Blumler & Katz - Uses and gratifications theory

The uses and gratifications theory (1974) posed by Blumler & Katz suggests that an audience will actively use a form of media text to fulfill the needs of the user. 

- Diversion provides a sense of escapism for the audience as a means of entertainment. 

A high-concept big budget film such as Gravity would provide the audience with the pleasure of engaging in an outer-space fantasy - one which is unfathomable by the mundane consumer. 

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- Personal relationships can be formed via using media to develop empathy/affection towards a character/celebrity by the audience.The film Street Dreams provides a narrative based on the protagonist Derrick Cabrera for whom the audience is inclined to feel affection towards as well as feeling a part of the protagonist's journey.

Another example could also be Boardwalk Empire which evokes sympathy within an audience for the teenage boy who strives to earn money to combat an abusive father and support a sick younger sister. As well as a magazine such as VIBE which discusses issues within a particular music genre with direct address to the audience via the use of rhetorical questions. 

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- Personal identity is established with an audience as they can find reciprocity with themselves and a media text which exhibits and reflects similar values or lifestyles.

The constructed reality TV show exhibits the drama in the lives of Chelsea residents. An audience may familiarise themselves with particular characters who reflect certain characteristics with which a consumer can identify oneself.

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- Surveillance is also a factor of gratification achieved when an audience uses a text to acquire useful information such as weather, news and other updates.

BBC News is an example of media used for surveillance as it is recognised as the UK's leading news channel providing live updates on current affairs, weather, sport etc.

Film language test - Learner response

Feedback - Mr Halsey

WWW

- Many good points to just get you an A grade - the media language and theory is particularly impressive

EBI

- All four questions could have a little more focus. Notetaking and topic sentences will help here - make it easy for the examiner to award you the top level.

LR

 - Choose Q2/Q3 to rewrite on your blog 

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Camerawork

 - How is camerawork used to introduce the two characters in the opening scene

The scene is exposed with a close-up displaying the prop of a matchbox used to light a flame, creating an enigma code to the audience which develops speculation regarding the character who possesses this item connoting danger with potential for destruction. A gradual vertical pan is used to display the character's facial expression and him smoking a cigarette via a medium close-up which serves as the audience's initial acquaintance to the character. Familiarisation occurs as a personal relationship is established due to the camerawork being dedicated to this particular character who is made to most frequently accommodate the frame. As a result, a sense of empathy is created to evoke inquisition about the character's identity and past, as well as the following events in the narrative. More close-ups are used to show the character's activity of setting fire to the matches and the camera pans along to direct the audience's sight correlatively to the fire's progress. The flames approach a dead boy displayed via a medium close-up which, despite its severity, is marked irrelevant as it is occupies very little of the frame, does not utilise a camera angle such a close-up to familarise the audience with the character, and is only featured for a limited number of times.

The camera pans to follow the flame which continues to pan vertically upwards as urine is displayed coming down from an unknown character stood in a position of higher altitude than the audience is set to occupy, via the usage of a lower angle to connote the superiority and egotistic nature of this anonymous character. The camera then forth pans downwards to follow the character's journey down a staircase which is exhibited with a long-shot in order to maintain distance between the audience and evoke speculation about this character constructed to be mysterious. Close-ups are used frequently when displaying the involvement of this character in this scene and restricts the overview perspective of the audience to create discretion about what is happening. Furthermore, throughout the scene there is a complete lack of any shots displaying the character's face so his identity continues to remain a mystery.

During the interaction among the two characters, there is no panning as the camera remains stationary and exchanges shots along the characters' lines-of-sight. Extraordinarily however, this is executed from contrasting angles to establish a difference in superiority and power as the mysterious character is seen from a lower angle from the one who is eventually killed. Multiple close-ups follow through onto a shot of a handgun to create an action code of a gunshot to be anticipated by the audience, continuing on to not display the victim of the kill, but alternatively with the employment of an establishing shot, the audience witnesses the death narrated by the use of thoughtful camerawork. 

Preliminary exercise

'Debrief' - Opening scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIzz5hh4Yts

The opening scene of a drama/crime/comedy story introducing two characters of conflicting intellect and intentions.

