Some UK regulatory bodies are listed below;
OFCOM - Office of Communication, is the communications regulator. They regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms and mobiles plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.
ASA - Advertising Standards Authority, the UK's independent regulator of advertising across all meia, including marketing on websites. They work to ensure ads are legal, decent, honest and truthful by applying the advertising codes.
PCC - Press Complaints Commission, is an independent self-regulatory body which deals with complaints about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines (and their websites).
PRS for Music - Performing Rights Society, Collects and pays royalties to its members when their music is recorded onto any format and distributed to the public, broadcast or made publicly available online.
BBFC - British Board of Film Classification, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010.
PEGI - Pan European Game Information, provides age ratings for computer games using a system recognised across Europe.
Media Teaching Resources
This blog aims to give some basic background information to some of the key concepts in studies of the media.
Understanding Genre
Genre is a French word that means type or kind. Most students will be aware of genre as a way of putting films, television programmes and other media texts into groups that have things in common, such as the story, or the ‘look’ of a film, or the characters, the settings and even the way the characters dress.
Genre, especially in film, is a key concept because it is more complex than just a way of putting similar films together in a group.
Brief Definition: Genre is a way of putting media texts into categories which share similar characteristics.
Genre, especially in film, is a key concept because it is more complex than just a way of putting similar films together in a group.
Brief Definition: Genre is a way of putting media texts into categories which share similar characteristics.
Gene & AudiencesGene helps audiences build up expectations about a film.
It helps in the pre - selling of a film. Filmgoers like to have a general idea of what film they are about to see. But audiences get bored with too much repetition; they like to see a genre change, and evolve by responding to contextual influences to do with the way society changes.
Genre and Film Producers
Genre is a tool used particularly by Hollywood producers who like to repeat generic formulas that are commercially successful. Producers have been criticised for repeating the same genre time after time, but this is a commercial model that works well in many industries. Think of how fashion in clothes repeats itself, revealed in headlines like ‘The Mini Skirt is Back’.
A well-known genre such as thriller is a format that has worked well in the past and so film producers like to think it will be successful again. Particular genres are linked with certain directors – e.g. Martin Scorsese with the gangster genre.
It helps in the pre - selling of a film. Filmgoers like to have a general idea of what film they are about to see. But audiences get bored with too much repetition; they like to see a genre change, and evolve by responding to contextual influences to do with the way society changes.
Genre and Film Producers
Genre is a tool used particularly by Hollywood producers who like to repeat generic formulas that are commercially successful. Producers have been criticised for repeating the same genre time after time, but this is a commercial model that works well in many industries. Think of how fashion in clothes repeats itself, revealed in headlines like ‘The Mini Skirt is Back’.
A well-known genre such as thriller is a format that has worked well in the past and so film producers like to think it will be successful again. Particular genres are linked with certain directors – e.g. Martin Scorsese with the gangster genre.
Romantic comedy often has actors and writers linked with the genre. The actor Hugh Grant and the writer Richard Curtis worked together to create a number of successful British ‘Romcoms’ including Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999)and Love Actually (2003) – notice the similarities in terms of characters and comedy conventions to do with the way the boy meets girl plot is constantly derailed by comic situations.
The trick for producers is to adapt aspects of the genre – known as the codes and conventions - just enough to excite audiences without losing the core values of the genre. This often leads to:
Hybrid – or mixed - genres. These are very popular, as producers think that by mixing say the thriller genre with the action genre they will find the traditional audiences for both genres. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) is described as an action/thriller. The US hit TV show Ugly Betty has been labelled a ‘dramerdy’ as a mix of the comedy genre and the drama genre – this is a good example of a hybrid. This seems an unnecessary name for a situation comedy, but this television genre is not as well appreciated in the US and by world wide audiences as it is in the UK.
A successful genre formula can be repeated over time, but genres do need refreshing and adapting to modern tastes and fashions.
The trick for producers is to adapt aspects of the genre – known as the codes and conventions - just enough to excite audiences without losing the core values of the genre. This often leads to:
Hybrid – or mixed - genres. These are very popular, as producers think that by mixing say the thriller genre with the action genre they will find the traditional audiences for both genres. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) is described as an action/thriller. The US hit TV show Ugly Betty has been labelled a ‘dramerdy’ as a mix of the comedy genre and the drama genre – this is a good example of a hybrid. This seems an unnecessary name for a situation comedy, but this television genre is not as well appreciated in the US and by world wide audiences as it is in the UK.
A successful genre formula can be repeated over time, but genres do need refreshing and adapting to modern tastes and fashions.
Some major genres include:
The Matrix series, AI: Artificial Intelligence, 28 days Later, Transformers, Independence Day, Men in Black and all the Star Wars films. Nearly 30 major Sci Fi films were distributed in 2006 and 2007.
Musicals
New musicals keep arriving from the US e.g. Hairspray(2007). Other musicals include: Moulin Rouge, Cabaret, The Lion King, West Side Story, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Phantom of the Opera.
Gangster
Goodfellas (1990), is a famous modern gangster. The genre was very popular in the 1930 and 1940s with classic films such as Angels with Dirty Faces. Gangster genre has been partially recreated in the UK with Guy Ritchie films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) although these could also be classed as Thrillers.
Goodfellas (1990), is a famous modern gangster. The genre was very popular in the 1930 and 1940s with classic films such as Angels with Dirty Faces. Gangster genre has been partially recreated in the UK with Guy Ritchie films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) although these could also be classed as Thrillers.
Western
Stagecoach (1939), High Noon (1952), The Searchers (1956), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Unforgiven (1992), and recently the remake of 3.10 to Yuma (2007)
Stagecoach (1939), High Noon (1952), The Searchers (1956), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Unforgiven (1992), and recently the remake of 3.10 to Yuma (2007)
The recent Judd Apatow movie Knocked Up (2007) is a modern example of the genre. Older examples include Notting Hill, Love Actually,10 Things I Hate About You, Music and Lyrics, As Good As It Gets, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Shakespeare In Love, Bridget Jones’s Diary. The largest grossing romantic comedy ever (source: Box Office Mojo) is My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).
