Definitions of Micro and Macro Analysis

 http://www.slideshare.net/hasnmedia/conventions-micro-and-macro  

http://www.slideshare.net/beccacobb/micro-and-macro-elements?related=1

Micro is all about the smaller analysis of the text and what you should include in the analysis, however you should always then start to bring in the macro analysis in order to support your answer and what you are saying. 

The main points in the micro analysis is the cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound whereas with macro analysis this is in much more detail meaning I would talk about the genre, representation, audience, institution and narrative.  

Micro:

Cinematography is also known as the director, this means that they are one of the most important people in the film. The director is in charge of all the camerawork throughout the film. This means that they are the person that is in charge of actually shooting the whole film. They are also in charge of the camera and lighting departments. This links in with micro analysis as when you would be analysing the extract you would talk about the different camera angles that have been used. You would also talk about the different movement that has gone on and also the types of editing. 

Link to different types of editing;

http://www.slideshare.net/LauraDobson/different-types-of-editing 

Mise-en-scene:

The mise-en-scene in a film is the location / scenery that the film has been set in. This means that when analysing you could also talk about the different props that have been used. There are 5 main elements of Mise-en-scene.  

http://www.slideshare.net/mediamonkeyslides/mise-en-scene-5427491 

Setting:

The settings and props are very important as this sets the scene, the audience would also be able to get an idea in their head about what they think is going to happen in the scene however they could easily be manipulated as something that they might not be expecting could jump out on them. 

Woman In Black:

Costumes:

With the costumes and hair this then means that the audience would be able to tell where the film is set and the time the film is set in. It could also show the different characters status as some characters may come across a lot poorer than others meaning this would be something to talk about when analysing. 

Facial expressions and Body language:

The facial expressions and body language then provide a clear idea about how someone is feeling in the scene for example someone could be really annoyed whereas someone else could be really happy. This would be shown if someone is smiling a lot or just has a straight face and keeps making facial gestures eg rolling their eyes or raising their eyebrows.  The body language of a person would also show the audience how they are feeling towards one another.

example images from the slide share;

Colour

The colour of the scene can also help when analysing for example the whole film may be black and white which immediately would show the audience that the time of the film would be between the 1930's and 1960's. The colour of the scene could also set the mood for example it could make someone feel tense or sad. 

An example of a famous black and white movie is 'To Kill a Mockingbird' which was created in 1962. 

Positioning of characters:

Finally the positioning of the characters can help when analysing as if they have their backs turned to one another then this immediately suggests that they must be in an argument or just do not like each other whereas if the characters are hugging etc and are really close to each other then this could suggest that they get on really well. Meaning that the positing shows the different relationships between each character. 

example images from the slide share;

 Sound

Finally in the micro analysis is the type of sound that has been used for example the director might have decided to either use non-diegetic sound or diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is when the characters in the film can also hear the sound for example a car horn or someone screaming. Whereas diegetic sound is when only the audience can hear the sound, examples of this is voiceovers (where there is narration throughout the film relating to the different scenes) or music in which sets the scene. 

Macro:

Macro is when the analysis goes into a lot of detail. The first thing that I might analysis is the representation of the film. Representation is all about how someone or something is portrayed. For example a film about representation is 'Super 8'

http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/keyconceptsgcse/keycon.php?pageID=represent

My target grade and how I am to achieve it.

Media A2

At the end of the 2 year media course I am aiming to achieve an A/B. In order to achieve this I am going to make sure that I always go into a lot of detail when posting on my blog and show my understanding about what I have written. I am also going to try and use the key terminology that I learnt in my previous blog posts to achieve the higher marks and show that I know what I am talking about; technical codes, tag-lines, iconography. I am also going to lay my blog out appropriately so it stands out and is eye-catching when people look at it. I will do this by using bold font and also a good background image. I am also going to make sure that my blog is easy to understand and doesn’t confuse people when they are trying to look for a certain piece of work. I also want my blog to show how creative I am and good at coming up with ideas. I will do a lot of my own research so I get an idea about what I want my pieces of work to look like. For example I will research media concepts so I develop my understanding about what it is and how I will use them in my work.  Finally I will evaluate my own work with close references to these aspects and use key terminology throughout. 

This is a picture of the specification that I am aiming to follow throughout the year. 

http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/81037-specification.pdf 

Page 57

Terminology

Definitions:

Typography - Is the art and the way of doing things to make a written piece of language that appeals to the audience and also stands out. The way of selecting is by selecting typefaces, point size, line length, line-spacing, letter-spacing and adjusting the spaced within letters pairs.

