Helena Beat - Video Analysis

Genre Characteristics: The artists (Foster the People) who wrote the song in my opinion are an indie pop band. Their music is slightly different to what you would usually hear along ,especially, with his voice, which is much more high pitched than other bands of the same type of genre. This is highlighted in the oddness and seeming randomness of the video. The video seems to be about nothing in particular with adults been captured and then turned into children, by children. The song's tempo is similar to that of which you would expect from the indie pop genre and is much more different than, you coud say, The Beastie Boys video tempo.

Relationship between visulas and lyrics: People have taken many different views as to what the song means with ideas such as it being about the time when you come back from a party and think 'now what?'. Really in my opinion I beleive the song is about how hard life is and how you have to get back up from it. This matches up to the visuals of the video as it shows the lead singer 'Mark Foster' recovering from what seems like a post-apocalyptic world, so obviosuly the connotation of him getting up after 'being knocked down' are there.

Relationship between music and visuals: At the very beginning of the video  many images and clips of violence and war are shown at a fast pace, these are in time with the drum beats that start of the song. Also throughout the song the shots change in time with roughly every other beat in the song. Obviously it's a link that the lead singer of the band is the main character in this video and he is singing along to the lyrics for a portion of this song. At one point when the song skips from the verse to the chorus there is a build up in the volume of the song which then erutps into a louder sound but is accompanied visually with the sight of a piano crashing down and smashing into the ground. When the drum kit is being beaten by the children with baseball bats one opf the kids is hitting the bass drum perfectly in time with the song. The bridge part of the song is where everything slows down, and then it goes back to normal when returning to the chorus. During this chorus the childen are also singing along to the song.

Star Power: The star power in this song is just that the artists themselves are in the song, the band themselves don't have anything too definitive about them compared to Bono and his glasses for instance, or Michael Jackson and the moonwalk so there isn't too much 'star power' especially as music goes Foster the People are a fairly new band, which although have their own style they don't have a definitive thing which is 'theirs'.

Notions Of Looking: In the video apart from a few shots which I will explain, there is very little of the notion of looking, the shots which are like this take place earlier on in the song before Mark Foster is captured, and they are showing us being the children that capture him, looking through the desert grass spying on him, apart from this there is very little for the notion of looking, but there is also a scene in the dark in which Mark Foster is being dragged back and beaten by the kids in the dark and the footage was taken with non-steadycam footage so it looks like you're actually part of the group of kids that are abusing him.

Intertextual References: There are several references to other forms of media such as, the Fallout series and Mad Max are respectively games and movie both set in a post apocalyptic world which is obviosuly set in this world, Lord of the Flies is based around children being in charge of themselves and the madness which stretches from this, and obviosuly a large part of this is the children in the video being charge and later the adults being turned into children. Escape from New York also follows the post-apocalyptic theme.

    
   

How are social groups represented in the film Quadrophenia?

There are two main social groups or 'sub-cultures' in this film which are Mods and Rockers. Both of which have their own styles when it comes to clothing, and music symbols and language. For instance being a rocker is very mucg about being tough, having the fastest bike and wearing rougher looking clothing, whereas being a Mod is much more about wearing the smartest clothes, and looking very much neat and tidy.

Music is the thing that most widely splits the two groups. For instance Mods listen to bands which are more 'poppish' or indie (for their time) such as The Kinks, This is different to Rockers who just listen to music which is much more heavy and fast paced such as The Who (Obviosuly) and Led Zeppelin. A lot of the language used is specific to their own culture which authority figures could have taken as being insubordinate. even transport is a large part of the culture. For instance Mods have mopeds which they have modified to have as many mirrors on as possible and to basically look as good as possible, this is the opposite to Rockers who have simply tweaked their bikes to be as fast as possible for use in Cafe Races. In general terms Mods are all about the looks and how they appear to others whereas Rockers care much less about looks apart fom when it comes to the standard leather jacket and boots.

And as a whole both of the social groups are shown as violent mainly due to the beach riots which occurred throughout Brighton. and if we were to sum up both of the cultures in one word it would be rebellious.

Submarine and music.

- What sort of feeling and impact can music video have and what effect could a music video-style sequence achieve in a film?
A music video has the capacity to completely change someones mood by use of music alongside the use of video. For instsance it can tell a story whoch could be happy sad funny etc. An example of a happy music video (Just becuase it's a happy song doesn't mean I'm a fan...) would be The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars.

