Codes and Conventions

Conventions are rules or generally accepted ways of constructing form and informing meaning in media products.
Codes suggest or construct meanings in media forms and products.
It can be divided into two categories- technical and symbolic

1.Technical codes( ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text)-

• camera techniques 
• framing
• depth of field
• lighting- mainly dark and dim lights to show that the scene is taking place during night and to create a sense of fear.
• exposure
• sound.

2.Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example- a character's actions reflect his/her emotions.

• In my film, the last scene after she receives the image of her back suggesting someone is behind her at that moment. I wanted to show a state of shock. I will do that by making my actor look straight into the camera with a concerned but straight face to show how she is paralysed with fear.
• when she picks up the box, she instantly goes inside without giving it a second thought or being surprised or opening it to show that she already knows what to do with it and that it doesn't seem like a suprise to her. 
• when my character is solving the puzzle by aligning the notes, her urgency will be reflected by how she is rushing to solve it by constantly trying to align it.
• When she opens the last note. She will open that note slowly to show her state of shock and time she is taking to process what is written on the note.

3.Written codes-

• Fonts
• Link to websites
• Emails
• Slogans
• Headlines
• Caption
• Speech bubbles
• Sub-titling

Music fits both categories. 

Symbolic music is used in my film, I will use an eerie and creepy song in the background throughout to create an uncanny feeling.

Technical music in my film is the notification ring on Shreya's phone. The sound of her opening the door by turning the lock.

Codes can be further divided into to:

Colour- I will use contrasting colours. Black and white. Black is associated with fear, mystery and evil whereas white will show a safe zone as the colour will become bright as soon as she goes in her room. Though when the stalker enters her room, it will be invaded by black(lights will become dull).

Clothing- clothing helps know which century it's taking place at and whether the person is rich or poor. My film takes place in the modern time and in order to show that the girl is young, outgoing, has a good fashion taste and rich, I will make her wear a modern party outfit. For example- A black elegant jumpsuit to show that she dresses classy and well. Her bag and heels will suggest that she spends on herself well which means the family is wealthy.

Conventions

consist of:

1.Studio/production company logo-These are expected by the audience to help set expectations for a film in respect to the budget and genre.   

2.Titles- They are designed to tell the audience the names of the people and organisations involved with the making of the film. This respects and gives recognition as an acknowledgement for their role within the production of the film. There is a conventional way of presenting information in the credit sequence. The format-

• Production company(distributor)
• Production company(producer)
• Filmmaker
• Film title 
• Lead cast
• Supporting cast
• Casting director
• Music composer
• Costume designer
• Associate producers
• Editors
• Production designer
• Director of photography 
• Executive producer 
• Producer
• Writers
• Director

3.Genre 

My opening sequence will be able to establish that it is thriller because of the eerie music, low key lighting to create mystery and colours such as black for a sense of darkness.

4.Themes and topics

This is the story of the film within a genre and gives the audience a hint as to what the narrative will be like.

5.Establishing Characters

Within specific films, establishing of characters help the audience identify the genre of the film as some actors are associated with a specific genre.

6.Introduction of characters
My character, will be introduced as she enters home by a long shot to first reveal her full self and then continued with close up shots.

7.Actions and events
The action portrayed in the opening sequence of a film, helps the audience gauge the speed of the rest of the film along with the genre.

8.sound
I will use non- diegetic sound to set the mood and scene in the film. This will convey my thriller genre and what to expect from the film

9.Narration/text

It is information for the audience to know what is going on in the film. Non-diegetic voiceovers gives an audience a better understanding on the film. Some films do not have narration/text to encourage the audience to imagine on their own and add some mystery to the opening sequence, like my opening sequence. 

10.Enigma
Enigma codes are used to create questions and tension right at the beginning of the film to entice the audience, and keep the audience interested in watching the film.

Narrative theories

Vladimir Propp
He was a Russian critic and literary theorist who analysed over a hundred Russian fairytales in the 1920s. He gave the Theory of Character Roles, and proposed that it was possible to classify characters and their actions into clearly defined roles. According to him, the following characters build up a narrative:

1. The Hero- He seeks something
2. The Villain- Opposes the hero
3. The Donor- Helps the hero by providing a magic object
4. The Dispatcher- Sends the hero on his way
5. The False Hero- Falsely assumes the role of the hero 
6. The Helper- Gives support to the hero 
7. The Princess- Is the hero's reward, but also needs protection from the villain 

Claude Levi-Strauss

He was a French Anthropologist who studied myths of tribal cultures. He examined how narratives subconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. He came to the conclusion that humans make sense of the world, people and events by seeing and using Binary Opposites. He found out that narratives are arranged around the conflict of binary opposites. For example, these include the conflicts between the Good and Evil, Men and Women, War and Peace, Humanity and Technology, etc.