Romantic Comedy
ThrillerFilms in this genre range from The Godfather series, to The Usual Suspects, Leon (1994) and the Bourne Ultimatum(2007). This genre has become so broad that it includes a huge range of modern films. Some US websites have at least 3 types of thriller: political (Air Force One and Traffic), erotic (Fatal Attraction), and serial killer (Hannibal).
Horror
Includes a range of traditional horror such as Dracula films including Dracula (1992), Van Helsing (2004), torture horror Saw II and horror comedy Ghostbusters. Most commentators would put the Scream series and Scary Movie series in the Horror genre as good examples of the genre evolving into parody.
Sitcoms
Fawlty Towers (BBC), The Family (BBC), Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley, Men Behaving Badly, Will and Grace (C4) and Ugly Betty C4.
Animation
Animated films ( cartoons) and animated children’s television series tend to be grouped under the genre of animation. The studios like to label the feature film length animations as hybrids: Ratatouille (2007) is a family/comedy/animation.
Situation Comedy
In television, the genre of Situation Comedy describes a particular type of comedy that takes place for the most part in one place (situation). Examples include:
WHAT MAKES UP A GENRE?Each genre is made up of a number of components, which the audience can recognise as being part of that particular genre. Some of these components are; story and plot, situations and locations, themes and values, and characters. Plot means the way the story is told to an audience. These elements are known as generic signifiers because they indicate a particular genre.
For example: a Stetson hat, and a revolver and a Winchester rifle indicate the western genre.
For example: a Stetson hat, and a revolver and a Winchester rifle indicate the western genre.
3.10 to Yuma has been successfully remade in 2007, 50 years after its original production. A good western can still excite modern audiences.
Iconography
It comes from the word icon. An original meaning of an icon is a painting representing Christ or a saint – often found in a Greek church. You may know an icon as a small image on the toolbar of your computer that represents something else like email or your printer. The icon sign of a pair of scissors represents CUT – click on this icon and it cuts out a section of text on the page. An icon is an image of something that has more than its obvious (detonative) meaning.
This iconic sign for a telephone represents any and every type of telephone handset. We all agree that this sign means any type of telephone not just one old fashioned telephone. Followed by some numbers, and it means someone’s telephone no.
Photographs and moving images are iconic signs that represent real people and real things suggesting several meanings to audiences.
In media studies these signs are known as polysemic – suggesting to audiences many possible meanings depending on how the signs are read.
The media student has learned that when we view a film or TV programme we are actually looking at a sign, not the real thing in real life. This is important because of the way we ‘read’ signs to gain meaning. Different people in different situations read signs in different ways. That is why everyone has different views about the same film.
Iconography is the way we describe the particular signs that identify a particular genre.
We are back to the Stetson hat, the revolver and the Winchester rifle as part of the iconography of the western genre.
CODES AND CONVENTIONS
Codes and conventions are agreements between audiences and media producers about certain things that work in a particular genre.
For example, in a film musical you are not worried when suddenly one of the characters breaks out into song – think of the famous opening to the film The Sound Of Music. We think it is quite acceptable for Julie Andrews to open her mouth and sing with musical backing about the hills being alive with the sound of music, rather than speak the lines. This is a convention of the musical.
An important aspect of understanding genre is to know the period I which a film was made.
The core values at the time the film was made will affect how audiences saw it at the time, and how audiences see the film now. The technology of film making has changed considerably from the 1930s to the present day. Modern films use Steadycam a great deal, and require less lighting than the films made in Hollywood up until the fifties. Faster film stock and greater use of location filming transformed cinema in the 60s. Now High Definition video is beginning to replace film on some shoots and in some cinemas.
Codes and conventions are agreements between audiences and media producers about certain things that work in a particular genre.
For example, in a film musical you are not worried when suddenly one of the characters breaks out into song – think of the famous opening to the film The Sound Of Music. We think it is quite acceptable for Julie Andrews to open her mouth and sing with musical backing about the hills being alive with the sound of music, rather than speak the lines. This is a convention of the musical.
An important aspect of understanding genre is to know the period I which a film was made.
The core values at the time the film was made will affect how audiences saw it at the time, and how audiences see the film now. The technology of film making has changed considerably from the 1930s to the present day. Modern films use Steadycam a great deal, and require less lighting than the films made in Hollywood up until the fifties. Faster film stock and greater use of location filming transformed cinema in the 60s. Now High Definition video is beginning to replace film on some shoots and in some cinemas.
Story & Plot
Particular story lines and plots, are associated with certain genres. Crime series and police dramas usually start with a crime being committed, and the plot involves solving the mystery of who committed the crime and why. Westerns are often about an unknown man showing up to save a family (The Searchers) or save a whole town (High Noon and The Magnificent Seven). Romantic comedies are about boy meeting girl, and eventually marrying or at least living happily ever after. Horror plots often rely on recycling myths and legends to do with human blood eating vampires, or monsters, and zombies. Modern horror also explores the monsterlike person in our neighbourhood (Halloween).
Themes & ValuesValues in a film are not the same as codes and conventions. Values are the ideological and cultural ideas embedded in a film. In a Western, such as a Clint Eastwood film, the lone gunslinger represents the power of good to destroy evil.
In gangster films greed and the lust for power or wealth undermine the possibly attractive, but deeply flawed, central gangster character. Jealousy, revenge, loyalty and deception are themes of many thrillers and cop movies.
In horror films the monsters and zombies can be interpreted as metaphors for serious diseases, death or destiny. In the end the films give some hope that the audience’s worst fears can be overcome. The all-conquering hero such as Batman or Superman or Spiderman (why are they all men?) offers audiences hope that a solution can be found to some of the ills that beset the world.
These archetypal heroes inhabit the fantasy/action genre, and appeal to the audience’s inner desire to become a respected power for good. The values are those of good conquering evil.
Sci-Fi replaces the zombies with aliens. Audiences are left feeling safe in the knowledge that the unknown threats from monsters in outer space can be overcome.
Situations and locations
Soaps have the well-known pub, the street, the café. Police dramas have car chases, the mean back streets location, and prison cells. Sci-Fi is immediately recognisable by wasted, bleak moonscape style landscapes and deep blue starry skies, high-tech interiors of spaceships and imitations of constellations and galaxies.
