The impact of graphic, scenes of physical violence in broadcasting and the cultural influence it has on individuals in society.

This essay will investigate the impact of graphic scenes of physical violence in broadcasting and the different influences on individuals in society combined with the factors that can lessen or worsen the effect. It will investigate the ways in which a culture can be both the influencer and be influenced by media violence. It will examine the broadcasting industry’s construction of violence as well as transversing society’s need for violence, and raising the question does society on some level manipulate individuals into craving violence.

As a mass communication media “a form of communication that reaches a broad audience and include television, radio, film, music, books and the internet.” Aliprandini, M., & Finley, L. (2018) Broadcasting has been a part of societies system for a long time as well as social behaviour, interestingly to consider the way media affects society, so it is, therefore, plausible to reason that because they are a significant part of what makes up cultures in society it has an effect, influence on individuals in society. The effect theories model supports this idea of an effect caused by the “mass media”. According to Branston, G and Stafford, R. (2010) “The effects model (also called the hypodermic model) is the name given to approaches that emphasise what the media do to their audiences. Power is assumed to lie solely with the ‘message(s)’. The media are often called ‘the mass media’ or ‘mass communications’. This rightly emphasises the size and scale of their operations but renders the rest of us somewhat passive – ‘dupes’ or ‘dopes’. The language of this model often implies that meanings are ‘injected’ into the single mass Audience by powerful, syringe-like media – hence ‘hypodermic’. The next step is to describe the media as working as a drug, and then to suggest that the audience is drugged, addicted, duped.” Branston, G and Stafford, R. (2010). This drug-like state may befall issues such as a dissociated state, a “compassion fatigue” a phrase often used of one set of possible audience responses to media images of terrible crisis, suffering and disaster.”, etc. Branston, G and Stafford, R. (2010).

The Limited Effects Theory “As opposed to hypodermic needle approaches, which assume that media consumers are passive and essentially helpless recipients of media messages, limited-effects theories posit the consumers as active shapers of their own media experience. That is to say, media users are active in both selecting the media that they consume and, perhaps more importantly, interpreting its meaning. These theories don’t rule out the possibility for media to influence us.” Ferguson, C. J. (2016). This supports this concept of there needing to be pre-consisting conditions, etc. In order for this “Limited effect” to produce an individual which would act out violently after watching a scene of graphic physical violence to the extent of murder and other extreme acts of violence. So, for the most part, the majority of the mass audience according to the limited effects theory won’t be that adversely affected, however, there will be some form of influence, as to its level of influence can vary as individuals in society contain varying sets of ideas and ideals that are unique to that individual and so predicting violent media reaction differs from person to person.

This differentiating reaction is further emphasized by differences in culture, as  

Culture is the main part of what makes up society, its founding structures, and ethics, common ideas and influences. Simply put, it’s a collective ideology, a system of ideas, opinions and notions. “In Marx’s theory, it is a fact of human productive activity which is most fundamental for the organisation of social, political and cultural life. Marx’s term ‘consciousness’ is important here; by this, he seems to mean not simply the human species’ capacity for thought, but the organisation and patterning of human thought and activity in a collective sense.” Billington, R., & Strawbridge, S. (2000). This “collective sense” delves into this idea of a set of “dominant ideas which become part of the common sense of any society” Branston, G and Stafford, R. (2010), “There are at least two every day, common-sense meanings of culture. The first is the ‘best’ achievements and products in art, literature and music. Billington, R., & Strawbridge, S. (2000), The second is the artificial growth or development of microscopic organisms or species of plants, a meaning deriving from a much older usage of the verb ‘to cultivate’: meaning to husband, and originally referring to agricultural techniques.” Billington, R., & Strawbridge, S. (2000), this brings forward the idea that society is an organised group of people who live together and are connected with one another. Culture, however, has certain values, customs, beliefs and social behaviour, whereas society encompasses people who share mutual beliefs, values and way of living. The first common-sense meaning opens up the way in which graphic scenes of physical violence can have some influence on individuals, as Films and TV are in the “common-sense” meanings in culture as well as finite ways in which certain “dominant ideas” can be minorly or majorly different, thus changing the ways in which it can be influenced, as well as the various ways it can be further influenced as culture is like an organism growing and developing but unlike an organic organism it doesn’t have a point at which it halts growth.

These ideals and notions are part of the foundation of Ideology as Ideology operates by orienting people in social contexts towards accepting certain values about the world as natural, obvious self-evident, or inevitable. – Thwaites, T, Davis, L and Mules, W. (2002) by orienting people towards ideals ideology opens up the audience to be influenced, with this malleability within culture individuals can be influenced by Media pieces, this can be revealed by textual analysis through the ways the discourses and texts position readers to embody ideology. In this process of embodiment, people resolve contradictions and accommodate values which do not necessarily equate with their own day-to-day life. The values become built into their understandings of their own desires, identities and expectations of future situations. Thwaites, T, Davis, L and Mules, W. (2002) Through ideology individuals in society can be influenced by watching violence, however as for a concrete influence, a cause and effect relationship is not possible, however, there has been theories as to some of the influences that can be had after watching media violence, for instance throughout Game of Thrones(2011 -) there are visceral scenes of physical violence with a great deal of verisimilitude, these scenes may contribute to compassion fatigue “ a phrase used of a set of possible audience responses to media images of suffering. Like all images it produces consequences. The term loosely evokes an ‘audience; which is wary of terrible images.” Branston, G and Stafford, R. (2010). Precipitated by excessive viewing of violence and can induce an overloaded obligation to be compassionate as an audience and consequently, the individual’s metre for how compassionate they are in real life may be altered as well causing individuals to be less compassionate. Branston, G and Stafford, R. (2010). This loss of compassion leads into the general aggression model which dictates that the audience learn how to behave in situations by watching media. Aliprandini, M., & Finley, L. (2018). And thus this learned trait of less compassion can in some cases lead to individuals acting out violently in real life because compassion is gone and thus what would seem outrageously violent doesn’t anymore.