 

And a sad video for instance could be Dry Your Eyes by The Streets.

So a film with a scene that is similar to the ideas of a music video has the the capactiy to change the feel and mood of the movie. so they are a powerful tool when dealing with the emotions of it.

- Can you think of any other films which feature extended montage sequences that are quite like music videos?

There are hundreds of films with these sorts of montages most of which are ones which show you the star of the film getting ready for the 'final showdown' with something or someone, here is a particularly well known one:

But montages don't always have to be there to get you 'pumped up' and excited for the final part of the movie but a lot of them in fact have a more calming effect and can be much sadder, for instance in Funny People, George Simmons (Adam Sandler) is fighting an illness and his emotions are being brought through by the song and whats featured in it, sadly no clip was available on YouTube.

-Ayoade's 'Vlad the Impaler', to what extent is it cinematic?

This video is cinematic as it contains images that you could and would find in an actual film, for instance the blood and 'gore' seen at several different point is much heavier than one would expect for a muci video and perhaps the most I've seen in any music video. when it comes to a story it's limited to what we see from the beginning which is Vlad creating his weapon and from then on it's the same style of footage which is him chasing people and being stabbed, and lastly him surrounded by nuns with flaming torches which we can guess he escapes from as he is running around doing his usual afterwards. Although there is more of a sense of story as Vlad the Impaler was a real person who was the individual which Bram Stoker based his Dracual character on.

-Now watch the trailer for Submarine. Do you see any similarities in terms of visual style? Can you identify any stylistic or thematic motifs across these texts?

In terms of style one of the most noticeable things about the video was it's use of many different camera qualities ands styles between shots for instace switich from a normal moderrn day camera to a 'Super 8' grainy footage camera. Although this is just in the trialer in the film if it switches it doesn so for a whole scene not just every few seconds. Another main point is that most of the trailer is shown through a typewriter, for instance all of the credits are being 'typed' and every time there is a major shot change its the top slide being pushed back to create a new line. Also it's use of colors is shown as similar to Vlad the Implaer which mainly focuses of reds, whereas the colous of red, blue and black are highlighted in the trialer with such items as Jordana's coat and the blue of the shot where oliver jumps into the swimming pool.

Theories

Hypodermic Needle Model:
This theory is based on the idea that people are putting messages through and are accepted by the people who are receiving them, the model comes from 1930's behaviourism and are mostly ignored today.


Two-Step flow Model
:
A theory based on a 1940's study on that says that media effects are not directly made through the personal influence of  leaders. Most of the people receive most of their information and are influenced by the media second-hand, through the personal influence of the opinion leaders.


Uses and gratifications theory:


This is based on the idea people will more often than not go in search for media and information that will enhance knowledge and social interactions. It means that the audience take an active role in interpreting and bringing media into their own lives. Basically the audience will choose the media that fits their needs.
This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.

Emo Culture

Emo Origins

Emo emerged from the hardcore punk scene of early-1980s Washington, D.C. Both as a reaction to the increased violence within the scene and carrying on the personal ideas made by Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat , who had changed the focus of the music from the community back towards the individual. Minor Threat fan Guy Picciotto formed Rites of Spring in 1984, breaking free of hardcore music's boundaries for melodic guitars, varied rhythms, and deeply personal, impassioned lyrics. Many of the band's ideas would become familiar sights in later generations of emo music, including nostalgia, romantic bitterness, and poetic desperation. Their performances became public emotional purges where audience members would sometimes cry with emotion.

'Emo' becomes Mainstream:

Emo broke into the mainstream media in the summer of 2002 with a number of big events: Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American album went platinum on the strength of "The Middle", which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. Dashboard Confessional reached No. 22 on the same chart with "Screaming Infidelities" from their Vagrant Records debut The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, which was No. 5 on Independent Albums, and became the first non-platinum-selling artist to record an episode of MTV Unplugged (the live album itself was a No. 1 Album in 2003 and went platinum).  New Found Glory's album Sticks and Stones debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. 

Locations:

Emo started off in Washington D.C. but quickly moved throughut the states to Midwestern and Central United States · New Jersey and Long Island. So Emo's mainly exist in the U.S. but of course it's not a requirement to live in a certain part of the world so they exist throughout other countries such as the U.K.