 The first main typography that is seen in a film is at the beginning when the opening credits show the font. This will usually relate to the theme and tone of the film that the audience are about to watch.

Tag line-

A common expression or saying used in advertising or the punch line of a joke. This usually means that the expression will be easily remembered. I have provided some examples below of 3 famous films in which there are also quotes which they believe is their 'tag lines'. Taglines are usually kept simple as this means that there is more of a chance for the quote to be remembered. They are also placed underneath a picture as this will also link in with the tagline that has been chosen. However the main idea for a tagline is that it has to be dramatic as this will be more memorable.

Technical codes-

Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera works in a film.

TECHNICAL CODES includes

·         Sound – diegetic and non diegetic

·         Any ambient noise

·         Voiceover

·         Music

·         Shots – range of shots and why they’re used – wide shots? Close ups? High/low angle shots?

·         Any camera movement

·         Editing – the way scenes change from one to the next

·         The pace of the text – fast? slow? why?

·         Lighting

·         Mise en Scene – what’s in the shot.

Iconography-

The visual images and symbols that are used in which portrays a subject, movement or ideals.

 This also means that the audience would be able to analysis the image.  Iconography is a very important aspect of the genre as this means the audience would expect to see certain features. For example in a horror movie the audience would usually expect to see a lot of darkness, objects moving and then a lot of jumpy scenes. 

Levi-strauss- theory of binary opposites-

Levi Strauss was a French anthropologist who lived in the early 1900's. Levi believed that the way we understand certain words depends not so much on any meaning themselves but they directly contain much more understanding of the difference between the word and its ‘opposite’ or as it’s called ‘binary opposites’.

Roland Barthe-

He was a French literary theorist, philosopher and critic. Roland explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools. Barthe said that texts may be 'open' or 'closed' 

Roland came up with 5 codes, these are called

- The Hermeneutic Code

- The Enigma/Proairetic Code

-The Symbolic Code

-The Cultural Code

-The Semantic Code

-Narrative theory of enigma ;

refers to any element in the story that is not explained and therefore,exists as an enigma for the audience, raising questions that demand explication.

It also relates to how the tension is built up meaning the audience are left having to guess what happens next.

http://www.slideshare.net/alexdabriel/barthes-codes-theory

Codes and Conventions of 'Jaws'

Jaws:

 Using the slideshare presentation It has allowed me to understand all the conventions of a movie. The first typical convention that has been used is that someone has died within the first 5 minutes of the movie. This immediately makes the movie really tense and sets the atmosphere for the rest of the movie. Non-digetic music has also been used in this scene which only the audience can hear, the music is tense which also links into this convention. The camera also is focusing mainly on the girl which also suggests to the audience that something is going to happen to her in which a few seconds later it does.

Another convention is the 'scheduled location' this is used at the beginning when it shows the boy and the girl by themselves running off towards the sea. It also shows that they are the only ones on the beach meaning no one is around them to help. The boy is also drunk meaning that the girl is completely by herself really. 

Finally a fake scare has also been used along with the tense music to really set the atmosphere but also to scare the audience at the same time. The girl doesnt know what is going  on however the audience do meaning there is tension building up to the big scare and fake scares a long the lines to add to this. 

http://www.slideshare.net/kbamediastudies/codes-and-conventions-in-horror-films

Key Terminology

Codes and Conventions:

Codes are signs in which try and create a meaning behind them. There are two types of codes these are either technical or symbolic.

Technical codes are the equipment that has been used in order to tell a story. eg all the camera work in a film.

Symbolic codes are more to do with how the character is feeling and the actions that are used in order for the audience to understand what is going on.

Conventions are the ways in which people do something. For example if someone were to interview someone for a magazine then quotes would be used in the print article.

Genre in film:

There are many different genres that films are categorised in and there are also sub genres which is when the genre is much more specific but fits into the broader genre. A way of categorising films is by getting a target audience to watch the film and then seeing what they think the film should go under.

Codes and Conventions of a Horror:

The scheduled location; horror movies tend to make the location places where there is no one around to help them.

Power i cut; usually when it starts to get tense and scary in the movie this is when the lights suddenly go out.

Phone lines are cut; the killers always remove the phone lines meaning no one can call for help and no one can reach the person.

Someone investigates a strange noise; usually you would run away however in every scary movie a character goes and investigates the scary noise by themselves. 

Fake scares: In scary movies there are usually a lot of fake scares to build up the tension of the bigger scare that is coming up. 

Someone is killed in the first 5 minutes: This immediately sets the atmosphere and mood for the rest of the movie meaning it could make it a lot tenser.