Compassion fatigue has an influence, although as to the severity of it, it is not that extreme on its own, for instance, Game of Thrones(2011 -) has some extremely graphic scenes of physical violence, however it has not as of yet been linked to any violence, therefore the viewing of violence by the audience has had an influence however not to the extreme of influencing a person who then goes out and kills someone, whereas the series Dexter(2006 to 2017) about a serial killer, has numerous murders linked to the series. There are two differences between the series one Game of Thrones(2011 -) has an increased amount of visceral physical violence whereas Dexter(2006 to 2017) has a lesser amount of visceral physical violence shown. However, another factor to consider is the genre of the two pieces one is a drama, the other is a fantasy. These two differences may be the reason for the difference in influence, as according to the Limited effects theory, it is plausible that a specific group, a demographic is more attracted to drama than fantasy and because of this exposure to violence to a certain demographic occurred, the differences in influence between the two series is drastically different because the people being affected are different. This influence had by Dexter(2006 to 2017) does seem to suggest that the level of violence may not play the main role it may be more about the individual watching the series and repeated exposure to viewing violence more than anything. This goes into the opposing effects theory of the limited effects model, the hypodermic model which in this scenario watching violence repeatedly is like a drug and at some point, it may not be enough at which point the individual may feel the need to act out in violence in real life rather than just watching violence.

The reaction had by the audience after viewing graphic scenes of physical violence is “one of the central concerns in the study of media has been the question of media “effects”. What influence does the media have on behaviour, attitudes, perception, social development and understanding? Among these concerns has been a recurrent theme of the relationship between media exposure and violence. More focused and very vocal community concern in Australia emerged after the Melbourne Hoddle Street and Queen Street massacres which resulted in a major inquiry into the role of the media as it might promote social violence. This inquiry was conducted by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal and a four-volume report, ‘TV Violence in Australia’ was tabled in parliament in 1990.” Langer, J. (1995) Before an influence of viewing violence in broadcasting can be determined, the way in which scenes of violence are perceived, decoded by the audience must first be considered. Stuart hall’s reception theory of how “Ideology is ‘encoded’ into texts, Hall suggests, but different audience groups are capable of ‘decoding’ texts in different ways. Some spectators will indeed acquiesce to the ‘preferred meaning’ of the text as it has been encoded. Others will make a ‘negotiated’ reading in which they accept some but not all of the preferred meaning. Still, others will engage in an ‘oppositional’ reading, not only disagreeing with the preferred meaning but also recognising its ideological nature and role in justifying power relations. Hall’s approach makes ideology critique more flexible and acknowledges the fact that not all audience members read texts in the same way. Gillespie, M. and Toynbee, J. (2006).

Therefore the influence had on individuals of graphic scenes of physical violence may vary depending on the levels of graphic scenes of physical violence shown and the way in which they are viewed by the audience. Signs are everything in influence to the audience, a signs referral function is its ability to invoke a content, however, it is not its only function it has many, therefore the opportunity for one scene of violence to influence a person has various routes. Thwaites, T, Davis, L and Mules, W. (2002) Another function, a multilingual function suggests the codes by which the sign might be understood. Thwaites, T, Davis, L and Mules, W. (2002) These codes/signs can be deconstructed through use of semiotic terminology such as the signifier which is the sensory impression of the sign: the mental image of marks on a page, whereas the signified is the concept the sign evokes the relationship between the two are the way in which a sensory impression ‘points to’ or invokes a concept, and is called signification. Thwaites, T, Davis, L and Mules, W. (2002) The connotations of a sign are the set of its possible signifieds. Thwaites, T, Davis, L and Mules, W. (2002) and The denotations of a sign are the most stable and objectively verifiable of its connotations. Thwaites, T, Davis, L and Mules, W. (2002)

In the Dexter(2006 to 2017) scene in which the character kills a victim, the character is in a darkened church with a visible, the church a signifier of the holy place, a sacred place, yet it is being used by the killer to commit a deadly sin. The signification of this being a relationship of how the character may be trying to justify the action of murder, although there are further connotations of this action, one indicator the darkness could be inferring he is the devil, pure evil. The denotation of darkness is the absence of light, concealment, which could further infer that the character doesn’t want to been seen, and could invoke a feeling of the character being ashamed of killing, guilty even. Here the analysis of the scene is important here because the act of the character appearing guilty may be the ‘preferred’ meaning of the creator of the piece, although it could be argued that this could be a ‘negotiated’ meaning or even an ‘oppositional’ meaning. For instance, the victim is restrained to a surface with cling film naked the signifier, the signification of this could be because its cleaner, easier to dispose of evidence tying the character to the murder, however, there are further connotations of this such as the factor of the victim being naked this could infer a sexual attribute to the killing, which from the series wouldn’t appear to be a ‘preferred’ meaning, but more of a ‘oppositional’ one. 

Another factor is the cling film, a transparent material so the killer can see the blood as he kills his victim, yet at the same time not get the blood on himself. The denotation of this being that the character is ensuring evidence will not be, a factor and thus the character shouldn’t be caught although there are connotations of this being that much like the characters own philosophy of having darkness inside with it overtaking him, the cling film may be a self-portrait of Dexter as the blood fills the cling film, it takes over the victim. In the final act before killing the victim, Dexter traces the blade slowly up the victim’s body before, holding the blade up and sinking it effortlessly and emotionlessly into the victim killing him. This act of killing has various connotations, the emotionless could infer a sociopathic behaviour, or it could infer that the subject is feeling suggests of emotion behind the face of normality in this act of evil. Another reading from this could be the connotation of this act of killing in a church is a human sacrifice, as a way to atone for sins, as well as a way of, making the act of killing seems like justice, righteousness, a way of potentially justify the sin to the killer. Throughout this scene there are other connotations, that can go deeper into the reading of the scene, it is this almost endless different reading possibilities that may be a reason as to why real-life killing is linked to the series because there can be ‘negotiated’ and ‘oppositional’ invoked by individuals not originally encoded to by the creators(coders) preferred meaning.

In-Game of Thrones(2011 -) a series not yet linked to killings, or real-life violence, has various scenes in which the physical violence goes way beyond the verisimilitude in the dexter series. The main difference between the two series being that in the scenes the act of killing in Dexter(2006 to 2017) is focused on the killer, whereas in Game of Thrones(2011 -) in a scene in which a character is killed by the pouring of gold over his head, crowning him, the audience watches as the character flails in the act of dying, the focus is on the victim, in this case, more so than the killer as in Dexter(2006 to 2017) In this scene much like the other series, there are various signs, such as the darkness, and the signifier of the gold crown, however, these signs in this fantasy series may mean less in terms of the actual effect it has whereas in a drama series such as Dexter (2006 to 2017) In the scene it is dark, and yet unlike dexter has other characters in the room watching so is not a connotation of concealment or even evil, it’s almost got a justice evoking feeling to it much like Dexter(2006 to 2017) the gold denotes a precious metal associated with wealth and prosperity and yet in this scene, it is evident this is not the case as it’s the opposite of prosperity. However, it could also be inferred that this gold as prosperous as it is forever and an action which could lead to peace for the one who poured the molten gold. there are further connotations, and it is this ability for any graphic scenes of physical violence to be analysed in various ways, none of which are right or wrong, answers simply the ‘Preferred’, ‘negotiated’, ‘oppositional’ meanings may exacerbate the issue of media violence influencing individuals. This is because only to a certain extent as a scene is created can it be determined how it will be viewed by the viewer, this uncontrollability is part of the problem with violence in broadcasting as it can’t be fully understood.