 

Fashion:

Today emo is tied to fashion as well as the emo subculture. Usually among teens, the term "emo" is stereotyped with wearing skinny jeans, sometimes in different colors, and tight t-shirts which often bear the names of emo bands. Studded belts and black wristbands are common accessories in emo fashion. The emo fashion is also recognized for its hairstyles. Popular looks like long side-swept bangs, sometimes covering one or both eyes. It's popular that is straightened and dyed black. Short, choppy layers of hair are also common.

Related Media:

Emo culture has ofter been blamed for it's possible connections to suicide and has been blamed for occurences of it in young children claiming that it is poisoning their minds with these ideas. Case in point, Hannah Bond a 13 year-old girl from Kent hung herself and EMo music was blamed. Roger Sykes, the coroner who gave the verdict of suicide on May 7, suggested that the fact that she was an obsessive fan of such music was linked to her death.

What might it be a reaction to:
It could have been a reaction a new wave of music which came out at the time such as artists 'Jimmy Eat World' and 'Dashboard Confessional' to which people who loved the music so much dedicated the way they dressed and acted  and lived thier lives to it.

Filming

We will be filming our chorus section tomorrow at Holt. We will decide on a location when we are in Holt and can get a good view of the area tomorrow we are choosing it because it is within easy reach for both of us and a bonus is that the long exposure combined with the recently added Christmas lights will give a great effect to the video. We will be asking our friend Catrin to take the pictures so obviously we can both be in our video, the upside is that she also is good with cameras so will be able to cope with taking so many photos.  

Media Addiction

Media Addiction can come in many forms but one of the most prominent and welll known is video game addiction, addiction is classed as something we do for more than 35 hours a week. And after looking at an average week it was found that I used different types of media for over 50 hours a week.

It is said that video game addiction have have similar effects to those of a drug addict, it can cause personal hygiene to be neglected and disrupted sleep patterns for young teens, it can also cause rapid gain or loss of weight as a result of playing, and also cause lying about the amount of time played.

Now if we read these back we can see that none of these are that out of the ordinary. Many people eould consider it normal for young teenagers (especially males) to avoid washing for long periods of time and stay up late and not sleeping, weight loss and gain is also fairly normal too.  Lastly it is also normal to lie about the amount of time playing games a week just if anything to seem like that it isn't all you do.

However there are also possible good effects of video games:

 - It has been shown that action video game players have better hand-eye coordination and visuo-motor skills, such as their resistance to distraction, their sensitivity to information in the peripheral vision and their ability to count briefly presented objects, than non-players. Video games also develop the individual's intelligence, and in social games develop the social capabilities of the individual.

 - There is a study being conducted by Dr.Cheryl Olson and her team at Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) Center for Mental Health and Media and Harvard to prove that violent games help students deal with stress and aggression. She has found that over 49% of boys and 25% of girls use violent games such as Grand Theft Auto IV as an outlet for their anger. Dr. Olson has come to the conclusion that violent games affect students positively and not negatively because the violent crime rate is going down while the popularity of M-rated video games has increased. She suggests that instead of stopping children from playing M-rated games completely, parents should just monitor how much time their children spend playing games; parents should take responsibility.

 - Several studies have explored the possible benefits of multiplayer video games in a family setting. The most recent study found that girls 11-16 who played video games with their parents had better mental health and less aggressive behavior, with a stronger connection if they played age-appropriate games.

Some of the effects which claim to be prominent in video game addiction are:

- Increased risk of light-induced seizures, musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities and increased metabolic rate.
Now I personally have been playing video games for around 10 years and in all that time I have never heard suffered from any of these problems or even heard of anyone suffering from them. And I like most children have had days where I have played a game for over 5 hours at a time for instance, and yet still I have never heard of any of these problems.

 - Increased aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors, particularly in children under age 10.
Now in fairness there have been incidents where people hav claimed to commit certain acts of violence throuigh what they have seen in a videogame. For instance, click here to see the article on how two boys from Columbine apparently played violent video games before entering their high school with automatic weapons and killing several people.

- On November 22, 1997, thirteen-year-old Noah Wilson died when his friend Yancy stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife. The mother of Noah, Andrea Wilson, alleges that her son was stabbed to death because of his obsession with the Midway game Mortal Kombat. She alleges that Yancy S. was so obsessed with the game, that the child thought he was actually the character Cyrax. This character, Cyrax, used a finishing move in which the character grabs the opponent in a headlock and stabs the character's opponent in the chest. Wilson alleges that this is the maneuver in which Yancy S., killed her son. However, despite the character's other varieties of finishing moves, the character Cyrax does not actually perform this move at all.