Tzvetan Todorov

is a Bulgarian literary theorist. He suggest most narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is 'normal' and the protagonist is happy but the state of normality is disrupted by an outside force, which has to be fought against to return to a state of new equilibrium.

Narrative

A narrative is a report of connected events, real or imaginary. It could be presented in a series or written or spoken words. It has many categories, including Non-fiction, fictionalisation of historic events and fiction.

Different Structures in Narrative:

• Linear- They are the most common form of a narrative story. It goes in a sequential order with little or no variation.Such stories follow an orderly series of predictable events- introduction, rising action, the conflict, the obligatory moment, the climax, the resolution and the falling action.  
• Non-Linear- They are not concerned with the chronological sequencing of the events. They usually use flashbacks.Some writers prefer to stray away from the structured linear norm and enjoy jumping back and fourth in time to add elements to drama, mystery and excitement. For example- The titanic. 
• Circular Narratives- They conclude where they began. For example- Lost highway, triangle and dead of night.
• Framed narrative. These are stories within a story. Where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either for a more emphasised second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. 

My opening sequence is Linear as it is in a chronological order, showing how the situation escalates after Shreya reaches home. The narrative is fiction based.

Audience theories pt2

4. Two step flow by Katz and Paul Lazarfeld(1944).
Information first goes to the opinion leaders. This information is then transmitted to the audience and media has no direct power. Audience is passive here and is influenced by opinion leaders.This proves that interpersonal interactions have a far stronger effect on shaping public opinion than the media.

5.Reception theory by Staurt Hall(1970)
When a producer constructs a text,it is encoded with a meaning or a message.The audience needs to decode this message in order to understand this. Based on this theory, there are 3 kinds of audience

1. Dominant. Who decode a message and understand what the producer is trying to convey.
2. Negotiated. When the audience accepts or rejects elements in the light of previously held views.
3. Oppositional. Rejected by cultural or political ideologies.

Research work:focus group

Question- Have you ever been a victim of stalking and how okay are you with the idea of stalking.

with this question, I was hoping to find out the seriousness of stalking in their minds. When someone asks how okay you are with it, you imagine yourself in that position. It makes you realise how scary it can be because in this generation, it is something which is spoken about lightly as almost everyone is doing it(social media).
I made three groups with three people in each group, all girls as my victim in my opening sequence is a female. They all are around the character's age to get a better idea of how my character must be thinking.
"it's terrible" is how one of the girls described it and one said "I don't think its that big of a deal". All of them concluded with the circumstances of the situation. If it is physical following and serious, obsessive stalking then no but if it is social media then it is fine because some of them have also stalked other people.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qL-STHlBgRgaaGvTqXSfPQRasc76MUDn/view?usp=sharing

Audience Theories

1. Hypodermic needle theory/effect theory/linear communication. It is called Hypodermic Needle theory because messages are injected into the audience's mind by the text. Audience is passive and message flows in a linear form, sender to receiver.Audience is powerless to prevent the influence. Power lies in the message of the text.This kind of ideology is used by various politicians and various religious groups.

2.The Bobo doll experiment by Albert Bandera in 1961. According to him, learning occurs through observations,imitating and interaction with other people. He studied children's behaviour after watching an adult model act aggressively towards a Bobo doll. His research has proved that children copy violent behaviour from real life, film or cartoon. It was also found that boys exhibited more overall aggression than girls. The experiment-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBqwWlJg8U
3.Gratification theory by Blumer and Katz. Audience is an active user and is opposite of hypodermic needle theory. Audiences are open to interpret media texts. This theory talks about what people do with media rather than what the media does to them.Audience use the text for their own gratification and pleasure. People are responsible for picking up and choosing media that they wish to consume.
Audience can use media text for diversion,escapism,information,learning,social identity,pleasure,social relationships,sexual stimulation, aggression and violence.  This theory suggests consumption of violent images can be rather helpful than harmful. Audience can act out their aggressive impulses through the consumption of media texts. Therefore, their inclination towards violence is lessened and they are less likely to commit crimes in real life.