Opinions on this influence had by violence in the media and “Controversy over violence in the media has led to an abundance of media critiques from sociologists as well as parents and politicians. At one extreme, critics argue that regular contact with violent images and concepts produces violence, or at least heightened aggression, in its consumers. Children are considered more vulnerable to media’s images and language and less discerning of the difference between fantasy and reality and the consequences of violence.” Aliprandini, M., & Finley, L. (2018) Quite a majority of opinions are on the negative side of the influence gained by watching violence on television. “For many years, people have been concerned about the potential impact of television violence on children who enjoy popular action shows. I can remember during my own youth, for instance, people worrying that we children couldn’t distinguish reality from fiction and that we might shoot someone in the face and think they’d get right back up like the characters in Bugs Bunny car-toons did. Others worried that superhero shows like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would teach us that violence was an acceptable way to handle conflict.” Ferguson, C. J. (2016). These accusations of a cause and effect connection between media violence and aggression/violence aren’t a direct correlation of effect.

Instead of looking for cause-effect relationships the independent Broadcasting Authority in Britain, through the work of Gunter and Wober, developed by a strategy to examine the media violence nexus in terms of community perceptions and attitudes. Instead of looking for the connections between media violence and real violence, Gunter and Wober decided to access community perceptions of violence and what role viewers felt the media played. As might be expected perceptions of, and attitudes towards violence varied according to such social variables as age, gender, whether viewers were parents or not and strength of religious beliefs. But as Cunningham points out, the community perceptions approach to media violence does two things: it avoids the fraught area of the effects-research traditions and at the same time it says that those who wish to still advance causal relationships are simply “one part of community perceptions. And of course, these ‘perceptions’ are counteracted or balanced by other perceptions”. Langer, J.(1995) Therefore attitudes towards violence are both positive and negative, however as attitudes shift these opinions can have an influence on the supposed victims of media violence, for instance in some cases watching violence can have a cathartic effect “The idea, originating from Greek philosopher Aristotle, that the viewing of tragedy has a cathartic, or purgative, effect on viewers. Contemporary media theorists have developed the idea to suggest that violent media elicits a similar, positive effect.: Aliprandini, M., & Finley, L. (2018) This catharsis may have a relieving effect preventing and resolving aggression rather than inspiring it.

Media violence can have a cathartic positive effect on individuals, although there are some significant studies on the media side effects of viewing violence. Most theorists would agree that the short term effects of exposure to media violence are mostly due to 3 processes: 1) The priming process, through which spreading activation in the brain’s neural network, excites other brain nodes such as cognition, emotion or behaviour. This priming makes linked behaviours more likely, which means media violence primes aggressive concepts, which make aggression is more likely. 2) The arousal processes – through which media violence arouses the observer, aggressive behaviour may also become more likely in the short run for two possible reasons – excitation transfer and general arousal. 3) The immediate mimicking of specific behaviours – The third short term process of imitation of specific behaviours, can be viewed as a special case of a more general long-term process of observational learning. The neurological process through which this happens is not completely understood, but it seems likely that “mirror neurons,” which fire when with behaviour is observed or when the same behaviour is acted out, play an important role. L. Rowell Huesmann (2007). Long term content effects, on the other hand, seem to be due to 1) longer-lasting observational learning of cognitions and behaviours (i.e., imitation of behaviours) which is a further development of this imitation behaviour with more substantial and longer-lasting effects, and 2) the activation and desensitization of emotional processes. – kind of like compassionate fatigue. L.Rowell Huesmann (2007). Both of these long term processes tend not to occur independently of other learning processes. L.Rowell Huesmann (2007). It is therefore plausible that these effects do not occur independently in most normal participants without other factors.

In virtually every aspect of today’s entertainment world (TV, movies, video games, music) violence is ubiquitous and often glorified. A study by the Indiana University School of Medicine examined young men and violent media exposure. There were visible alterations in MRI brain scans in the prefrontal cortex the ‘thinking part’ of the brain which deals with concentration, decision making, self-control and inhibition while the amygdala is part of the limbic system, the so-called ‘emotion centre’ that serves many emotion functions, but can be a trigger for depression, anger, aggression and impulsive behaviour. Archer M.D, D. (2019). “Of course, just because the brain has changed does not prove causality. If it were all bad, we would be dealing with millions of aggressive, violent young killers, and that’s simply not the case.” Archer M.D, D. (2019). “But the findings are intriguing and beg the question: Does an activation of the limbic system and an inhibition of the prefrontal cortex predispose to violent behaviour? This is a relatively easy proposition to test and I suspect we will see more studies soon”. Archer M.D, D. (2019). As archer suggests there will be more studies into the effects and influence of media violence, however

From research into the influence of media violence on individuals above it is clear there is an effect on the brain, however as to the level of effect and its effect on different individuals is not a completely concrete notion, although it can be predicted to a reasonably accurate level. In a study with pre-selected participants based on trait aggression, the study revealed baseline differences found specifically in individuals with associated disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder and intermittent explosive disorder, as it has straightforward face validity. In addition to elevated trait aggression, as well as alienation and stress reaction and demonstrated poor inhibitory control as measured by ANT conflict, which is part of externalising behaviours in adults. Studies show that inhibitory control plays an important role in violent media effects and aggression. (Klein, A. N, Wang, J. G, Preston-Campbell, N. R, Moeller, J. S, Parvaz, A. M, Zhu. W, Jayne, C. M, Wong. C, Tomasi. D, Goldstien, Z. R, Fowler, S. J, Volkow, D. N ) (2014) From this study it is clear that are specific factors as to the likelihood of a normal individual without pre-consisting conditions acting out violently after watching acts of physical violence is significantly less, in comparison to a subject with said specific traits in individuals. This again taps into the limited effects theory, which argues that the influence from a “Mass media message” on individuals is limited or even trivial, which supports this theory of there needing to be a set of ideals, circumstances such as these traits in order to influence an individual to act out violently.