Characters
Some genres put emphasis on character. The Film Noir genre requires a hard boiled, down at heel, investigative, straight talking type of man as the main character, and a ‘femme fatale’ to lead him astray. You can research the Film Noir genre on a large number o f websites.
Other codes and conventions include costume – think of the designer dressed James Bond. Historical time – dramas set in the past (The Tudors BBC 2007) are popular on television. Dramatisations of literary works such s Pride and Prejudice, and Atonement (2007) rely on codes and conventions of period costume, period objects, and period atmosphere to convince audiences of the realism of the period in which the film is set.
Particular story lines and plots, are associated with certain genres. Crime series and police dramas usually start with a crime being committed, and the plot involves solving the mystery of who committed the crime and why. Westerns are often about an unknown man showing up to save a family (The Searchers) or save a whole town (High Noon and The Magnificent Seven). Romantic comedies are about boy meeting girl, and eventually marrying or at least living happily ever after. Horror plots often rely on recycling myths and legends to do with human blood eating vampires, or monsters, and zombies. Modern horror also explores the monsterlike person in our neighbourhood (Halloween).
Themes & ValuesValues in a film are not the same as codes and conventions. Values are the ideological and cultural ideas embedded in a film. In a Western, such as a Clint Eastwood film, the lone gunslinger represents the power of good to destroy evil.
In gangster films greed and the lust for power or wealth undermine the possibly attractive, but deeply flawed, central gangster character. Jealousy, revenge, loyalty and deception are themes of many thrillers and cop movies.
In horror films the monsters and zombies can be interpreted as metaphors for serious diseases, death or destiny. In the end the films give some hope that the audience’s worst fears can be overcome. The all-conquering hero such as Batman or Superman or Spiderman (why are they all men?) offers audiences hope that a solution can be found to some of the ills that beset the world.
These archetypal heroes inhabit the fantasy/action genre, and appeal to the audience’s inner desire to become a respected power for good. The values are those of good conquering evil.
Sci-Fi replaces the zombies with aliens. Audiences are left feeling safe in the knowledge that the unknown threats from monsters in outer space can be overcome.
Situations and locations
Soaps have the well-known pub, the street, the café. Police dramas have car chases, the mean back streets location, and prison cells. Sci-Fi is immediately recognisable by wasted, bleak moonscape style landscapes and deep blue starry skies, high-tech interiors of spaceships and imitations of constellations and galaxies.
Characters
Some genres put emphasis on character. The Film Noir genre requires a hard boiled, down at heel, investigative, straight talking type of man as the main character, and a ‘femme fatale’ to lead him astray. You can research the Film Noir genre on a large number o f websites.
Other codes and conventions include costume – think of the designer dressed James Bond. Historical time – dramas set in the past (The Tudors BBC 2007) are popular on television. Dramatisations of literary works such s Pride and Prejudice, and Atonement (2007) rely on codes and conventions of period costume, period objects, and period atmosphere to convince audiences of the realism of the period in which the film is set.
Brief Genre History
Genre is most commonly associated with cinema. The idea grew up with the very early short films made to entertain audiences in the early 1900s. At first there were many types of short (approx 5 minute) films. The cinema had to buy the films so similar types of film were put together in bundles.
The cinema distributor would know what to advertise at a cinema. Audiences soon realised that they could work out whether a film would be of interest to them by its category – or genre.
Film makers began to specialise in a certain genre that was successful – musicals for example – and became associated with that genre. In the classic era of Hollywood between the 1920s and the 1960s Warner Bros were associated with gangsters, MGM with glossy musicals and Universal with horror.
Film stars became identified with a genre; Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly with musicals; James Cagney and Edward G Robinson with gangster movies.
Hollywood film studios found that they could produce genre films in an efficient and cost effective way and still entertain audiences, because they could associate with a particular genre. This certainty began to unravel just after the Second World War in the early 1950s, as the Hollywood studio system began to break up.
The film industry broadened the appeal of its films with the appearance of new genres often by smaller film companies, and by creating hybrid genres. Audiences become bored with the rigid genre boundaries. Genre films continue to be made as audiences still want clear identification of a film within a recognisable generic category.
Genre is most commonly associated with cinema. The idea grew up with the very early short films made to entertain audiences in the early 1900s. At first there were many types of short (approx 5 minute) films. The cinema had to buy the films so similar types of film were put together in bundles.
The cinema distributor would know what to advertise at a cinema. Audiences soon realised that they could work out whether a film would be of interest to them by its category – or genre.
Film makers began to specialise in a certain genre that was successful – musicals for example – and became associated with that genre. In the classic era of Hollywood between the 1920s and the 1960s Warner Bros were associated with gangsters, MGM with glossy musicals and Universal with horror.
Film stars became identified with a genre; Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly with musicals; James Cagney and Edward G Robinson with gangster movies.
Hollywood film studios found that they could produce genre films in an efficient and cost effective way and still entertain audiences, because they could associate with a particular genre. This certainty began to unravel just after the Second World War in the early 1950s, as the Hollywood studio system began to break up.
The film industry broadened the appeal of its films with the appearance of new genres often by smaller film companies, and by creating hybrid genres. Audiences become bored with the rigid genre boundaries. Genre films continue to be made as audiences still want clear identification of a film within a recognisable generic category.
Parody and PasticheProducers employ parody and pastiche in the Horror genre e.g. Shaun of the Dead (2004). These concepts are rooted in postmodernist theory, and the changing nature of modern audiences. For high marks students should understand the influence of postmodernism on film, and reference postmodern film with textual examples.
Definitions:
A parody film is a film that mocks through comedy films of a particular genre. Hot Fuzz is a recent British film that makes fun of the genre of cop action films.
A pastiche film borrows a number of themes and styles, or codes and conventions from other films even to the extent of copying some scenes and imitating others. The aim of pastiche is to make it obvious that these elements have been borrowed or imitated as a form of flattery to the original.
Intertextuality – Deliberate reference in a text to another media text or form which is already known to audiences. Often used by advertisers to link their product with a distinguished film or genre.
