Tuesday 10 December 2013

Planning

It is essential that together with the producer a production is needed to be drawn out in order to plan the times spent on scenes for the production. Detailed budget will also indicate the estimate of every cost.

Figure 6: Production management: preproduction:
Courtesy Robin Small and Mike Healey


Looking at the first diagram figure 6 (Holland, P.:2000: P44) my group and I gather our ideas by looking at various examples especially from Pulp Fiction. This developed through building an idea around comedy drama elements which are portrayed in today’s society. After working on the idea and the first draft of the script the next step was to book the crew and necessary equipments. ‘It is the production manager’s job to ensure that these tasks are done efficiently and according to the correct procedures’ (Holland, P.:2000: P45).

Meetings
Potential Discussions through social networking:



These meeting agendas were discussed briefly because everyone was aware of their roles and what work needed to be done.  The pre-production meetings are the most important stages throughout the production. Therefore, as a group we was able to move ahead with the task. This is because it outlines the process, resources, and expectations involved. It usually takes place in the presence of the director, director’s producer, production designer or other technical staff, writer, art director and perhaps others. As the editor, it is vital that you take notes, listen carefully, and bring a stopwatch to use for timing out storyboards if necessary. It is your job to articulate the repercussions of certain decisions if they affect any aspect of the editing or finishing process, and to gather answers for how the production process will be done.
Moreover, figure 6 has played a huge role in the development of our production because it gave my group and me an insight of what stages we are at and how to work our way towards the post production. 


Quentin Tarantino

One significant development is changing events in film out of chronological order. This technique is called nonlinear narrative. This technique has been used in films, television, and even books. The technique has been thought to be used to mimic the human memory. However, recently it has been used to make a movie more exciting. This technique is not used often because it requires patience from the audience. However, Quentin Tarantino is a director that has used this technique has received great praise for it.
Through research I have come to know that in a film non linear structure is used in various forms either through flash backs or flash forwards.  In the modern age, nonlinear structure is often times hard to notice because of the sophistication in film making and storylines. This technique has been used since the silent era of films to present day films. It was used in Intolerance by D.W. Griffith in 1916. Like movies today, Intolerance used a nonlinear storyline by telling four different stories then connecting them at the end’ (Enamorado, R., 2010, Yahoo Voices). Therefore, in our drama we tried to use a non linear sequence by starting the drama with an unexpected scene. We did this to get the audience to connect the scenes they see throughout the film.

Pulp Fiction was released in 1994. This was Quentin Tarantino's second film. This film uses nonlinear storyline by presented characters one at a time throughout the film. Some of the events are repeated but in the perspective of different characters. For example the movie begins with a couple at a diner that plan to rob everyone in it. Another story includes John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson working as hit men. At the end of the film Travolta and Jackson end up at the same dinner as the couple in the beginning. The use of Tarantino’s techniques has inspired my group and me as we have tried to develop the method on our drama.

Bibliography
Books
1.       Holland, P. (2000) The Television Handbook, London: Routledge

Articles/Websites
1.       Enamorado, R. (2003) The Use of Nonlinear Narrative in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Yahoo Contributor Networks.
[Accessed on 10/10/2013]
Videos
1.       Kick-Ass – Trailer 2010, Lions Gate VOD, video, 27 July, viewed 18 October 2013, >https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rFpWpkxsVI8<.

 

2.       Pulp Fiction Scene - "Hamburgers" 2007, video, 7 January, viewed 11 October 2013, >https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PE9Qm8mShik<.

3.       Shadrack & Abendigo - On Dis Ting 2012, video, Lemonade Money TV, 23 June, viewed 15 October 2013, >https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=soSRMun9sEE<.

4.       Some Girls: Series 2 Episode 4 Preview, 2013, video,  BBC Three, 7 October , viewed 15 October 2013, >https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NXTVlK8hBMc<.

5.       Some Girls Series 2 Dr. Nick is Very Popular, 2013, video, BBC Three, 11 October, viewed 18 October 2013, >https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=29x-PlCsVN4<.

6.       Top Boy Sneak Peek - [EXCLUSIVE], 2011, video, Live Mag UK,26 October, viewed 15 October 2013, >https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cfPtkbodlfw<.

7.       White Chicks: Opening scene 2013, video, 1 July, viewed 11 October 2013, >https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z8svCzoKIjY<.

Monday 2 December 2013

Why Selective Cover For The Mainstream Media?


[methodology]
Objectives:
The aim of my research is to gain an understanding into the effects of Islam and Muslims in the British Media. Its objectives are to:

Ø  Identify the context Islam and Muslims appear in British Television
Ø  Identify the central sources that shape the understanding of Islam in British Television
Ø  Analyse the impact of re-shaping and representation of Muslims and how they appear on the news
Ø  Other questions I will outline are how and when Muslims became visible in the UK.

        I.            Possible outline of the project:
Introduction – In what context do British Muslims appear in the news?
·         Outline of project
·         Since when has the Muslim community been harassed and regarded negatively?
Section 1 - How is Islam being termed in television media?
·         Terrorism and war
·         Religious and cultural issues
·         Muslim extremism
·         News hooks figures that show the common purpose of why Muslims are being intimidated.
·         What hook remains prominence?
Section 2 - How has television news constructed the Muslim community, has it left the audience questioning the actions of a few?
Is the media to blame for being biased towards Muslims? If so how?
Links to Osama Bin Laden and why did they have to shame him? What links does it have to the Muslim community?

How does the audience feel? Are they threatened? Why have the actions of a few affected the whole of mankind?

Section 3 - How is Islam compared to other religions in television news?
·         Is Islam the only religion which the media and the materialistic world can damage?
·         The religion Islam is not judged according to its teachings but by the actions of followers. (To what extent is this true?)
Section 4 – ‘News Value’ and the media being selective?
·          Is the negative presentation of news about Muslim influenced by the so called ‘news values’? If so why?
·         Does the negativity arise from global events? What events have lead for the stories told about Muslims?
·         Mislead stories suggests that ―Muslims as extremists plotting to bring carnage to the country‖ or ―as a threat to the Christian faith and the British way of life. Are these stories true?
Section 5 – Conclusion
·         How will the portrayal of Islam changed in television news?
·         Will the TV coverage of Islam change the British values of British TV? (Will the news always be based on Islam, what about other stories?)
·         This conclusion will be based on the evidence I find in my research.

In my view the existing research regarding Islam and Muslims in the British media suggests that since 7/7 Muslims in the UK have captivated the spotlight. The question arises to many communities about why British Muslims chose to bomb their fellow British Citizens. Also, my aims are to identify whether the 9/11 left them in the focus in the British media for the act of ‘terrorism’ why couldn’t they just be called criminals?
Refer to British films that break the stereotypes of Muslims.
Questionnaire
Ø  The questions included in this survey sought responses regarding the respondents:
·         Knowledge of Islam and its main teachings;
·          Interaction with Muslims
·          Main source of information about Islam and Muslims
·         Perceptions about how Muslims are represented in the media
·         Perceptions about how influential is the media and news
·         understanding of Islam and Muslims; and  Perceptions of statements made by participants