Why is there violence in almost every media piece today? According to Sekarasih, L., Walsh, K. R., & Scharrer, E. (2015) from analysis of journal entries of subjects “Their responses included explanations related both to the viewer (e.g., the violence was funny) and the media content (e.g., the violence was appropriate for the genre). Although the students varied in their reasoning, three major themes emerged from the data: violence is entertaining, violence is fitting, and violence is realistic.” It is

this verisimilitude, which attracts the audience towards violence. A potential suggestion may be that on some level individuals in society have always craved violence. Throughout history, there has been boxing, fistfights, execution murders(capital punishment) and more throughout history, which is legitimised by the leaders in culture, by the participants voting for executions, the cheers of an audience at a hanging one of the first aspect of watching violence and enjoying it like its normal. This may infer that the mass has always desired violence to extremes of killing and through the use of the law has in the past and gotten it, however with all the possibilities for violence to be watched allowing this fetishisation of violence to become what it is today. All of which still is happening now in a civilized culture, the main reason for this is because culture has a hunger for violence and it’s biological. From a New study on mice, it was demonstrated that the brain processes aggressive behaviour as it does other rewards. Mice sought violence, in fact, picking fights for no apparent reason other than the rewarding feeling. Bryner, J. (2008) “Kennedy explained that these experiments have implications for humans. The reward pathway in the brains of humans and mice are very similar, he said. Aggression is highly conserved in vertebrates in general and particularly in mammals, Kennedy told LiveScience. Almost all mammals are aggressive in some way or another. He added, it serves a really useful evolutionary role probably, however not a beneficial one in modern human societies. ”Bryner, J. (2008) This biological need for violence presenting a catharsis in some individuals when watching violence, is the main factor in why individuals in society desire violence and on some levels this desire may lead to a fetishisation of violence, for instance in the media slowing down at the event of extreme physical violence has become a thing. It is this slowing down of the final event of killing in some violence which may be fetishised because individuals enjoy it, the creators of tv series in broadcasting are starting to slow down scenes of extreme violence which may induce a prolonged cathartic effect in the audience.

From the findings throughout this essay, it is clear that society has ways of being both the influencer and the influenced, in this way violence in broadcasting will have an effect, as to the level of effect can only be estimated using effects theories although it is clear from this essay that a niche group of individuals in society are more likely to be more adversely affected than the mass, although culture as a whole is still influenced by watching violence. Furthermore, as to the impact this is having on individuals in society is not completely concrete and may never be as individuals in society are just that individual, in that nature different from others in small and big ways. It may be plausible that certain characteristics can be calculated to determine if watching an act of violence will have a specific effect on certain individuals, however as a whole not so much. It is clear that human is programmed to biologically want violence. It is therefore believed that society has a desire for violence and that it has always been there in one way or another, and that this need violence may be further exacerbated by violence in broadcasting as signs can have different meanings and so dependant on who the viewer is the outcome can be unpredictable. Opinions on this effect and influence vary, although it is clear it has a definite influence on the brain with noticeable changes in the brain when watching violence. 

Bibliography

 APA (American Psychological Assoc.)

Ferguson, C. J. (2016). Media Psychology 101. New York: Springer Publishing Company, P. 34,177. 

Branston, G and Stafford, R. (2010). The Media Student’s Book. 5th edition. P. 176,

Thwaites, T, Davis, L and Mules, W. (2002). Introducing cultural and media studies. A semiotic approach 2nd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave. P. 10, 15, 31, 60. 62, 159, 175

Langer, J.(1995). The case of media violence. Youth Studies Australia, 14(3), 22. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9510184150&site=eds-live

Aliprandini, M., & Finley, L. (2018). Violence in the media debate. Salem Press Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=89158343&site=eds-live  

Billington, R., & Strawbridge, S. (2000). Culture and Society. Houndmills: Macmillan. P. 1, 22

Sekarasih, L., Walsh, K. R., & Scharrer, E. (2015).”Media violence is made to attract and entertain people”: Responses to media literacy lessons on the effects of and institutional motives behind media violence. Journal of media literacy education, 2(3), 

Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=103191748&site=eds-live

1. Rowell Huesmann (2007). “The Impact of electronic media violence: scientific theory and research”. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2704015/

(Klein, A. N, Wang, J. G, Preston-Campbell, N. R, Moeller, J. S, Parvaz, A. M, Zhu. W, Jayne, C. M, Wong. C, Tomasi. D, Goldstien, Z. R, Fowler, S. J, Volkow, D. N ) (2014) “Reactions to media violence: It’s in the brain of the beholder”. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nig.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160225/

Archer M.D, D. (2019). Violence, the Media and your brain. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/reading-between-the-headlines/201309/violence-the-media-and-your-brain/

Bryner, J. (2008) Humans Crave Violence Just Like Sex. Retrieved from

https://www.livescience.com/2231-humans-crave-violence-sex.html

Questions

Books

Bk1 – Bk =  Book – 1 = Cinematography theory and practise image making for cinematographer and directors – second edition – Author = Blain Brown – the year of publication = 27 July 2011. – Example

Bk2 – Bk =  Book – 2 = Shooting Digital video – DVCAM, Mini DV and DVCPRO – Jon Fauer, Asc.

Interviews

1 Q – A = Question 1 – Person = A – Carl Thompson – Example

1Q – B = Question 1 – Person = B – Jack Park – Example

1Q – C = Question 1 – Person = C – Lee Marsh – Example

BK1.1 – “So what are they? What are the conceptual tools of visual story-telling that we employ in all forms in all forms of visual storytelling? There are many, but we can roughly classify them into some general categories.”

Q1 – How did you get your first break/ where did you start off? Was there a specific root you took starting off?

• A – I started shooting weddings and corporate videos straight out of film school. I networked with as many people as possible and worked hard. I skipped the camera assistant route and after about 4 years working in the industry, I started marketing myself as a lighting camera operator/ dop. I’ve now worked with some of the biggest brands in the world including New Balance, Dreamworks, Manchester Utd, BBC, ITV etc.
• B – I was a production assistant on the film Dark River. I used this experience to get a training day with Leeds United TV, as a broadcast camera operator. Afterwards, I got hired, along with 6 university students who applied through their uni.
• C – I started as a trainee camera operator at Televideo Outside broadcast which is a company based in Sheffield.

Q2 – Do you have any qualifications in media studies/film and did it assist you in getting into being a camera operator?

