Genres.

Genre is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment, e.g. music, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones is discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions.

There are different types of genres for example:

1. Horror
2. Sci-fi
3. Thriller
4. Crime
5. Romance
6. Comedy, Drama and much more.
   
   
   
   COMEDY:

Recently I watched "The Dictator". The movie's genre is comedy and it's of the same director of Borat Larry Charles which is mockumentary.

The code and conventions of this movie which help to make it a comedy movie are mainly the main characters' costumes, the way he speaks in a very unusual Arabic accent and many incidents which are the part of the movie. Likewise, in one of the film's funniest scenes, Aladeen and an Arabic-speaking friend take a tourist flight over Manhattan in a helicopter. On the opposite seats are two mid-Western tourists, increasingly terrified about their fellow travelers who are talking in an alien tongue. The only words the American tourists understand are "Empire State Building" but the Arab speakers' accompanying exploding gestures are misconstrued as a plot to blow up the skyscraper even though we in the audience know from subtitles that Aladeen and his friend are eulogizing all the wonderful things New York has to offer and talking innocently about fireworks.

                                 

                                 

Also, while talking of comedy, expressions play a major role in giving a comical feel to the environment.

Particular scenes, where Ben Kinsley chops off a dead man’s beard to make it his own to prove his real personality, and many others, are portrayed in a very humorous manner to make it comedy.

                                    

The iconography  description, interpretation of this particular image shows that the character is non serious. Which can be seen by his costumes, the expressions and postures of the character.               

Similarly, "Hangover part 2", another comedy movie has the same code and conventions as far as the expressions are concerned. 

But as far as the colors are concerned the dictator has more colorful scenes and sets whereas Hangover is comprised of dull colors but the humor is similar. Moreover it consists of lot of in-your-face humor, awkward nudity and misplaced violence which is also there in “The Dictator”. Also, the dynamics between the main protagonists were believable and hilarious.

                            

ROMANCE AND DRAMA

 From another genre Romance/ Drama, “ A Walk to Remember” is a movie 

about first love and opening up to people, saying goodbye, miracles, growing apart, destiny, and letting yourself become something you never imagined. On the other hand the movie 

“ Ps. I Love You” , emotional journey of the story, was engulfing and intense. The movie is also about living a life for the person you love. In this movie Gerry leaves a series of letters that will guide Holly, not only through her grief, but in rediscovering herself.

This way both the movies are similar such that the romance is there but the storyline is somewhat similar that both the characters are attached in a way that they are just concerned with their loved ones and doing things which would make them happy and then either of  them would be dead in the end.

Ps I Love You.

 
                                                             A Walk to Remember.



HORROR MOVIES
In horror movies I would want to talk about "Wrong Turn Five". There are some very particular codes and conventions that are present in almost all the horror movies and some are included in this too. Like, someone investigates a strange noise; this is one of the most unbelievable, yet most overused horror movie conventions. All of your friends have been brutally butchered and eaten by an unseen maniac. You hear something odd coming from the woods. Is that the sound of someone dragging a dead teenage body across a bridge with exposed nails in it? Now the other characters even on a dare, walk into the woods alone to investigate.
The fake scare is one of the oldest and most over-used conventions in horror films. They can take on any shape and size, but in general, any scare in a film that is not connected to the threat (a friend jumps out, a door slams, someone looks into a mirror, someone new enters the room unnoticed, the phone rings, someone bumps into a department store mannequin, something falls, someone is tapped on the shoulder or grabbed, a policeman knocks on the car window, a balloon pops, a bird flies out of the trees, etc.) is a fake one. They are easy to do, and can be very effective or completely stupid.
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Also the iconography of the movie "Scream" is that Scream includes many classic icons of horror. We see knives and a mask in the opening sequence and these are used throughout the film to signify the killers. Knives are intimate violent weapons. The killers must attack from close quarters and often stab many times, heightening the fear and pain of the victim. Horror films use disguise as a means of disorientating the viewer and obscuring the killer’s identity until the end of the film. Scream includes many scenes in which we are positioned as Casey Becker or Sydney, waiting for the attack. This subjective (or point of view) camera work forces us to enter a scene of a film and experience the character's fear. The dangerous situations we are sometimes forced to experience make the pleasure of the film’s final peace and safety even more palpable.

                            

Final Synopsis.

Short film Synopsis
Title: "Possibility Pakistan"
Media brief : Short Film
Genre: Docudrama 

Genre: Docudrama

Target audience: age 13 onwards

Media institutions: internet, television

Duration: 7 minutes maximum

We are naming our short film ‘Possibility Pakistan’ as it revolves around Pakistan and the room for new possibilities, new hopes and a revolutionary change in its people. It will tackle Pakistan as how it is under the dark cloud of extreme poverty, illiteracy, energy crisis, corruption, and terrorism, international interference disrupting diplomatic relations with other nations, unemployment, inflation, overpopulation and major health issues. It will be based on how, under this dark cloud, Pakistan and its people are still emerging with new talent coming forth every day. It will revolve mainly around how people are still surviving, working and earning, and how they are enjoying just the same. Each new day, in their lives, commences with a fresh start, a new ray of hope, hence, one step ahead towards a better future, every day.