Definitions:
A parody film is a film that mocks through comedy films of a particular genre. Hot Fuzz is a recent British film that makes fun of the genre of cop action films.
A pastiche film borrows a number of themes and styles, or codes and conventions from other films even to the extent of copying some scenes and imitating others. The aim of pastiche is to make it obvious that these elements have been borrowed or imitated as a form of flattery to the original.
Intertextuality – Deliberate reference in a text to another media text or form which is already known to audiences. Often used by advertisers to link their product with a distinguished film or genre.
What is Postmodernism?
Postmodernism is a term used originally by art historians to describe the general movement of art, culture and society since the 1960s and into the 21st century.
As western society speeds up in terms of the information available 24/7 so the fragmentation of society becomes more marked. Large audiences with a broadband connection can access a flow of images and information some of which seem disconnected from their live source.
Postmodernism reflects the way western and, to a considerable extent global society, changed in the middle 20th century. Some say it was the influence of rock and roll but this was only one small reason. The real changes concerned traditional values such as religion, the traditional nuclear family and notions of race and class which became more fluid and uncertain. People felt insecure, and began questioning aspects of their identity, and their role in society as well as the value of religion and core cultural values.
Postmodernism is a term used originally by art historians to describe the general movement of art, culture and society since the 1960s and into the 21st century.
As western society speeds up in terms of the information available 24/7 so the fragmentation of society becomes more marked. Large audiences with a broadband connection can access a flow of images and information some of which seem disconnected from their live source.
Postmodernism reflects the way western and, to a considerable extent global society, changed in the middle 20th century. Some say it was the influence of rock and roll but this was only one small reason. The real changes concerned traditional values such as religion, the traditional nuclear family and notions of race and class which became more fluid and uncertain. People felt insecure, and began questioning aspects of their identity, and their role in society as well as the value of religion and core cultural values.
Understanding Narrative
Narrative is the media term for storytelling. Narrative is the way the different elements in a story are organised to make a meaningful story. Some of these elements can be facts as in a documentary, or characters and action as in a drama.
Narrative, or telling stories, is our way of making sense of the world about us and trying to put some meaning into that world.
Because we live in a world that is organised by time – hours of the day, days of the month, the years, so story telling starts off as being linear. We tell a story as a line of events. Then she did this, then he did that, then they got married.
All cultures in all countries tell stories; theorists recognise that story telling is an important part of being human.
When we look at narrative we see that stories throughout the media share certain characteristics. This often links them to genre.
Different media tell stories in a variety of different ways.
The key areas concerned with narrative are:
Narrative, or telling stories, is our way of making sense of the world about us and trying to put some meaning into that world.
Because we live in a world that is organised by time – hours of the day, days of the month, the years, so story telling starts off as being linear. We tell a story as a line of events. Then she did this, then he did that, then they got married.
All cultures in all countries tell stories; theorists recognise that story telling is an important part of being human.
When we look at narrative we see that stories throughout the media share certain characteristics. This often links them to genre.
Different media tell stories in a variety of different ways.
The key areas concerned with narrative are:
Narrative structure is the way the story or plot unfolds. Is the story an open or closed structure. A closed structure means the story ends satisfactorily as in most films – this is known as closure, with the girl getting the boy or the hero saving the planet.
An open ending means there is no final conclusion to the story – a television soap has no final ending, it just has minor endings (a character gets killed). The audience may be are asked to decide how an open story ends.
Some texts have an interactive structure where the audience is asked to be involved in deciding the outcome of a programme. Reality television series such as Big Brother and X Factor rely on the audience’s vote to continue the series.
An open ending means there is no final conclusion to the story – a television soap has no final ending, it just has minor endings (a character gets killed). The audience may be are asked to decide how an open story ends.
Some texts have an interactive structure where the audience is asked to be involved in deciding the outcome of a programme. Reality television series such as Big Brother and X Factor rely on the audience’s vote to continue the series.
A multi-strand structure means there are several narratives running at the same time. This is very common in television and radio soaps and ongoing drama series, such as Holby City, and The Bill.
Other narrative structures include point of view (POV). The narrative can take the POV of the first person as in Bridget Jones Diary where Bridget narrates the story, or the third person where a narrator uses ‘voice over’ to tell the story.
In documentaries a particular point of view may be put forward by an on-screen presenter e.g. Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock. An unseen presenter can progress the narrative with commentary written to explain the story behind the pictures.
A popular narrative device is the enigma. The plot constructs a puzzle that the audience is asked to solve while the characters act out the story. An enigma may end with a surprising twist as in The Usual Suspects (1995) where the hero is redefined.
Narrative is informed by character, action, and location.
Characters have functions such as heroes or villains, or someone who assists the hero or villain as a helper or messenger.
The location of a film or television programme is an important ingredient in how the story unfolds. A horror film about Dracula must have a castle.
A hospital soap must be set in a hospital which becomes a tool that helps in the story telling. Albert Square itself becomes a vital element in the stories in Eastenders and helps them unfold in a realistic way.
Narrative is delivered to the audience by expectation, suspense, tension and closure. The audience is led to expect certain things to happen which leads to tension and excitement. We are shown the arch villain preparing to attack the hero in Spiderman - the excitement is about how Spiderman will overcome the threat.
Expectation, suspense and tension are created by the use of Media Language such as editing and shot selection, sound and music, framing and mis-en-scène.
Directors and producers use many techniques to get a story to an audience in an involving, interesting, exciting and entertaining way.
Other narrative structures include point of view (POV). The narrative can take the POV of the first person as in Bridget Jones Diary where Bridget narrates the story, or the third person where a narrator uses ‘voice over’ to tell the story.
In documentaries a particular point of view may be put forward by an on-screen presenter e.g. Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock. An unseen presenter can progress the narrative with commentary written to explain the story behind the pictures.
A popular narrative device is the enigma. The plot constructs a puzzle that the audience is asked to solve while the characters act out the story. An enigma may end with a surprising twist as in The Usual Suspects (1995) where the hero is redefined.
Narrative is informed by character, action, and location.
Characters have functions such as heroes or villains, or someone who assists the hero or villain as a helper or messenger.