• A – I have a BSc in Film Production Technology from Staffordshire University. My university experience gave me time to grow up and figure out what I wanted to do in life. The fact that I only did one exam in 4 years and made films every week was a bonus. The experience I gained at university put me on the right track but it was the work after university that got me to where I am now.
• B – I have a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Film and TV production (Distinction Distinction Merrit) from Leeds City College, but I got both jobs mentioned above in the summer in between the two years, so the qualification didn’t help with those. But with my fulltime employment, it was very important.
• C – I have a degree in Film and Media Production, I believe a degree shows an ability to learn to a high level, but I know plenty of camera operators who have started through other means and hard work has set them apart from more qualified candidates.

Q3 – In your opinion what are the most essential skills required as a camera operator?

• A – Being any form of a film-maker is essentially professional problem-solving. The ability to remain calm, think clearly and work hard at all times is what will help you become successful. The technical skills are important but can realistically be learned online or picked up by shadowing people and asking questions.
• B – In live broadcasting, time management is the most important skill to have. In a day you have a lot of tasks, and it’s very easy to make mistakes. It’s not really a skill, but stamina is also important.
• C – Operating a camera is actually only a small part of being a camera operator. A strong work ethic with the initiative is key to becoming a valuable member of any film or TV crew, this shows you can be trusted with responsibilities as well as being someone who doesn’t constantly need to be told what to do. On the operating side, it is always good to listen to what the director requires from the shot/shots in order to put together a visually proficient broadcast. An eye for good composition helps but each director has a different style which means adaptability in a short period of time is always handy.

Q4 – Are there any interesting opportunities in the role and or industry, Can a camera operator lead to any other job roles?

• A – I absolutely love what I do. I get to hang out with cool people, filming in crazy locations and travel all over the world. Camera operating can open doors to meet people and ultimately lead to producing/ directing your own projects. There are tons of directors out there that started in the camera department. Typically they’re the ‘prettiest’ films.
• B – Camera operating leads to videographer jobs and a knowledge of editing makes a camera op even more desirable. Basically, any business person who wants a video or videos done can employ you. Charity events want videographers to make promotional videos, but they’re unpaid, of course. Those are the developments I’ve seen.
• C – As I currently work as a staff camera operator as opposed to freelancing it means I have access to colleagues who work across all aspects of outside broadcasting, this gives me an overall greater appreciation for the effort and skills required for each department and thus could allow me to train in other areas of I so wished. Generally, a camera operator will find themselves moving into other areas of camera work e.g crane, Steadicam, drones.

Q5 – What kind of hours do you expect to work on average?

• • A – I typically charge for a 10 hour day but that can extend to 12-14 hours sometimes. That’s not sustainable every day as you’d burn out so I ensure I take time off to catch up on paperwork etc. I can work up to 80 hours a week but I’d typically say it’s 40-50hrs. Certainly more than your average 9-5pm. You have to remember that doing your accounts, social media, emailing is all considered work for a camera operator but doesn’t pay the bills in the short term. It still has to be done right though.
  • B – My full-time Videographer and Editor position is a 9-5 Job, with long nights to finish important projects. At Leeds, the hours are sporadic, sometimes I work 14 hour days, sometimes I work 3 hours cause they only need me for something specific.
  • C – Notoriously the TV industry, specifically live television broadcasts has a certain expectation to work very long days, this will include travelling to and from a job as well as the job itself. The idea is to make the outside broadcast work as soon as possible to make sure any errors or faults can be found and corrected sooner rather than later. As a freelancer, you have slightly more control over the hours that you undertake but it should still be accepted that these will come under the title of ‘unsociable hours’. It is hard to put a specific number on the hours you can expect to do, but it is definitely not a 9-5 and that shouldn’t be underestimated.

• • Q6 – How much would you expect to earn an hour as a camera operator? / Are there any extra costs that need to be considered in this role?

• • A – I charge a day rate plus equipment. It typically starts at around £500 per day and goes up from there. TV commercials and live events are high pressure and therefore you can charge more. I turn up with >£30,000 worth of equipment which I use every day and people find value in that. You have to factor in insurances, car, petrol, food expenses, laptops, physios (for the bad back you’ll inevitably get if you don’t train). New technology is being developed constantly so you have to keep up to date with your kit too.

• • B – As far as senior operators go, that’s on the internet. LUTV or similar live streamers or broadcasters pay day to day. The amount is very dependent on who you’re with. Additional costs wise, being a football camera op means travelling to away games at different stadiums around the country, and that could get expensive if they ask you to drive yourself, which they don’t usually.

• • C – Again this is a double-edged question. As a staff operator, it can vary depending on experience and length of service. Generally speaking, a staff operator will earn less than a freelance operator who will invoice a price for his skills which is set against union set prices, although each operator may negotiate with companies directly depending on the circumstances. BECTU has set out the prices that TV staff should charge depending on the job and length of day, this usually starts at £300 per day and will increase accordingly. As a staff operator, the daily earning will be considerably less but a guaranteed wage, training, employee perks and travel expenses are all covered. Working as a freelancer you would expect to cover hotel costs as well as travel expenses and food expenses. Also depending on the area of camera operating a client might require you to provide your own kit which will obviously come at a price.

• • Q7 – Is there any specific specialist equipment needed / to have an intensive Knowlege of?

• • A – Know your kit inside out. Anything after that can be learned on the job or online.

• • B – A great understanding of DSLRs is very important, especially if you’re with a smaller company who pick their equipment sparingly. Have a basic knowledge of sound recording as well, because that’s something an amateur employer might forget. You don’t need a great knowledge of broadcasting rules, technicals and regulations unless you’re wanting to be a video journalist or a broadcast director.

• • C – Speaking from my own experience I can say I had little knowledge of TV cameras. I happened to learn a lot from operators I worked with and then gradually from the experience I gained. I would say from some who works in live sports broadcast that a basic knowledge of sports coverage was more useful to me than the knowledge of the equipment because within the right environment you can gain the knowledge of the equipment over time. As I have mentioned if you are hardworking and willing then people will invest the time in your development.

• • Q8 – How do you continue to get work, How beneficial is networking / getting a reputation?

• • A – Networking is essential. The majority of my work is now through referrals or previous contacts so I don’t have to hunt for new work much. Having a good social media presence and an up to date website are all crucial.