Codes and conventions I have used

In my opening sequence, I will be making use of the following codes and conventions:

Distribution company logo- Netflix
Production company- I will create my own production company called 'Sinister cuts' to give the audience a clue that the film will be associated with thriller.
Credits/titles- I will credit my entire cast and crew in the opening sequence. For instance, I will give credits to my cast, music composers, costume, writer, producer, editor and director. 
Sound- My background music is going to be 'Tonight you belong to me' by Patience & Prudence/ The Lennon sisters.
Narrative- My opening sequence will follow a linear narrative. Starting with the girl entering home after a night out.Few seconds after she enters home, someone rings the bell. She finds a box outside and quickly takes it to her room. She removes the other similar boxes she had received which she had hidden in her closet. She opens the boxes and starts solving the puzzle by opening the individual chit in each box. They all sum to ' finally you are mine'. She gets a message of an image of her back at the moment and realises that he is behind her.

I will have Lowkey lighting and quick cuts with continuous creepy music in the background. Antagonist, Shreya will be wearing dark clothes and have a few closeups to show emotions.

Genre

What is genre?

It is a style or category of art, music,literature, or in this case, movies.Each movie is categorised into a genre, which it follows by sticking to a few rules.

Examples-

• Comedy. Meant to be funny and their aim is to make the audience laugh by using exaggeration for a humorous effect. Like-superbad, ted, game night and Easy A.
• Mystery. Rotates around a problem or crime and the main narrative is about solving it or finding out the mystery using clues and investigations.Like- Shuttr island,Sherlock Holmes and Gone girl
• Action.Includes fighting, physical stunts, chases,races and battles being a major part of the film. Like-Avengers:infinity war, The terminator and Baaghi 2.
• Romance. Features a central love story. Like- Me before you, The notebook,The fault in our stars, La la land and Titanic.
• Horror. Aim is to frighten, scare, disgust or startle its audience.Like- It,The nun,Insidious and Uninvited.
• Thriller.Gives viewers the feeling of suspense, excitement surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Like- Hush, Get out, split and Don't breathe.

5th Analysis of Romance/Musical-MAMMA MIA

Mamma Mia-

The movie is about Sophie and her family are busy preparing for her wedding, she secretly invites three men, who were her mother's lovers in the past, with the hope that one of them is her father.

Director- Phyllida Lloyd
The distribution company-Universal pictures
Production company- The playtone/little star production

The scene starts with a tilt up from the view of the ocean slowly moving up to a boat with a black figure of a girl standing on the boat.

 The colours used are black and dark blue to show a scene of night time and creates a sense of seriousness and mystery.Then, there is a wide angle shot to show an island some distance away from the boat which suggests a destination which is followed by another tilt up to indicate that the boat is now only a couple minutes away from the island. 

The island consists of small, white houses on the mountains. The song in the background is 'I have a dream' which is being sung by the girl on the boat as she approaches the island.

Next, is a point of view shot from the girl's point of view entering the island and walking towards a mailbox, which is shot by a Dolly.

 The colours are still different shades of blue which continues the mystery element in the story. Then, there is a full shot of the girl walking towards the mail box with letters in her hand which is shot by a Dolly. This happens alternately till she reaches the mailbox which is completely yellow, this indicates hope. Finally, there is a close up  of the girl where her face is revealed properly. She has blonde hair, fair skin and sharp features.

 Then, a long shot of the back side of the girl where she is holding mail and a wide ocean view from where she stands.

A close up of the letters with names like Bill Anderson,Harry Bright and Sam Carmichael which gives a sense of suspense about who they are.

4th Analysis of romantic comedy- ISN'T IT ROMANTIC

ISN'T IT ROMANTIC-

It is a NETFLIX original.
WARNER BROS COMPANY is the distribution company.
NEW LINE CINEMA(is an American film production studio of Warner Bros.) is the production company.
Isn't it romantic is a fantasy/satire genre 2019 film about Natalie ,a New York architect who gets hard to get noticed at her job but is more like to deliver coffee and bagels than design the city's next skyscraper. Things go from bad to weird when she gets knocked unconscious during a subway mugging and magically wakes up to find herself in an alternate universe.Always cynical about love,Natalie's worst nightmare soon comes true when she suddenly discovers that she's playing the leading lady in a real life romantic comedy.