The location of a film or television programme is an important ingredient in how the story unfolds. A horror film about Dracula must have a castle.
A hospital soap must be set in a hospital which becomes a tool that helps in the story telling. Albert Square itself becomes a vital element in the stories in Eastenders and helps them unfold in a realistic way.
Narrative is delivered to the audience by expectation, suspense, tension and closure. The audience is led to expect certain things to happen which leads to tension and excitement. We are shown the arch villain preparing to attack the hero in Spiderman - the excitement is about how Spiderman will overcome the threat.
Expectation, suspense and tension are created by the use of Media Language such as editing and shot selection, sound and music, framing and mis-en-scène.
Directors and producers use many techniques to get a story to an audience in an involving, interesting, exciting and entertaining way.
THEORY 1
There are many theoretical ways of studying narrative. One of the most famous theorists to do with fictional narrative is Tzvetan Todorov.
Todorov’s theory has three main parts:
1. The text begins with a state of equilibrium – everything appears to be normal or calm –see the beginning of Halloween (1978) where the suburban setting is exaggerated in its normalness.
2. There is some kind of disruption or disequilibrium – this is often a threat to the normal situation or it could be just a setback.
3. A new equilibrium is produced to end the narrative. In the best narratives there is some kind of change for the better perhaps in the main character’s behaviour or outlook on life.
This is the bare bones of the theory, which is more complex.
Todorov suggests there are five stages to how the narrative progresses:
1. The equilibrium has to be carefully shown (otherwise the disruption may not be dramatic enough to create a strong plot)
2. There is a disruption
3. There is a recognition that a disruption has happened.
4. There is an attempt to repair the damage done by the disruption.
5. A new equilibrium is achieved.
This is not a linear organisation of the material, it is a circular structure. The narrative is driven by the characters’ attempts to restore the equilibrium, although the end result is not quite the same as the beginning. Todorov argues that a good narrative involves transformation – think Cinderella. The characters or the situations are transformed because of the disruptions.
The disruption often occurs outside the normal framework of the social situation. A town is threatened by an outside force such as guerrillas or insurgents so the threat is unravelled by The Magnificent Seven, but there are many set backs.
There may be a murder which shocks the community or a character knows too much and needs to be ‘taken out’ in order for the state to continue its covert operations – The Bourne Identity. Here the narrative is closed because Matt Damon escapes, but it leaves the way open for another film – as do the Pirates of the Caribbean series. This is a narrative convention that we as an audience accept and actually enjoy – we look forward to the sequel.
In a fantasy film the narrative is often a sophisticated quest as in the Lord of the Rings trilogy with many set backs and threats. Remember it begins with the peaceful, normal world of the Hobbits. It ends three films later with civilisation returned to a peaceful existence the Hobbits have learned about good and evil.
There are many theoretical ways of studying narrative. One of the most famous theorists to do with fictional narrative is Tzvetan Todorov.
Todorov’s theory has three main parts:
1. The text begins with a state of equilibrium – everything appears to be normal or calm –see the beginning of Halloween (1978) where the suburban setting is exaggerated in its normalness.
2. There is some kind of disruption or disequilibrium – this is often a threat to the normal situation or it could be just a setback.
3. A new equilibrium is produced to end the narrative. In the best narratives there is some kind of change for the better perhaps in the main character’s behaviour or outlook on life.
This is the bare bones of the theory, which is more complex.
Todorov suggests there are five stages to how the narrative progresses:
1. The equilibrium has to be carefully shown (otherwise the disruption may not be dramatic enough to create a strong plot)
2. There is a disruption
3. There is a recognition that a disruption has happened.
4. There is an attempt to repair the damage done by the disruption.
5. A new equilibrium is achieved.
This is not a linear organisation of the material, it is a circular structure. The narrative is driven by the characters’ attempts to restore the equilibrium, although the end result is not quite the same as the beginning. Todorov argues that a good narrative involves transformation – think Cinderella. The characters or the situations are transformed because of the disruptions.
The disruption often occurs outside the normal framework of the social situation. A town is threatened by an outside force such as guerrillas or insurgents so the threat is unravelled by The Magnificent Seven, but there are many set backs.
There may be a murder which shocks the community or a character knows too much and needs to be ‘taken out’ in order for the state to continue its covert operations – The Bourne Identity. Here the narrative is closed because Matt Damon escapes, but it leaves the way open for another film – as do the Pirates of the Caribbean series. This is a narrative convention that we as an audience accept and actually enjoy – we look forward to the sequel.
In a fantasy film the narrative is often a sophisticated quest as in the Lord of the Rings trilogy with many set backs and threats. Remember it begins with the peaceful, normal world of the Hobbits. It ends three films later with civilisation returned to a peaceful existence the Hobbits have learned about good and evil.
THEORY 2
Another important theorist is Vladimir Propp (1895- 1970). He studied folk tales and found fairy tales shared basic narrative elements. He proposed ways of grouping characters and their actions into eight broad character types or ‘spheres of action’. You can see how these work by their title:
1. the VILLAIN – known to scriptwriters as the antagonist because he seeks to stop what the HERO wants to do
2. the HERO – known as the protagonist who has to fulfil his destiny in the story. This may be a quest for fame and fortune, or true love or the search for a lost parent or a quest to put right a former injustice or save the planet.
3. the DONOR is the character who provides a special device so that the hero can fulfil his or her mission. James Bond has gadgets. A donor can give a magical device such as a sword – Excalibur in King Arthur or be a fairy godmother providing the means for the heroine to reach the prince.
4. the HELPER – the hero has to have a side-kick who helps the hero in the quest.
5. the PRINCESS – remember that Propp had studied fairy tales so he uses terms that are familiar in traditional stories. The princess is the reward for the hero and often the desire of the antagonist who seeks to involve her in his schemes to out wit the hero.
6. her FATHER – the person who rewards the hero for his achievements and also can provide a moral safeguard for the hero to be measured against. Think of the importance of the king in Shrek.
7. the DISPATCHER – the character who sees that something needs to be done and sets up the hero’s quest and sends him out into the world to fulfil his task.