• • B –  Apply to any job which matches your skill set. Be happy and willing to move for work. Networking is good, but don’t expect people to hand you work just because they like you. Showcase your videos and experience to employers, and proving you’re the most dependable camera op keeps you employed. Don’t only aim for larger media companies. Smaller companies focused on other industries need media specialists, and there where you’ll have the opportunity to make creative decisions and recommend equipment and video styles.
• C – I work as staff which means I don’t have to go looking for work. But from a staff perspective, it is imperative to conduct yourself as if you were looking for work, as the people you are working with could well be people who are recommending you in the future. So over the 4 years, I have been staff I have worked with multiple camera operators and broadcast crew and it is crucial that they see you as a punctual, organised, hard-working operator who they can rely on. Camera skill can be learnt but a bad attitude leaves a longer lasting impression on potential clients or employers.
• Q9 – Is it more likely that work is going to be freelance than permanent contract and would you say being a camera operator is competitive?
• A – Depending on the scale of the job you’re going for. Bigger projects such as TV commercials, live events and dramas all use freelancers. Smaller ad agencies may employ a ‘videographer’ which is essentially someone with a DSLR and will be on a permanent contract. Being a camera operator is competitive but I would suggest networking with like-minded people in your field. I get more work from other camera operators referring to me than anything else. Obviously, it works both ways and I send work back to others when I can.
• B – From my experience, contract work keeps you working in the industry more consistently so you can practice your profession for longer. Freelance web ads and event coverage keeps it interesting but is too spotty to support yourself when you’re just leaving education or starting out by other means. It’s very competitive, so grab at every opportunity to build your portfolio, even within the business you’re employed by.
• C – Being a camera operator is incredibly competitive, no doubt. From my experience, I would always recommend starting as a staff operator, to begin with, because there is an environment to learn and progress in a more protected environment. You also have access to a wider aspect of film/television production which ultimately will make you a more conscientious Camera operator overall. The general path seems to be that freelancing is the ultimate goal as this gives a greater earning potential as well as more control over your own workflow. However, the experience I have gained whilst working for a company would not have happened if I had started freelance.
• Q10 – Are there any significant changes in the media industry or you suspect there will be such as processing technology that has/will lead to less or more work? How do you think it has affected the role?

 

• A – Technology is constantly evolving and it’s key to not get left behind. I don’t think it’ll affect the amount of work out there. The amount of video/ film that is being produced and consumed is incredible so there’s plenty for everyone. Always remember, technology can’t be creativity.
• B – There’s an oversaturation of media content, and everyone knows it. This leads to more and more industries outside of media jumping to media to promote them all over daytime TV and social media. I (try and) stay separate from social media trends and video styles, primarily because a lot of it is too dense to penetrate and it’s a shot in the dark to attempt it. Equipment wise, I do stay up to date with it and support the idea of making video, film and TV equipment more efficient. In the short term, modern media times is leading to more work, with more equipment development creating more roles to fill at companies, big or small. In the long term, like everything, media has an over-saturation point where smaller company’s social media presences won’t be able to break through the wall, and they may try to promote themselves by other means. It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with.
• C – I think the television industry is not too dissimilar any other industry where companies will try to push technology with an eye on keeping costs down. This has seen development over remote-controlled camera operation that maybe requires fewer operators on site or operators who can work multiple jobs in one day working from a master control room. However there is no substitute for the creative eye of a good operator and the reactions required for live television, so whilst jobs may become easier and more convenient I believe that the role of the operator is secure for the foreseeable future.

 

Qu1 – 2 = Question 1 – Person = 2 – Jack Park

Qu1 – 3 = Question 1 – Person = 3 – Lee Marsh

Personal Professional Development

Learning outcomes

– word count 3000 words development, then do a 1000 words reflective professional evaluation.

1 Investigate and synthesise concepts of professional practice with regard to one’s own professional development and chosen pathway.

2 Critically reflect upon and evaluate current professional practice, roles, responsibilities and related issues, manage your own roles and responsibilities with regard to working independently or as part of a team, in professional design, photographic or media environment.

3 develop an deploy an ability to comprehensively record and evaluate your personal and professional skills development.

4 Prepare for your creative industry career options and the key issues that underlie the gaining of employment within the creative industries, including economic, cultural and ethical concepts.

Enquire into your job sector, evaluate yourself and the sectors jobs, suggest/take other routes/solutions to the potential problems.

This blog will investigate and enquire into the commercial/corporate promo video sector, What is required, what skills I need to develop, as well as economic, cultural and ethical factors. Some of the potential problems may be relocation, sustained income and not having a driving license.

AIMS

Look into the industry, look at the companies,

What do I get from the companies?

What would I need to get into these companies?

What kind of people are they looking for?

Look at jobs talk about where the majority of videographer jobs are, give your opinion is it fair, unfair if so why, costly.

OBJECTIVES / Outcomes – What am I planning to do? / What am I going to do after may?

• Look into different routes to get into the industry.
• look into production company placements, marketing
• A more professional/effective and up to date CV and portfolio, as well as producing some business cards.
• Motion graphics – experience/videos that will show my skills of motion graphics.
• I’ve developed skills in the area. If so what further skills would I require to potentially get hired.
• Knowledge of some practical marketing/ lighting skills. (Practice doing a promo for a product or a service of some kind.) 
• Gaining connections to people who are in various industries as a videographer, through social networking and agencies etc.
• Look into driving getting driving tests to make myself mobile as a freelancer, how would you go about doing it?

Industry Context

The Promotional (Corporate/commercial) videographer industry, is one of competition,  There’s an oversaturation of media content and everyone knows it. This leads to more and more industries outside of media jumping to media to promote them all over. In the short term, modern media times is leading to more work, with more equipment development creating more roles to fill at companies, big or small. In the long term, like everything, media has an over-saturation point where smaller company’s social media presences won’t be able to break through the wall, and they may try to promote themselves by other means.  (Jack Park) – discuss this problem of over-saturation.

Salary and Outlook(Contracts) – Economic

Videographers work full- and part-time hours during flexible shifts, including weekends and evenings, depending on what events are scheduled to take place. Businesses or venues may hire videographers on a permanent basis, but many videographers work for themselves as freelancers and divide their working hours between travelling to various events to capture video out in the field and working in office environments to edit recorded video. [VJD] There is an uncertainty in the salary of this role as full-time hours as a freelancer, means that eventually, that job will end resulting in being essentially unemployed and having to find another job. Another economic issue in the videography industry is evident at this very moment, what happens to a videographer when a pandemic happens if suddenly a production company loses clients because they shut down, or as a freelancer are told to self isolate with no pay of any kind. Videographers do not usually receive benefits from employers, as they are often hired on an event-by-event basis and frequently work as freelancers. Videographers are typically required to pay for their own health and life insurance needs and manage their own vacation and retirement needs. Some Employers who hire full-time videographers may provide basic benefits, but this is not common. [VJD]

However an average salary based on hourly rates if a videographer continuously gained jobs,  According to PayScale, videographers earn$42,992 in annual income. Job data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows film and video editors and camera operators earn a median salary of $58,210 annually or $27.99 hourly. There were over 55,000 jobs for film and video editors and camera operators in 2016, a number that is projected to rise by 13 per cent through 2026. This rate is faster than the national job growth average. [VJD]

https://www.indeed.co.uk/salaries/videographer-Salaries,-England

[P-G- BV]

https://www.bidvine.com/event-videography/price-guide

There are a few jobs in Sheffield for videographers, however, there is also a significant amount more in other areas, in the current economy with all that is going on with the coronavirus there are less overall jobs as a videographer, whilst at the same time a lot of graphics are being produced so that sector is getting a lot more attention towards the prevention of the pandemic, it’s likely there are more potential jobs if I was a freelancer that they would want because as things get worse it’s more likely the more professional videographers may not want to be risking catching the virus.