We intend to capture a minimum of seven very effective scenarios in our film. For example, one of our shots will revolve around a huge family of 10 members in a two-room house in the village. Amidst this entire disturbance, a 16 year old is struggling to study and when he finally manages to do so when the house quiets down in the way hours of the night, the electricity goes out. Irritated yet determined to study he leaves the house with a dimly lit lantern and finally manages to study for his better future, for his family’s future and for his nation’s betterment.

However, our short film will commence with a vista shot of Pakistani streets and a series of quick images of the culture being followed amidst the lower class of Pakistan, which will be followed by the rest of the shots.

The second idea was to shoot a vendor in a street selling plastic products and how, after a day’s work, he is tired and eager to go home but a fruit stall catches his eye. He moves to the stall, buys fruits from the vendor with whatever money he earned for his children and wife at home. At home, giving the shopping bag to his wife, we will show how they are happy and how their eyes enlighten when their father gets home. More so when they see the tasty luxuries their father has bought and the look of gratefulness on the father’s face for whatever, less it maybe, he has been blessed with.

Our third shot could revolve around how, in the absence of electricity, a child with his limited intellect comes up with a handmade circuit to create enough light for him to finish his drawing for the T20 World Cup to support Team Pakistan. The determination and the eagerness in that child of not more than 5 years old to support his team and play an important part in its success will be an integral part of this shot. How he jumps at each six and four and how his expression changes at each wicket would have to be shown with proper care in order to create the desired impact on our audience.

Our fourth shot will be based on how NGO’s in Pakistan and the various welfare institutions are providing for the poor people in our society, how the young children who previously played a major role in earning for a large family of 10 are taken in by these organizations and how they are educated to pave their way towards a better future. It will focus on how children are used against their rights and how, even now, during high inflation and low employment opportunities, people are still willing and able to do something for the needy. Edhi, SEPLAA Foundation, Arfa Karim Foundation, Next Generation Pakistan are only some of the organizations who are already at work, helping young children, providing free education, accommodating the homeless and the orphans, etc.

The fifth shot will revolve around how relatively rich teenagers are driven by the need for change and coming up with various groups and new ideas to introduce these changes in Pakistan for the benefit of the nation as a whole. Voluntary groups are set up and the response to these campaigns is quite unexpected. This shot highlights how the only lacking factor in the Pakistani culture is that of taking an initiative. It takes only one to make the others stand up for their rights. Various mobile networks came up with effective campaigns recently, persuading Pakistanis to take a stand against the wrong.

The sixth shot will revolve around how during an epidemic or a weather hazard, Pakistanis unite and help the victims through the shock of their lives, consoling them through the shock of losing their families, their homes and everything else that got pulled in. The floods last year and the earthquake of 2004 are perfect examples of how people go about when half the nation is in need.

The seventh shot in this short film is likely to be the closing scene whereby people are gathered in a mosque with candles in the front signifying hope for a better tomorrow, for change. The people gather to pray for the nation and its betterment as now we need these prayers more. Pakistan is not safe anymore and needs these prayers to help them through. Karachi and Quetta are perfect examples of why we need to pray. This shot of ours ends with the camera deep focusing on the candles whilst zooming in.

Working under lights.

Light is really important for capturing good images for your movie. The difference between a good picture and a bad picture is not the camera you use or the lens you have, it's the lighting. It's critical for a photographer or a movie maker  to be aware of what kind of light exists in a setting and how to best use it to her advantage; we should have all the knowledge about our settings and lighting and what ambiance we are trying to create to portray our director's vision.

 

: Here is a second light as a fill light source.

Today in our media class we studied lights, saw different tutorials and examined how they really affect our setting, actually the whole environment we are trying to show. From creating gloomy, dull pictures to creating bright and happy pictures which are a sign of positivity, we learned and experimented it all. We were taught about the 3-point set-up whereby we need three lights to create a good balance between the lights on the subject. This includes key light which is the main source of lighting the subject, a back light and a fill light.

Key lights: The key light is the first and usually most important light that a photographer, cinematographer, lighting cameraman, or other scene composer will use in a lighting setup. The purpose of the key light is to highlight the form and dimension of the subject.