The song in the background is a non diegetic sound, Roy Orbison- Pretty women. This song starts before the scene even starts which puts the viewer into the right mood before hand. 
The scene starts with an extreme close up of a little girl which shows how passionate and engrossed she is watching the movie.  A non diegetic sound bridge from the television which takes the scene forward to a scene of the whole television where the movie is playing.
Next, there is a long shot of the girl immersed into the television while watching the movie.There is a lot of background detail of the living room which says a lot about the characters. The living room has an old, vintage feel to it, looking at the windows and furniture. The colours used are dull with old rose pink with a combination of practical and natural lighting. They have used prop lighting from the lamp in the living roo. The outdoor light of the day time is falling right onto her face to clearly show her happy reaction to the film.The fact that she is sitting in front of the t.v instead of the sofa behind her just to get a more clearer vision of the movies shows her love for the romantic comedy film. 
 The camera then straight cuts to a mid shot of the mother putting ice cream in a cup while the non diegetic dialogues of the television continues in the background. Then there is a close up of the cup being filled 'Kanowna Australian Wine' on top of the ice cream.
The camera again shifts back to the television and then an extreme close up of the little girl smiling while watching the movie. Next, there is a two shot of the mother walking into the living room and sitting on the sofa while she says, ' it's just a movie' which makes the little girl get up and turn towards her mother.
'in real life, girls like us don't get that','look in the mirror',''no happy endings and 'someone might marry you for a visa, that's about it' is the advice that the mother gives the little girl which shatters her perception of life which she had earlier compared to the movie she was watching. This shows that the child must have developed insecurities as her own mother said that 'girls like us' meaning that her appearance is what matters to get a fairytale life.
In the end, there is an extreme close up of her face showing her disappointed reaction to what her mother's perception of life for not so good looking girls is.This is a contrast to the first scene of her extreme close up.
The little girl is chubby with blonde, frizzy and curly hair. She is wearing a denim suspender jumpsuit with a striped t-shirt inside.
 The mother is baggy clothes and has really short blonde hair. Her action of having wine early in the day shows that she is stressed and carefree as she is drinking in front of her child.

3rd Analysis of thriller opening sequence- YOU GET ME

You get me is a 2017 American thriller film directed by Brent Bonacorso which is about a girl,Holly who develops an unhealthy obsession with Tyler.
It is a NETFLIX original film and the production company is AWESOMENESS FILMS.

The film starts with an Ariel shot of the sea with the text that slowly appeared, 'NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM'.Then, a crane shot of the same beach with the text that slowly appeared ' AN AWESOMENESS FILMS PRODUCTION'. Lastly, a. crane shot at a constant position of the overall place which includes the beach, the road near it and the houses next to it. These shots made it clear that it was an Island.

Throughout the scenes, there is a voiceover of a man talking about his, ' summer before my senior year' and how his life became the 'California dream'.
When he said ' I got a job at a place right by the beach', the scene shifted to him working at a restaurant. Then, when he said 'my friends would meet me after work and we'd just hang out', the scene shifts to the beach where one of his friends is trying to set up an umbrella for shade and his other 2 girl friends are walking towards the shade.There is then a wide angle shot of them sitting at the beach. 'but most importantly I had Ali' is when the scene focuses on his girlfriend,Ali and him at the beach.

next there are 5-6 long shots of Ali and him spending time at the beach to show their happy relationship.' and then suddenly there was colour'  is when the setting becomes more vibrant due to the sun set. There are sound effects such as her shrieking when the water touches her face or the water splashing. Then there is wide angle shot of the beach which becomes blurred and shifts to a mid shot of beautiful landscape where the mountains can be visible clearly with the text, ' Last week of summer' and ambient sound of birds chirping to add to the beauty of the landscape.

Throughout the voiceover of the protagonist, there is also a background score/film score/incidental music that creates a relaxing, happy and calming sense to the whole opening sequence.
The voiceover evidently shows that the protagonist's life was going 'perfect' and most of it was because of his girlfriend, Ali.
The colours used added to the summer effect as they were warm colours such as yellow. green and light blue.This is also called use of analogous colours.