An important thing to note here is that if I do become a freelancer I will need to need to get a driving licence which is something I will need to look into, at the moment it’s not a chance as all driving lessons have been halted due to the coronavirus, however, when this is over, I will need a good amount of money put to the side to get driving lessons. this means I need to get whatever jobs I can regardless of if they are in the specific sector I want to be in. Being able to drive to locations/ client will be crucial as a freelancer because I can’t carry all the equipment I will need through the use of public transport.

Another potential issue to be addressed is that if I become a freelancer I will need to look into setting up a business of some kind, or at least becoming a sole trader, which would involve having to do taxes myself and other factors. I will need to look into the following more if I do go into becoming a freelancer. https://www.gov.uk/working-for-yourself, https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader

A potential problem in the industry is that there are clients/businesses out there that want you as a videographer which already has a lot of jobs put into one, to also be adept at graphics and maybe even more. This to me is unfair and example of this is the Chruch army I found. This job is paying an average salary for a videographer, however, they want a videographer, graphic designer, photographer and someone to answer phones basically being a receptionist. this is one of the reasons why I think becoming a freelancer may be the better choice than a solid job, it would be fairer.

After listening to a podcast with Henry Kim a videographer I gained insight from a videographer running a production company. From this, I have extracted several factors build up experience, get various types of experience and build upon that, however, Videographers don’t get paid nearly as much as photographers for the amount of work they do, specifically in a wedding videographer. It would be easy but eventually, after building up experience it can lead to the job you want, but there will be a struggle. I have gained a lot of insight from this podcast, however too much to talk about, but it just further enforces that being a videographer is stressful and has also of elements to put together pay varies depending on the type of video being made.

Another thing I learned from this podcast is about equipment get the basics like camera, tripod and some kind of audio recording device, its about storytelling and other factors. It’s important not to keep buying the best equipment its more important to reach out to businesses make videos and then if it turns out you will need a certain type of equipment to think about getting it then.

My current equipment

G80 camera, stabilizer, tripod, lights. I could potentially do with adding some kind of external audio recorder however other than that the part I need to build on is being more creative with the equipment I have right now. its a balance between, being creative and buying equipment sparingly. having the best camera in the world won’t make you a great videographer if you don’t have clients.

Roles & Responsibilities – show understanding of roles & responsibilities – research

Videographers shoot, develop, and edit videos to capture important moments, sporting events, and other activities.  [VJD] The role of a videographer is in part, multiple jobs converged into one, Videographers perform various job duties based on the event they’re recording and the needs of the hiring business or individual. [VJD]

[VJD]

After investigating into videographer jobs, to understand the Responsibilities within the roles of the different jobs, I have found that from above I can do most of the roles and responsibilities above, however, I do need to develop skills in designing promotional videos and negotiation.

After extracting some from the Chruch Army Jobs roles and responsibilities, the section of videographer and photography, I can do all of the roles and responsibilities to a professional level, however, due to the fact that the job above wanted basically 4 jobs for the salary of one I didn’t apply to it.

Junior videographer/Camera Operator

The following job above is at my roles and responsibility level I could do it and, applying to a job such as this could be used to further develop my professionalism. from it, the basics are willing to work with others and help them, work independently and the basics of being a videographer setting up equipment recording visuals audio which at my current level I can do.

Personal Profile (Portfolio, CV, Business cards, etc.)

I decided to update my personal/professional profile because it’s important to have the best work and view of myself out there to try and get potential clients as a videographer. After investigating  www.rodmanvideo.com, a freelance videographers portfolio, I took from it that less is more, which applies to both the website and the showreel.

My current showreel in comparison to RodMans, shows too much for too long and isn’t appropriate to me being a videographer, as some shots aren’t their best and it drags on which a commercial/promo shouldn’t.

I re-created my showreel, removing various shots adding in some more recent, professional and pathetically pleasing according to professional standards such as lighting, framing, etc. I decided to recreate my showreel as being a videographer is a lot about selling yourself, your services and the showreel is a being part of that, and by making it to a bit more professional standards as well as it is quick, keeps the viewer attention.

Old website

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New Website Portfolio

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After investigating https://www.openhousepictures.co.uk, a promotional video production company, a set of prompts are shown to you straight off presenting reasons why the client should hire a videographer, why they need a promotional video, how would it help them, etc. I decided to do something similar for my website, I started off by removing all unnecessary sections, and just left it to two sections, persuade the potential client and show them my best work. I also changed the theme to a more minimalistic style because the videos are what I want the potential client to be looking at not to be distracted by any other elements.

The CV(Resume)

Previous CV

I decided to restructure/design my CV to make it more readable and more likely to be read than before. Maybe insert some kind of quote backing this up.

What do I plan on getting rid of and why, what am I changing and why. Brings the focus onto me rather than trying to decipher the information. – e.g. talk about why you got rid of the dates from the qualifications and the locations.

New Version

I researched into https://www.jobhero.com/how-to-write-a-resume/, I took out various sections and redesigned the look of the cv, to match my website and for it to be easier to look at as my past cv had too many colours and no solid format. I could still do with adding maybe another page for skills and such although that would be better to go into a cover letter in my opinion, as the experience should, in this case, be the main attraction.

After investigating the reasons behind business cards I decided it would be a good idea to design some for both networking, professionalism and also because it puts me ahead of the competition. I came up with a simple, minimalist design focusing just on the details that need to be accessed whilst still being eyecatching and focusing on the logo I created for myself.

Skills – Present skills audit

Being a videographer requires skills from camera operating, to editing and sound design, at the very least, the camera operating role being the most physically dependent.

After synthesising data from https://www.jobhero.com/videographer-job-description/ and evaluating my own skills against them I have over the course of the foundation degree developed all the necessary skills to be a videographer. However, I could further develop my physical stamina as that is a necessity when carrying, setting up and filming videos.