8. the FALSE HERO – the character who also lays claim to the princess but is unsuitable and causes complications.
These character types can be shared by one or more characters. The dispatcher may also be the donor who gives the magical ring or sword. M dispatches James Bond and allows him to have the gadgets he needs to achieve the mission.
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER ABOUT NARRATIVE
• In a television or radio programme or a film the narrative can be linear, but often it is circular or even a mixture of the two as in Run Lola Run.
• There are usually a number of disruptions that vary in intensity often depending on genre
• The disruption can transgress normal culture, events, customs and values
• There is always some form of transformation
Another important theorist is Vladimir Propp (1895- 1970). He studied folk tales and found fairy tales shared basic narrative elements. He proposed ways of grouping characters and their actions into eight broad character types or ‘spheres of action’. You can see how these work by their title:
1. the VILLAIN – known to scriptwriters as the antagonist because he seeks to stop what the HERO wants to do
2. the HERO – known as the protagonist who has to fulfil his destiny in the story. This may be a quest for fame and fortune, or true love or the search for a lost parent or a quest to put right a former injustice or save the planet.
3. the DONOR is the character who provides a special device so that the hero can fulfil his or her mission. James Bond has gadgets. A donor can give a magical device such as a sword – Excalibur in King Arthur or be a fairy godmother providing the means for the heroine to reach the prince.
4. the HELPER – the hero has to have a side-kick who helps the hero in the quest.
5. the PRINCESS – remember that Propp had studied fairy tales so he uses terms that are familiar in traditional stories. The princess is the reward for the hero and often the desire of the antagonist who seeks to involve her in his schemes to out wit the hero.
6. her FATHER – the person who rewards the hero for his achievements and also can provide a moral safeguard for the hero to be measured against. Think of the importance of the king in Shrek.
7. the DISPATCHER – the character who sees that something needs to be done and sets up the hero’s quest and sends him out into the world to fulfil his task.
8. the FALSE HERO – the character who also lays claim to the princess but is unsuitable and causes complications.
These character types can be shared by one or more characters. The dispatcher may also be the donor who gives the magical ring or sword. M dispatches James Bond and allows him to have the gadgets he needs to achieve the mission.
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER ABOUT NARRATIVE
• In a television or radio programme or a film the narrative can be linear, but often it is circular or even a mixture of the two as in Run Lola Run.
• There are usually a number of disruptions that vary in intensity often depending on genre
• The disruption can transgress normal culture, events, customs and values
• There is always some form of transformation
If you would like to study more about narrative theories look up the work of Roland Barthes who has written about narrative codes including the enigma code.
Lévi-Strauss studied narrative and meaning in texts in terms of binary oppositions.
Lévi-Strauss studied narrative and meaning in texts in terms of binary oppositions.
Animation
Animation
The Illusion of Life
What is Animation?
‘Animation’ is what we call a series of images viewed in quick succession, which if they are similar enough to each other create the illusion of movement. This is due to something that is believed to happen between the human eye and brain called the ‘persistence of vision’. This means that the retina in the human eye (the part of the eye that receives the image of what we look at), retains an image for a brief moment. The theory of the persistence of vision tells us that images seen at a rate of faster than around eight per second, if they are similar enough to each other, seem to us to be one moving image.
For animation seen on film, these images should be viewed at more than sixteen images per second to avoid the flicker of the projector becoming distracting, so the convention for film is twenty four frames per second (or f.p.s.). Televison in most of Europe is twenty five f.p.s and in the USA thirty f.p.s.
To save time and money the images in animation are often doubled up so each separate image appears in two frames, which means if it was projected at twenty four f.p.s. we are actually seeing the images at half that rate, at twelve f.p.s. On cheaper TV animation the frame rate of the animation is often designed to be seen as low as six frames per second.
The animation images can be flat drawn images, three dimensional models or as is common today, computer generated models. These are amongst the main types of animation used today:
What is Animation?
‘Animation’ is what we call a series of images viewed in quick succession, which if they are similar enough to each other create the illusion of movement. This is due to something that is believed to happen between the human eye and brain called the ‘persistence of vision’. This means that the retina in the human eye (the part of the eye that receives the image of what we look at), retains an image for a brief moment. The theory of the persistence of vision tells us that images seen at a rate of faster than around eight per second, if they are similar enough to each other, seem to us to be one moving image.
For animation seen on film, these images should be viewed at more than sixteen images per second to avoid the flicker of the projector becoming distracting, so the convention for film is twenty four frames per second (or f.p.s.). Televison in most of Europe is twenty five f.p.s and in the USA thirty f.p.s.
To save time and money the images in animation are often doubled up so each separate image appears in two frames, which means if it was projected at twenty four f.p.s. we are actually seeing the images at half that rate, at twelve f.p.s. On cheaper TV animation the frame rate of the animation is often designed to be seen as low as six frames per second.
The animation images can be flat drawn images, three dimensional models or as is common today, computer generated models. These are amongst the main types of animation used today:
Cell Animation (or ‘2d’ or ‘drawn’ animation)– This is traditionally the most common form of animation although in the last two decades it has been superseded by computer generated images (‘CGI’ or ‘digital’) animation.
The most famous and successful producers of cell animation were Walt Disney Snow White (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Sleeping Beauty (1959), Jungle Book (1967) Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Little Mermaid (1989)) who pioneered a lot of the techniques and principles of traditional character animation used worldwide today.
Amongst recent notable films to largely use cell animation have been The Iron Giant (1999) and the films of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and his Gibli Studios Nausicaa Valley of the Wind (1984) , Laputa Castle in the Sky (1986) My Neighbour Totoro (1988) Spirited Away (2001).
Cell animation usually starts with animator creating drawings at a ‘light box’, a desk with a semi transparent surface with a light behind, so he can look through the top drawing and see the other drawings in the sequence underneath it to use as a guide. In the past these drawings were then transferred onto ‘cells’, transparent plastic sheets, where they were painted by hand and then filmed, frame by frame, on top of the background painting.
The use of cells was so that the background part of the drawing didn’t need to be created over and over for every frame. Nowadays it is more common for the drawings to be scanned into a computer and then coloured digitally, before being placed over the background image also inside the computer. As a lot of animation is now 3 dimensional (3d) CGI, the cell animation style is now often known as 2d animation.