High key lighting: 

When looking at a High Key picture, you will probably notice two things right away Other than the happy-happy-joy-joy mood of the picture, The first thing is that the picture is bright.To create a high key image you need to set your exposure levels to high values. You will want to watch out, though not to over expose
Some of the pictures i took keeping in mind high key lighting are:

Low key lighting:Low Key images are also notable for a great deal of contrast that they display. Most notable is the rim light. A light surrounding the subject illuminating only the contour of the shape. So the contrast is between dark shape and bright contour.
I tried my best to take a good picture of a low key lighting. Here it is:

Back light:

Back lighting, also known as Rim Light, refers to the process of illuminating the subject from the back. 

Fill light :
Fill light is any source of illumination that lightens (fills in) areas of shadow created by other lights.  Most often,  fill light is used to lighten the shadows created by the main (key) light.
Some images, especially those requiring a dramatic mood, are best with little or no fill lighting.  However, most images will require some form of fill lighting to keep the image shadows and highlights within the dynamic range of the output medium. 

                                            : Here is a reflector as a fill light source.


In the activity we did in school we used diffusors and gold and silver  reflectors to overcome the shadows formed by the artificial lights present in our school premises or the natural day light. 
Diffusors helped us in scattering the light evenly to create a softer look whereas reflectors helped in capturing warmer or brighter pictures.

Here are some of the videos from my experiments.

Media Trip To Paragon Academy Of Performing Arts.

Last week we arranged a trip to Syed Noor, a legendary Pakistani Film director's set and his performing Arts academy. He has directed several movies such as Majajan and Jhoomer.

 The whole class took active participation and we were very keen to ask questions from him related to our subject and the mediums used.

My Media Studies class, Teacher and Syed Noor.

We were then shown the sets of his upcoming movie "Sharika" which were constructed from wood which could be broken easily but they seemed concrete proper houses.
Then after some refreshments he gave us an introductory lesson on camera works, lighting, setting, working in different backdrops and different places indoor or outdoors.

These were some of the professional lights we used while working outdoors. This Canon camera can also be used to shoot a movie now as he told as that handy cams are now obsolete. He told us about different lenses used while shooting, for example Micro lens, Macro lens and portrait lens.

He was very helpful and told us to contact him for any kind of help in future and also offered us to take internships at his sets to learn more about camera work and lights.
We were given the freedom to discover more of this set where my class fellows and I saw the dubbing room, recording room and editing room. 

My experiments with camera shots and camera angles.

Stepping out of the theory, I applied all the camera shots and angles which I learned from the previous class.
Here is some of my work along with its description. From long shot to vista shot. From birds' eye view to worms' eye view I experienced it all.

I set up different settings and grabbed my camera to come up with interesting yet focused pictures on the rules that I was following. Some of the work I'll post is from the photo shoot conducted by me which was done for a friend for her design and textile foundation portfolio.

Long shot : In film, a view of a scene that is shot from a considerable distance, so that people appear as indistinct shapes.Here is a picture taken by me.

Mid shot: In film, a medium shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance. The dividing line between "long shot" and "medium shot" is fuzzy, as is the line between "medium shot" and "close-up".

Close- Up :a photograph or movie shot taken at close range.

High angle: camera is right on the top of the subject so that a proportion of the subject's body is exaggerated. That is, their head is seen to be very large and the feet and legs very small and long.

Low angle: is the opposite of the high view with the feet of the object exaggerated and the head is very small.

Birds eye view:

Cinematography

Today in class we were taught about different aspects of shooting a video, with different lights and camera angles. I learned the process of capturing moving images with our DSLR camera. In order for us to shoot our 5-6 minutes short film, to know about these concepts is really important.
Here's my understanding of these concepts.

Camera movements are the creation of motion picture images. They can involve the use of film or digital imagery, usually with a movie camera.

Camera movements are of two types; Stationary and Travelling.
Stationary moves are when the camera is fixed on a tripod. These also include Pan, Tilt, Zoom and Boom e.t.c. Travelling include movements like for e.g. on a horizontal pathway like dolly, craning, tracking e.t.c.

The standard types of camera movement in film and video are as follows :

Dolly: The camera is mounted on a cart which travels along tracks for a very smooth movement. Also known as a tracking shot or trucking shot.
Dolly Zoom: A technique in which the camera moves closer or further from the subject while simultaneously adjusting the zoom angle to keep the subject the same size in the frame.
Follow: The camera physically follows the subject at a more or less constant distance.
Pan: Horizontal movement, left and right.
Pedestal (Ped): Moving the camera position vertically with respect to the subject.
Tilt: Vertical movement of the camera angle, i.e. pointing the camera up and down (as opposed to moving the whole camera up and down).
Track: Roughly synonymous with the dolly shot, but often defined more specifically as movement which stays a constant distance from the action, especially side-to-side movement.
Truck: Another term for tracking or dollying.
Zoom: Technically this isn't a camera move, but a change in the lens' focal length which gives the illusion of moving the camera closer or further away.

Here's a link which greatly helped me with understanding different types of camera angles http://vimeo.com/13362257