Mise-en-scene in Casino Royale

Mise-en-scene means everything on the screen such as the setting, props, costume, hair and makeup. Basically anything that you can see, where it is on the screen everything is positioned very carefully to create a certain atmosphere. Looking at the mise-en-scene in Casino Royale to compare and contrast Bonds first two kills. 

Looking at his first kill everything is very brightly lit up, this can show that Bond is extremely involved in the act taking place, still very much there in spirit, not detached or distant he is very much aware and a part of what is happening. It is all very real to him and it is clear that Bond is still very unfamiliar and uneasy with the act of killing. As it is his first kill the idea of him being a rookie comes across, he does everything clumsily breaking through bathroom stalls, mirrors and even a few sinks. There is nothing dignified about the way that Bond carries out his first kill it's all very hands on and physically involved in the action which is pretty rough and physically violent. Which shows his inexperience and lack of planning. After the kill we can see by Bonds facial expression that this first kill has really affected him with his agitated expression everything feels quite grim.


Whereas when we look at the second kill we can see that Bond has become much more confident and closed off to it all. Everything is very dark which visually increases the tension. When comparing this with his previous kill which was well lit, this darkness creates an air of unease and uncertainty as to how everything will happen, unlike in the previous when we were quite certain that Bond would make the kill. However when we look at the attitude of the people in this scene we can see that they are much more laid back and relaxed than in Bonds first kill where everyone appeared to be agitated. This shows the level of confidence and sophistication in the men, Bond sitting back with a smug expression making him appear much more experienced after just one kill. All of his actions have become calculated all very smoothly carried out with ease- as apposed to the rough and physically exhausting actions that were used in Bonds first kill. Also when Bond carries out his second kill there is no air of unease in actual fact he seems rather amused by the whole situation indicating that he has become closed off and detached to the act of killing. After just one kill he has become impartial and unaffected  by it which allows us to see the dramatic change in Bonds character.

Practical camera techniques

To experiment with using camera techniques we went out in our school to film various different shots to demonstrate different camera techniques.

-Long shot
-Medium shot
-Close up
-High angle
-Low angle
-Rolling shot
-Tilt
-Pan

Gender Representation in Mad Men

Gender representation is the way that genders are represented in the media and in society, it is always assumed that when people start to speak about gender representation that we are usually going to start talking about sexism or disrespectful behavior towards women although this isn't always the case. Gender representation is simply the way that both genders are portrayed. 

In Mad Men we are introduced to these big characters that have big personalities so it can be assumed that certain representations of them may be a little extreme. For example the men in the series are all competing to have the most power seemingly to show that they are the ones in charge. Whether that be between one man and another or between a man and a woman there is always this power struggle for the man to come out on top. This can be seen when Pete confronts Peggy. Immediately  he scrutinizes her, talking about her appearance making her feel uncomfortable her, consequently making her feel small while building himself up. It seems that the men in this show will do anything to fluff up their own ego. Whether this is through intimidation, competition or down right dirty tactics it seems that they will do anything to make sure that they come out in the place of power.

Where as women are shown to be much less in control. Due to this great power that all the men believe they have just by being men it seems they feel it is their given right to objectify women and take control of them. Which after observing some displays of this behavior in the show it comes across that women can do little to stop this. As there is pretty much no respect there. Even when a women begins to object to such behaviors the man continues against the wishes of the woman. It seems as though the men in the show that they can just walk all over women and use them for what ever purposes they see fit - even when the women clearly object to such behaviors. Again I am using Pete for an example here. When he and his fellow colleagues were in the strip club (which is demeaning to women in itself) Pete starts to pursue a woman in a way that she clearly did not feel comfortable with, which she proceeds to point out. But lone behold he continues in his behavior, in the end it takes several more protests and the woman going out of her way to move to get him to stop. It seems that a woman's no just doesn't have the same value as a mans.

Also after observing the first episode of Mad Men  it is quite evident that there is a double standard in place. Men being expected to act in one particular way while women are to act another. What is appropriate for one is unacceptable for the other. It being shown that men should be career driven while women should focus on having a family. In the instance of a man sleeping around it is simply seen as being okay as it's in their nature or just be cause their a man it's seen as acceptable. However if a woman were to be career driven instead of wanting to settle down, or if a woman were to sleep around - they would be eternally judged for it. In the show this is made clear when Peggy goes to they gynecologist, although he say's that she is making a wise decision by going on the pill he also makes a statement about nobody wanting easy  women, immediately stating that if a woman is active then she becomes undesirable for it. However if a man did the same thing then no one would so much as batter an eyelid.

This show also adopts a very stereotypical portrayal of women, they are seen as these innocent creatures playing the damsel in distress role that are quite frankly stupid. Insinuating that a woman's mental capacity is far lower than any mans and that if a woman were to understand anything then a man would have to dumb it down for her. With even women themselves buying into this when Joan is showing Peggy the type writer she makes a comment about it being so easy even women can use them. This shows us that not only do men believe that women are not capable of understanding simple things they have also convinced women of the same thing. This only worsens the prejudice of women because men are never going to take them seriously if they themselves cannot do that. However this is probably due to the society around them as if all that women are seeing is people saying that women are stupid then eventually they will begin to believe it.

The brief

The Brief

 Foundation Portfolio: The Brief 

You have been asked to produce the titles and opening sequence of a new fiction film in the thriller genre.

The sequence should last a maximum of two minutes.

You may work in a group of 2 - 4 students.

As acting is not assessed you are free to use actors that are not members of your group.

The film is worth 60% of your coursework grade.

The accompanying blog is worth 40% of your coursework grade

Together the Foundation Portfolio is worth 50% of the overall AS Level.

Welcome post

Hello I'm Sarah, I am an A-level media student in my first year of sixth form. I also take Psychology, Photography and English literature. I was interested in taking media as an option because I would like to someday work in the media possibly in radio or TV.

I love watching tv and will watch almost anything shown on E4.  My favorite TV shows include:

Pretty little liars

Game of thrones

American horror story

Doctor who

Misfits

I also love almost all genre of film from horror to romance anything really but it's always nice to just get home and put on a good film My favorites include:

The perks of being a wallflower

The Da Vinci code 

Friends with beinfits

Final destination

I listen to music a lot and will listen to pretty much anything with the exception of metal, but for the purposes of summing up my music taste I will list some of my favorite artists:

kings of leon

Arctic Monkeys

Hozier