 - In April 2000, 16-year-old Spanish teenager José Rabadán Pardo murdered his father, mother and his sister with a katana, proclaiming that he was on an "avenging mission" by Squall Leonhart, the main character of the video game Final Fantasy VIII.

 - And even more recently, On November 5th, 2011, (Four days ago!) a number of armed robbers in France raided two trucks transporting over 6,000 copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Should time on video games be legislated?

Many people beleive that time on video games should be legislated but the reasons for this are that they believe that it can cause violence and other bad behaviours in people, while this may be true, it is also a point that if people are told that they can only play a certain amount a day then it will start becoming a taboo which will do nothing for the reputation of video games which have been proven to help peoples co-ordination and on some levels social skills. 

I believe that if people wish to limit the amount of time you can play on video games then that is fine but don't simply do it because there have been incidents of violence, it should be done for other reasons so that in the future we don't become a race that doesn't leave the house for anything, we should do it so children in the future know that there is something else in the world except video games that thery can explore. If we become a nation or a world of people who just play video games then nothing else will be discovered and we could just remain at a level point in history moving neither forward nor backwards.

Ghost Watch

1) The fact that the show was on television meant that people found it more realistic as television was a place for news and other serious television items.

2) The presenter was Michael Parkinson, a presenter who had been in the eye of the public for 29 years by the time Ghost Watch came out, also he is respected as he has been knighted and is a CBE.

3)Parkinson speaks in a yet and reserved yet almost nervous tone throughout the show which adds to the seriousness of the matter, also people must believe  its serious if someone as experienced as micheal parkinson is nervous.

4)Ghost Watch itself discussed and showed specific incidents of ‘ghosts’ revealing themselves, for instance when 'Pipes' the ghost which reveals himself to the family that stays in his house seems very real especially with the families reactions.

5)However the way in which the show was screened made it seem much less realistic than if it had been played like War Of The Worlds on the radio as there was much less opportunity to give away that it wasn't real as the audience didn't see any video footage.

Human Traffic Questions

1.  Human Traffic faces the issues of normal people and doesn’t look at the glitz and glamour of life, it puts real people in real situations in the gritty style that social realism represents. It raises issues of family troubles in the form of Jip’s Mother being a prostitute. It looks at the issues of ecstasy when it was popular throughout the 90’s in clubs. When it comes to the issue of his mother being the prostitute the audience empathise with Jip as he talks to the audience in the style of a narrator. Although this doesn’t distract from the comedic side of the film as he uses one of his ‘fantasy scenarios’ to illustrate it for us.
2. Youth Culture is depicted as being lazy and not putting effort into things this is shown through ideas of Nina quitting her job, and Moff not wanting to get a job. Although this is different to public opinion as his reasons for not wanting to get a job are through how unhappy it seems to make the rest of his group of friends not because he is lazy and possibly spoilt. It also resists the stereotypes as it shows not only working class family going to raves and taking drugs but also Moff who is from a middle class family.
3. The film is British through its use of all it’s actors and characters being British, but it also seems more British as not all the characters are purely British some also come from a Welsh background which helps as a truly British group of friends wouldn’t just have English people in it. For instance Koop (Shaun Parkes) is British but may also be of Afro-Caribbean descent. Also all of the locations such as peoples houses, places of work and all the clubs they visit are also British in that respect. 

4. With all of the characters they believe that their true identity is in the clubs when they (As quoted by themselves) “can truly become themselves” and not pretend to be something that they’re not. Most of the group seems to have a sort of “alter-ego” about them which comes out through their jobs or work in general or even their relationships. For instance Lulu believes that all (or most) men are evil and victimise women and treat them like objects whereas her true side comes out when she an Jip become more than friends at the end of the film. In Koop’s first scene he declares himself as paranoid and unable to think about anything other than other men with is girlfriend (Nina). But when he works he is a confident man who is as Jip says “Blagging friendship, getting the kids hooked hustling with style”. Jip’s job as an anonymous shop salesman means he just blends into the rest of society and is unable to express himself due to his “mini ******* Hitler who just gives him stick all day”. In the form of his boss. Lastly Moff is form a middle-class family and his father is a policeman which means he has to act differently all day until he can be himself with his friends in the clubs. This is until he ‘snaps’ at the end and becomes his real self in front of his family.
5. One of the main ways in which verisimilitude is created through the text is the use of real footage of ‘ravers’ and rioters at the beginning of the story. I feel that the beginning of the film starts off with what the general public see as the youth culture at this time and as the story develops we see that it changes dramatically through it to what the real youth culture is. Also with many of the ‘fantasy’ scenes of Jip’s which involve him and the rest of the cast looking into the camera and talking to the audience. Also some of the camera shots, one notable one is where Jip and Koop are at the house party discussing Koop’s father, the table is glass and as they are bent over the table it is almost as if they are talking to us the audience as well as talking between themselves.