Amongst recent notable films to largely use cell animation have been The Iron Giant (1999) and the films of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and his Gibli Studios Nausicaa Valley of the Wind (1984) , Laputa Castle in the Sky (1986) My Neighbour Totoro (1988) Spirited Away (2001).
Cell animation usually starts with animator creating drawings at a ‘light box’, a desk with a semi transparent surface with a light behind, so he can look through the top drawing and see the other drawings in the sequence underneath it to use as a guide. In the past these drawings were then transferred onto ‘cells’, transparent plastic sheets, where they were painted by hand and then filmed, frame by frame, on top of the background painting.
The use of cells was so that the background part of the drawing didn’t need to be created over and over for every frame. Nowadays it is more common for the drawings to be scanned into a computer and then coloured digitally, before being placed over the background image also inside the computer. As a lot of animation is now 3 dimensional (3d) CGI, the cell animation style is now often known as 2d animation.
CGI – Computer Generated Imagery nowadays usually means 3d graphics but there are also various kinds of other computer graphics, generally associated with early computers and video games.
3d CGI - Pioneered by the American studio Pixar, 3d CGI is now the dominant form of animation at the box office. In 3d CGI computers are used to generate graphical worlds and characters that often appear to be highly detailed, realistic and believable, even when the design is stylised and cartoon like. The quality of design, animation, characterisation and storytelling in Pixar’s pioneering 3d CGI films Luxo Jr (1986), Toy Story (1995), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004)) has often imitated by many other studios but never bettered. Pixar is now wholly owned by Walt Disney Studios.
Other good quality 3d CGI films have been produced by studios such as PDI Antz (1998), Shrek (2001)) (now bought by Dreamworks) and Blue Sky Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005)). 3d CGI animation is also used to create most special effects and creatures for many live-action films (live–action means any film that is filmed not animated) like King Kong (2005 version) and the most recent Star Wars films.
3D CGI animation is also the most common type of animation used in video games, such as ‘Mario Galaxy’ and the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series. Sometimes it can be rendered to look flat, like 2d animation, as in the game ‘Zelda : Wind Waker’ . 3d animation is great for games due to its suitability for interactive control within a computer programme.
No matter how they are created and viewed these images still have to be carefully crafted by someone to create a convincing impression of movement and if they are images of living things, they have to create, as Walt Disney called it, ‘The Illusion of Life’. Animators themselves might tell you that with the long hours it takes to create animation, painstaking days of concentration sitting at your desk, the idea of actually having a life can seem like the illusion!
3d CGI - Pioneered by the American studio Pixar, 3d CGI is now the dominant form of animation at the box office. In 3d CGI computers are used to generate graphical worlds and characters that often appear to be highly detailed, realistic and believable, even when the design is stylised and cartoon like. The quality of design, animation, characterisation and storytelling in Pixar’s pioneering 3d CGI films Luxo Jr (1986), Toy Story (1995), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004)) has often imitated by many other studios but never bettered. Pixar is now wholly owned by Walt Disney Studios.
Other good quality 3d CGI films have been produced by studios such as PDI Antz (1998), Shrek (2001)) (now bought by Dreamworks) and Blue Sky Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005)). 3d CGI animation is also used to create most special effects and creatures for many live-action films (live–action means any film that is filmed not animated) like King Kong (2005 version) and the most recent Star Wars films.
3D CGI animation is also the most common type of animation used in video games, such as ‘Mario Galaxy’ and the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series. Sometimes it can be rendered to look flat, like 2d animation, as in the game ‘Zelda : Wind Waker’ . 3d animation is great for games due to its suitability for interactive control within a computer programme.
Vector Graphics CGI- Whereas most computer imagery is rendered or displayed as ‘bitmaps’, types of image that are made up of thousands of tiny different coloured dots like newsprint, vector graphics are calculated and displayed as solid sharp lines filled with solid sharp areas of flat colour. This can be ideal for flat very cartoony graphics and, as it needs less computing power and memory to produce and store, is common on web animation (created in applications like Flash) and was common in early video games. Vector graphics are also ‘scalable’, they can be blown up to large sizes without becoming fuzzy and breaking down into pixels, so are used for graphic design and print.
Vector graphics
http://www.vecteezy.com/
Flash web animation
http://www.atomfilms.com/films/flash_cartoons.jsp
Flash web animation series
http://www.icebox.com/index.php?id=shows
Pixel Graphics CGI- Pixel graphics basically means the ‘dots’ or pixels that make up the image are big enough to be clearly visible. The bogger the pixels are the fewer are displayed and so the less memory needed. These is why large pixel graphics were widely used on early video games and computer art, and consisted of pictures or frames of animation ‘painted’ by laying down individual pixels. This is an art form in itself, especially with the limitations of early games where the pixels were usually restricted to blocks of 16x16 or 32x32 and with 32 or 64 colour palettes.
Pixel game graphics
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/1528/
Vector graphics
http://www.vecteezy.com/
Flash web animation
http://www.atomfilms.com/films/flash_cartoons.jsp
Flash web animation series
http://www.icebox.com/index.php?id=shows
Pixel Graphics CGI- Pixel graphics basically means the ‘dots’ or pixels that make up the image are big enough to be clearly visible. The bogger the pixels are the fewer are displayed and so the less memory needed. These is why large pixel graphics were widely used on early video games and computer art, and consisted of pictures or frames of animation ‘painted’ by laying down individual pixels. This is an art form in itself, especially with the limitations of early games where the pixels were usually restricted to blocks of 16x16 or 32x32 and with 32 or 64 colour palettes.
Pixel game graphics
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/1528/
Stop Motion (or stop frame or claymation)- Stop motion is the process of using real models and moving and then filming them frame by frame.
This is perhaps the oldest and simplest kind of animation yet is still very popular thanks to modern day producers like Aardman, from Bristol, and their best known director/animator Nick Park Chicken Run (2000), Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Wererabbit (2005)) and other recent films produced or directed by Tim Burton Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), James and the Giant Peach (1996), The Corpse Bride (2005).
