when the technology wasn’t very good at capturing high contrast ratios. Today high key is purely an artistic decision – photographers and filmmakers choose it when they want an image or story to be upbeat, optimistic or youthful. 

Low Key:

Low key lighting is the complete opposite to High key lighting. The Low lighting is a style for photography, film and television. It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect. Its is used optionally controlled with a fill light or a simple reflector. Also, Low key light accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into shade while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast. The term "low key" is used in cinematography to refer to any scene with a high lighting ratio, especially if there is a predominance of shadowy areas. It tends to heighten the sense of alienation felt by the viewer, hence is commonly used in film noir and horror genres.

Differences between High and Low Key Lighting.

High-key lighting focuses on light tones and whites; low-key lighting relies on shadows, deep blacks and darker tones, with very few whites and middle tones. The mood is opposite, too – while high-key lighting is hopeful and optimistic, low-key lighting is somber, mysterious and moody, dramatic or even ominous depending on the subject. High-key images are flatter with less contrast than an image that qualifies as mid-key, which is most of the images that photographers produce. Low key images, on the other hand, tend to have a lot of contrast, with the primary impact coming from the shadows. Both High Key images and Low Key images make an intensive use of contrast, but in a very different way. When approaching a shoot of a dramatic portrait, the decision of making it a High Key, Low Key has great impact about the mood that this picture will convey. While High Key images are considered happy and will show your subject as a tooth-paste poster; Low Key portraits are dramatic and convey a lot of atmosphere and tension. Let’s explore those two dramatic lighting alternatives.

In high-key photography, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, whi - See more at: http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3558/using-lighting-style-to-create-mood-high-key-and-low-key-lighting/#sthash.XOlvBE11.dpuf

High-key lighting simply refers to images that are mostly bright, with a range of light tones and whites and not very many blacks or mid-tones. In high-key photography, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, white. This style of lighting was originally developed for films and television, back when the technology wasn’t very good at capturing high contrast ratios. Today high key is purely an artistic decision – photographers and filmmakers choose it when they want an image or story to be upbeat, optimistic or youthful. - See more at: http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3558/using-lighting-style-to-create-mood-high-key-and-low-key-lighting/#sthash.XOlvBE11.dpuf

High-key lighting simply refers to images that are mostly bright, with a range of light tones and whites and not very many blacks or mid-tones. In high-key photography, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, white. This style of lighting was originally developed for films and television, back when the technology wasn’t very good at capturing high contrast ratios. Today high key is purely an artistic decision – photographers and filmmakers choose it when they want an image or story to be upbeat, optimistic or youthful. - See more at: http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3558/using-lighting-style-to-create-mood-high-key-and-low-key-lighting/#sthash.XOlvBE11.dpuf

High-key lighting simply refers to images that are mostly bright, with a range of light tones and whites and not very many blacks or mid-tones. In high-key photography, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, white. This style of lighting was originally developed for films and television, back when the technology wasn’t very good at capturing high contrast ratios. Today high key is purely an artistic decision – photographers and filmmakers choose it when they want an image or story to be upbeat, optimistic or youthful. - See more at: http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3558/using-lighting-style-to-create-mood-high-key-and-low-key-lighting/#sthash.XOlvBE11.dpuf

High-key lighting simply refers to images that are mostly bright, with a range of light tones and whites and not very many blacks or mid-tones. In high-key photography, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, white. This style of lighting was originally developed for films and television, back when the technology wasn’t very good at capturing high contrast ratios. Today high key is purely an artistic decision – photographers and filmmakers choose it when they want an image or story to be upbeat, optimistic or youthful. - See more at: http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3558/using-lighting-style-to-create-mood-high-key-and-low-key-lighting/#sthash.XOlvBE11.dpufvvv

High-key lighting simply refers to images that are mostly bright, with a range of light tones and whites and not very many blacks or mid-tones. In high-key photography, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, white. This style of lighting was originally developed for films and television, back when the technology wasn’t very good at capturing high contrast ratios. Today high key is purely an artistic decision – photographers and filmmakers choose it when they want an image or story to be upbeat, optimistic or youthful. - See more at: http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3558/using-lighting-style-to-create-mood-high-key-and-low-key-lighting/#sthash.XOlvBE11.dpuf

High-key lighting simply refers to images that are mostly bright, with a range of light tones and whites and not very many blacks or mid-tones. In high-key photography, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, white. This style of lighting was originally developed for films and television, back when the technology wasn’t very good at capturing high contrast ratios. Today high key is purely an artistic decision – photographers and filmmakers choose it when they want an image or story to be upbeat, optimistic or youthful. - See more at: http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3558/using-lighting-style-to-create-mood-high-key-and-low-key-lighting/#sthash.XOlvBE11.dpuf

Planning : Vine

This is the piece our group came up with for our 6 second video task. We were instructed to include at least 4 camera shots and angles. This video contains a variety of Camera shots and angles, such as the long shot , master shot, close up etc.

Planning: Storyboard for vine

This is our storyboard for our vine.

 W are going to have a Long shot in the first scene then a High Angle close up shot for the second, then a Close up on a boys face for the third scene then for the final scene we are going to have a Master shot.