 Also as with many of these types of films you just see what the group are like with their friends and not into their private lives. You see Koop’s father in his retirement home, you meet Nina’s cousin and go with him on his first trip, you meet Jip’s mother and learn about her being a prostitute. You also see Lulu’s break-up with her boyfriend at the start. And lastly you see into Moff’s home as he recounts his story of calling an expensive girl-line and his father’s anger about it.

6. Jip’s anxiety comes from his case of erectile dysfunction and not only him not being able to perform but also how will the other party feel after he fails to perform. This could also stem from his mother being a prostitute as her voice is once mentioned in a scene with Lulu. Koop’s problems and anxieties stem from him worrying constantly and being paranoid about his girlfriend being with other men, he could have had bad relationships in the past but it is also from the fact that Nina (his girlfriend) is a very friendly person who knows a lot of people. Lulu believes that most men are out to objectify her when really the ones who aren’t are in fact her friends who could be seen as more than that. When really she may have just had a string of bad relationships. Moff’s anxieties mainly come towards the end of the film when he has taken a large amount of drugs and becomes paranoid of all his friends. His anxiety may also stem from him not believing that he will be able to become a normal functioning member of society. Because he will forever want to stay in the state of mind he is in.

7. Human Traffic is a heavily drugs related film. But there is no instance in which is promotes drug use. There are several of Jip’s narrations that talk about how it can make you feel better and make all of the bad parts of your life dissolve. But it also talks about all of the bad parts, for instance when Nina’s brother first takes it there is a scene where he is with Jip and a scientist where he discusses the prolonged use of Ecstasy’s side effects. So overall this film neither condones or put’s down drugs, but it is a film that lets you make your own choices in the decisions you make with it.

British Film Character Analysis

British Character Film Types

Name	Characteristics	Semiotics
XXXX	Intelligent, suave, confident, born into middle class worked way into upper class.	Rough looking (but obviously done up) hair. Smart suits, brand names all suggest upper class.

Robin Hood (2010) & This Is England (2006)

Robin Hood

Story & Plot: Birth of a legend. Following King Richard's death in France, archer Robin Longstride, along with Will Scarlett, Alan-a-Dale and Little John, returns to England. They encounter the dying Robert of Locksley, whose party was ambushed by treacherous Godfrey, who hopes to facilitate a French invasion of England. Robin promises the dying knight he will return his sword to his father Walter in Nottingham. Here Walter encourages him to impersonate the dead man to prevent his land being confiscated by the crown, and he finds himself with Marian, a ready-made wife. Hoping to stir baronial opposition to weak King John and allow an easy French take-over, Godfrey worms his way into the king's service as Earl Marshal of England and brutally invades towns under the pretext of collecting Royal taxes. Can Robin navigate the politics of barons, royals, traitors, and the French?

Nationality of stars?
Russel Crowe: Born in New Zealand and brought up in Australia
Cate Blanchett: Born in Australia
Max von Sydow: Born in Lund Sweden.

Director: Ridley Scott, born in South Shields County Durham, U.K.

Style: Vast, attractive, sometimes gritty and with moderate violence.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

Worldwide Distribution

This Is England

This is England: Mods, New Romantics, and Skinheads are the major youth sub-cultures of this very English summer of 1983 and young 12-year-old Shaun is left wandering aimlessly alone and lost during the start of his school holidays, until his chance meeting with Woody and his fun and friendly Skinhead pack. Finding a new lease of life; girls, parties, Ben Sherman shirts, Doc Martin boots and shaven hairstyles young Shaun is welcomed, life during this summer holiday has got a whole lot better. That is until Combo arrives on the scene bitter, dangerous, racist, militant and psychotic life for young Shaun has just approached his first major crossroads.

Nationality of stars?
Thomas Turgoose: Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire
Stephen Graham: Kirkby, Liverpool

Director: Shane Meadows, born in Uttoexeter, Staffadshire, U.K.

Style: Gritty, true-to-life, uncensored realism.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Distribution: U.K.

New Blog

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