'Debrief' - Planning documents

Script: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9w2u2E5_xLvbnRMWE9DcThkZFE/view?usp=sharing

Shotlist:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9w2u2E5_xLvTE1kaTI5a1dmWEk/view?usp=sharing

Pair presentation: Psychographic Profiles - Reformers (with Ahmed Ismail)

Psychographic Profiles - Reformers Presentation w/ Ahmed Ismail

Young & Rubicam's 4Cs Values Segmentation

Results

Evaluation: 

I agree with the results to some extent and support that control, discovery and enlightenment are my top 3 values. 

Editing analysis task

The French Connection 

Subway/car chase scene 

The expository seconds of this extract from the fast paced 70s police/crime thriller uses plenty of fast-paced straight cuts every 2-3 seconds of the scene to establish the rivetingly rapid progression of the narrative. This is parallel to the manic action displayed on screen which is exhibited via the employment of a large array of shot types and angles in order to set a scene; which makes use of many key film conventions to suggest to the audience that an expeditious typical chase scene is featured.  Sound is used in the diegesis at the start of the film to create this unified blare of car horns to accompany the enhanced sound effects (SFX) of the tires of the character's car screeching and turning. The shots shift rapidly and include a bird's-eye view angle of the car which displays the car's phenomenally quick speed at such an angle it'd create a resemblance between a car to a mouse which would move very quickly in a state of vulnerability and fear. A track/dolly is also used frequently to show to car as it manoeuvres through the streets as well as an over-the-shoulder shot to show the driver's struggle as he drives. 

An evident disequilibrium is established by the use of frequently rapid straight cuts because it associates the fast-pace of the mise-en-scene of the car in the metropolitan setting with crime and action. Enigma codes are repeatedly used as the editing accommodates cross-cuts periodically from the car's journey through the city and the train's journey as the subject is being chased by the policeman, leading the audience to question the upcoming events and resolutions in the narrative. The cross-cuts serve as a means of juxtaposition, an editing decision which creates a multi-strand narrative of two characters or events to establish simultaneity and hence an association among them that the events occurring in one of the settings/characters will have an effect on the associated narrative. The audience is impressionable on predicting the upcoming events with the use of action codes which include the more apparent ones such as: opening the train door to walk through, revealing a gun to shoot at the policeman and turning the steering wheel of the car. The pace of the cuts begins to decrease as the car is near to the train and the characters in the vehicles are near; in order to create inquisition in the audience via the use of enigma codes suggested by the man's knocking on the cabin door. Throughout this phase of the scene, the cinematography is altered and features many close-ups of the man with whom the audience can now develop personal relationships with and develop a sense of empathy. 

Following on, the actors dressed in costumes which regard them as authoritative figures begin to approach the cabin, this is filmed in a single-take and creates suspense as to what the repercussions of the criminal's actions may resort to. Cross-cuts are used to a higher meaning henceforth as the car is displayed to be directly below the over-ground train-track travelling at a similar speed; this is shown with a track/dolly moving at a large frame of a long shot. The cuts then arrive to a repeated shift between a medium shot of the car driver's facial expressions and struggle to adjust the steering wheel continuously; and a track/dolly shot facing towards the oncoming danger of the traffic from an eye-line view from the front of the car. Throughout the scene so far there is very little dialogue from the setting of the train and no dialogue at all from the car driver. When the car driver approaches threateningly towards a mother with a pram and a baby, the straight cuts alternate swiftly between the horrific reaction of the driver and the fear on the mother's face with a use of close-ups - this occurs very quickly and audiences experience a short-term outrage as personal relationships create empathy for the mother due to social norms of it being indubitably taboo to be responsible for the death of a mother and their child(ren). This creates a flash-blub enigma code which causes audiences to question the potential victims' survival. 

The scene proceeds with dialogue and interaction among the criminal with the gun and the authoritative figures after which the audience questions whether he will shoot or not as well as the outcome of the train and its' destination. The pace of editing is slow during this period because the confrontation among the two parties is questionable in regards to whether the criminal will be prosecuted yet. Soon after however, the train is travelling at a fast speed and the straight cuts shift quickly in chronology as the criminal frantically attempts to stop the train. The scene concludes with the enigma code of the car driver's exit near the setting of the juxtaposing narrative of the train crash, leading the audience to find out whether the two characters will meet and the resolution of this highly thrilling disequilibrium. 

(832 words)