Media Awards

Media Awards

The Experiment

'The Experiment' happened to be my favourite Year 12 production presented in the Media Awards. This was mainly due to the atmosphere that the clip from it was able to establish. For example, the use of a close-up tracking shot on the 'bulletin board' with a tilt downwards following the actor's finger as it points to 'Alessa Garcia,' before a straight cut transition is used adds this tense and somewhat suspenseful feel to the video, perhaps suggesting that it belongs to the thriller genre. This is also made evident by the very presence of the bulletin board in the scene which could be argued to be iconography associated with thrillers, with strings connecting different articles and images most likely as a method of pinpointing the location of 'Alessa Garcia.' Throughout the clip though, a vast amount of shot types are used such as a low angle one of different office buildings perhaps as a way of establishing the urban setting in which the production takes place, a steadicam sequence inside of the supposedly broken-into house which emulates the look of a point of view (shot) from an actor's perspective and also tracking for when who appears to be the main protagonist is running. One of the more notable ones though were the medium close-up shots of this same protagonist as she ponders over what exactly she can do as she flees her pursuer. These shots followed on by a fade to scenes of the memories she describes in the voiceover, helps suture the audience into the narrative as they develop a personal relationship of a sort between them and this character. The non-diegetic sound offered by the soundtrack in the video also helped add to the tense atmosphere described previously with it providing an almost chilling effect on the audience. Something that sounded like a siren could also be heard in the clip, and this adds to this sense of alarm and danger present at the time. The voiceovers used were additionally quite noteworthy as they helped in conjunction with the actual cinematography, set the scene as to what exactly what was going  on within the production.

Labrat

I selected 'Labrat' as my second favourite film from the Year 12 productions. In a way alike to 'The Experiment,' what I particularly admired of the production was its creation of a sense of atmosphere. In this case, this atmosphere is one of 'going against the odds,' where an underdog strives to overcome the adversity that surrounds him, with the adversity acting as disequilibrium and him overcoming it being the path to a new equilibrium. This also helps possibly establishing this production as being in the drama genre, with its slightly more darker undertones as can be inferred from him in his voiceover. Accompanied by this voiceover is a soundtrack that from time to time with its piano keys, acts a sound bridge to different scenes in the clip. The combination of these two create a sombre outlook on the film and this also contributes to the audience being sutured into the plight/struggle of the character, and so develop a personal relationship for him as described by Blumer and Katz. From a cinematography standpoint, an array of shot types are used here similarly to the video analysed before. An instance of this is the close-up shot of the main protagonist drumming/tapping his fingers on the table. Although there's not a face visible in this shot to more easily identify what the character may be feeling emotionally, the tapping of the fingers connote that he is frustrated with the situation that he is currently in and is just looking for a almost a sense of refuge from it all. This use of different shots is also shown as the character preps up to work in the lab with the big close-up shot of him undoing his zip and the medium close-up of him putting on his lab coat on. This almost, montage type of editing in this scene, accounts even more so during the title sequence, helps showcase what exactly the protagonist is passionate about doing and so immerses the viewers as they are even further sutured into the narrative as a whole.

"What Makes a Good Practical Production"

From the productions we were able to watch in the Media Awards, it's clear that there are a few aspects which can all hand-in-hand help go towards the development of a good overall practical production.

A lot of these aspects are things that we have actually been learning about in-depth in class which include cinematography, sound, misé-en-scene and editing. 

Cinematography/camerawork for one, is effective in helping cover scenes in a production from more than just a single perspective which can help the audience notice details included in one such as the facial expressions of a character (which would probably implement close-ups) more easily. They are also helpful in that they can help establish the setting of a film with things such as panning and tilts too.

Sound is also particularly important since it can help towards the creation of a certain atmosphere in a film. Particularly with non-diegetic sounds such as a soundtrack which is added in the post-production process of a film,  a specific tone can be developed throughout the rest of it, maybe foreshadowing an event, or just in a single sequence of it. Voiceovers can be helpful too since they provide the audience with an insight into how exactly a character may be feeling at that point in time in the film, or just set a premise as to what has and is going to happen.

Misé-en-scene without a doubt assists in making a good production with things like lighting and props on-screen all being apart of this. For example, props can often allow the audience to understand the genre a film may belong in due to iconography they associate them with. Not only this, but they also can be used to create story arcs within the production with say a gun, putting characters into a place of danger and wariness/vigilance. Lighting especially is a very important part of this since things like low key lighting help create an atmosphere  that can be considered scary and more sinister than if high key lighting was used.

Lastly, editing can create a good production since it can affect the way an audience sees a story roll out. Straight cuts for one, usually use chronological order in which to tell a story. Jump cuts however, can help focus attention on whatever is on-screen due to its more abrupt nature while fades can often be used to signify the end of a film or a look in the past (retrospect/flashback).

However while these things can all come together to make a good production, one thing I think needs to be there is an actual good plot to give way to accommodate these things. This is due to the fact that if a production has a captivating story, it can give directors the opportunity to use certain things such as props to create story arcs that let this story roll out in the way they want it to and sound accompanied by cinematography to convey a certain atmosphere to the audience.