The technique has also been widely used in the past to animate realistic models of monsters etc which are then inserted into live action films like King Kong (1933 version), the films of Ray Harryhausen The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Clash of the Titans (1981)) and in the giraffe like giant AT-AT Walker vehicles in the early Star Wars films.
Czech animator Jan Svankmajer often uses household objects, food and fruit in his stop frame animation to create his many surreal and disconcerting films such as Dimensions of Dialogue (1982) and Alice (1998). Stop frame can be seen in many of the music videos of director Michel Gondry Fell in Love With a Girl by the White Stripes and Cellphone’s Dead by Beck and his film The Science of Sleep (2007)
This is perhaps the oldest and simplest kind of animation yet is still very popular thanks to modern day producers like Aardman, from Bristol, and their best known director/animator Nick Park Chicken Run (2000), Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Wererabbit (2005)) and other recent films produced or directed by Tim Burton Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), James and the Giant Peach (1996), The Corpse Bride (2005).
The technique has also been widely used in the past to animate realistic models of monsters etc which are then inserted into live action films like King Kong (1933 version), the films of Ray Harryhausen The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Clash of the Titans (1981)) and in the giraffe like giant AT-AT Walker vehicles in the early Star Wars films.
Czech animator Jan Svankmajer often uses household objects, food and fruit in his stop frame animation to create his many surreal and disconcerting films such as Dimensions of Dialogue (1982) and Alice (1998). Stop frame can be seen in many of the music videos of director Michel Gondry Fell in Love With a Girl by the White Stripes and Cellphone’s Dead by Beck and his film The Science of Sleep (2007)
Cutout - This is can be the simplest and quickest technique of all and the results are somewhere between cell animation and stop frame. Basically the drawing is cut out and then cut into sections which are put on a background and then moved frame by frame, whether using physical cut outs or cut out images inside a computer animation package.
Pixilation – the technique where actors move into poses and are photographed frame by frame, as pioneered by experimental Scottish animator Norman Mclaren in ‘Neighbours’ 1952. Pixilation is widely used in the 1993 film The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb by Bristol’s The Bolex Brothers and The Wizard of Space and Time (1979 +1989) by Mike Jittlov. It can also be seen in many music videos like ‘Sledgehammer’ by Peter Gabriel, ‘The Hardest Button to Button’ by White Stripes and ‘Heard ‘em Say’ by Kanye West.
Rotoscoping and Motion capture (or Performance Capture) – Some would say that ‘rotoscoping’ (and its digital cousin motion/performance capture) are not strictly speaking animation at all, but the techniques still rely on animators to interpret and blend the recorded movements together and apply them to the character.
Rotoscoping is when characters in a live-action film are traced or drawn over in order to give a life-like smoother movement. This has been successfully and widely used but can become boring to watch, as animation is more interesting when it is an exaggeration of life rather than a direct copy. This can also at times apply to modern CGI stuff when it is merely trying to recreate reality, or real movements, rather than invent new ones.
A lot of rotoscoping can be seen in Ralph Bakshi’s original version of ‘Lord of the Rings’ (1978), where they used the technique a lot more than they originally intended as they ran out of time and money and it can save time. We can see from the seventies hairstyles in the clip below how closely the filmed actors were traced! This film shows the dangers of rotoscoping in that if you rely on it too heavily you can get results that just seem like actors in costume miming badly.
More recently the technique of rotoscoping has been used in an interesting digital way by animator Bob Sabiston, particularly in the films of fellow inhabitant of Austin, Texas, director Richard Linklater, ‘Waking Life’ (2001) and ‘A Scanner Darkly’ (2004).
Rotoscoping is when characters in a live-action film are traced or drawn over in order to give a life-like smoother movement. This has been successfully and widely used but can become boring to watch, as animation is more interesting when it is an exaggeration of life rather than a direct copy. This can also at times apply to modern CGI stuff when it is merely trying to recreate reality, or real movements, rather than invent new ones.
A lot of rotoscoping can be seen in Ralph Bakshi’s original version of ‘Lord of the Rings’ (1978), where they used the technique a lot more than they originally intended as they ran out of time and money and it can save time. We can see from the seventies hairstyles in the clip below how closely the filmed actors were traced! This film shows the dangers of rotoscoping in that if you rely on it too heavily you can get results that just seem like actors in costume miming badly.
More recently the technique of rotoscoping has been used in an interesting digital way by animator Bob Sabiston, particularly in the films of fellow inhabitant of Austin, Texas, director Richard Linklater, ‘Waking Life’ (2001) and ‘A Scanner Darkly’ (2004).
‘Motion capture’ or ‘performance capture’, a 3D digital form of rotoscoping, is when actors movements are recorded by a computer, using sensors on their body, and these movements are applied to CGI characters. This again produces a very life like and smooth movement, and subtleties of acting performance can be easily and quickly transferred into the CGI character, but like rotoscoping it also can look cheap and become dull to watch compared to real character animation. The technique is best known in films like ‘Polar Express’ (2004), ‘Monster House’ (2006), ‘Beowolf’ (2007) and the Gollum in ‘Lord of the Rings: Two Towers’ (2002). The technique is also very widely used in video games where large volumes of animation are needed quickly and cheaply. It can be seen in games like the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series and sports games like the ‘FIFA Football’ series.
Paint-on-glass animation, in which slow drying oil paint is painted and moved about on glass and filmed frame by frame. As seen in the films of Aleksandr Petrov like the incredible Oscar winning ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ (1999).
Drawn-on-film animation is where images are scratched or painted directly onto the film strip, as seen in the experimental work of British animators Len Lye and Norman McLaren.
Nowadays we would usually view all these kinds of animation as we view any other kind of film, cast on some kind of screen, but animation can also be viewed on a flickbook or a variety of other strange inventions from the past.No matter how they are created and viewed these images still have to be carefully crafted by someone to create a convincing impression of movement and if they are images of living things, they have to create, as Walt Disney called it, ‘The Illusion of Life’. Animators themselves might tell you that with the long hours it takes to create animation, painstaking days of concentration sitting at your desk, the idea of actually having a life can seem like the illusion!
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