 

promotional videos, another promotional video – Throughout the second year of this course I have developed the skills necessary to become a promo videographer,  I have developed the creative skills necessary such as:

However, I could still do will further developing my creative visualization skills in the planning processes. Overall I would say I have 85% of all the necessary videographer skills.

The Impact of graphic scenes of physical violence in broadcasting and the cultural influence it has on individuals in society – I have developed and learnt researching, critical and cultural techniques in order to formulate a coherent essay on the impact of issues happening in the current moment as well as suggesting anterior issues that are not being fully addressed. I can utilise these skills as being a corporate videographer requires the ability to take a problem they have and fully address it and suggest solutions to it in a coherent way visually.

After enquiring into skills needed to be a videographer on Prospects, Chruch army as well as extracting some information from the church army job, I decided that it would be a good idea to develop my motion graphics skills as I, don’t really have a sufficient amount of skill in the area and by having additional skills in graphic design over videographer skills, may lead to an advantage of competition over other applicants.

During the creation of my creative practise artefact Empire Magazine Spread, I have gained the knowledge of graphic techniques through the creation of my creative practice, as well as the ability to use more programs such as InDesign, Illustrator and Adobe Xd.  This development of my skills in the area of graphic design will be useful towards making me stand out as having additional skills in an area other than just videography.

I saw this video on kinetic typography I intended on recreating kinetic typography from another scene in the office us,  this would have developed my motion design skills and put me ahead of the completion. however, I didn’t really have the time and so prioritised other tasks ahead of this, however. I did develop some of my stationary graphics skills further from doing the magazine spread to doing a bit of branding as shown below.

I did, however, do some branding for Bauhaus and a hypothetical reptile pet food company, this helped me to develop the ins and outs of graphic design ranging from grids, to typefaces, to sizing and margins, etc. this further development can be applied to a videographer role as some motion graphics may be required on some videos and by understanding the rules of graphics to a more professional standard I will be able to create videos to an even more professional standard putting me ahead of the competition.

Getting into jobs – Routes/stepping stones into jobs (Other areas of expertise)

There are various potential routes that I could take to getting into my role as a videographer, I could carry on into further education and get a masters in it, however, I think I’ve developed my skills to a professional level and further development of this in education wouldn’t be as effective as just getting out there and getting some hands-on experience.

There are two potential routes I could take to get into the role of being a promo videographer, the fulltime promotional production company job type role, however, at the moment nothing like that is being offered or going freelance. A potential route I would need to take to start to become a freelancer would be to build up some money to fall back on in events such as the coronavirus when there are not clients potentially or simply to get myself set up as a freelancer businesses. To do this I would need to get into a retail job anything really to build up some cash flow, however, a more effective route might be for the now being another area of expertise I am developing upon, graphics.

Twinkl Junior Graphic Designer – This could be a route to go down it would allow me to build upon my graphics development which will put me ahead of the completion as a videographer with some graphics background, however, it could also be a route to go down simply on its own, there are video jobs within the company that I could potentially build up to getting, it wouldn’t exactly be commercial but it would be experience, that would help build my portfolio.

There are various potential routes one as suggested above could be to reach out to wedding videographer ad ask to be an assistance, this could build up my showreel and then in the future be used to propel me towards the kind of industry work I want to be in.

Networking

I had the opportunity to progress my skills through a marketing event, this event could have been used to develop my communication and networking, maybe even put me out there a little, or at least give me some practice, however, I decided not to attend the event as other work on the course took more priority. By doing this it may have been a mistake however in a way when being a videographer you get the more prioritised shots first and then if you have time go and get the smaller potentially useless shots later.

Linked in (Networking) – Communication Skills

Networking is essential. The majority of my work is now through referrals or previous contracts so I don’t have to hunt for new work much. Having a good social media presence and an up to dare website are all crucial. (Carl Thompson) [Videogrpaher]

I’m on linked in with some connections to similar professions, however, they aren’t that relevant to the role of videographer. So I updated my account with my experience, added a more recent and accurate profile picture, I did this because it looks lazy not to have updated a profile picture on a professional platform like linked in for years. I’ve expanded my network specifically into videographers as well as other connections to people in different sectors of media marketing and camera. I’ve improved my net of job searches/ opportunities by doing this. I’ve done this because networking can be essential in getting clients as a freelancer,  by connecting with fellow videographers I can expand my network and potentially get some jobs from it, however, according to jack park a videographer “Networking is good, but don’t expect people to hand you work just because they like you.” 

A specific benefit to using linked in is skills enforcement as well as the potential when I get some clients positive feedback can be added onto my profile, as well as negative which is always a risk.  However recently I got a skills enforcement for editing skills, this potentially puts me a little ahead of some of the completion on linked in as they have no skill enforcements.

I had planned on having some of my even better visual and audio work form my short film indoctrination, however due to the coronavirus pandemic, I will as it stands I will not be able to produce this short film, or at least not in time for it to be added at the Showroom Exhibition depending on how long the lockdown goes on for this, places me at a disadvantage as such an event could be used for networking, showing potentially clients/employers the best of my work.

Bibliography

https://www.jobhero.com/videographer-job-description/ (Reference this but for know call it.) [VJD]

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/film-video-editor

https://www.jobhero.com/sample-cover-letters/

https://www.jobhero.com/how-to-write-a-resume/

https://www.bidvine.com/event-videography/price-guide

https://www.bidvine.com/event-videography/price-guide (Reference this but for now call it.) [P-G- BV]

https://dalesmedia.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/appendix-this/ – Apix(Jack Park), Apix (Carl Thompson)

Evaluation

Industry

I’ve grasped a reasonably in-depth idea of what it will be like to work as a videographer in the industry and what economic, cultural and ethical issues there may be, however, I should have gone into more research on the matter and listened to more podcasts than the one I did as even that one gave me great insight into the industry and more would have given me a full grasp on the industry.

Roles and responsibilities

I’ve investigated and enquired into the roles and responsibilities although not to a very deep level so as to my understanding I can produce the roles and responsibilities I have found. However it’s possible that if I had further researched into the matter I would have found roles and responsibilities I could develop further to be more likely to get into the role of videographer.

Skills

My skills are sufficient to be a videographer, however, I did not develop as much as I had planned to and this will affect the likely hood of me getting into my role and has set me back. If I had done some practise adverts as well as some motion graphics I could have further developed and honed my skills to a much more professional level which would have put me ahead of the competition.

Routes into role

This section was effective, at addressing potential routes into the role of videographer, as well as potentially suggesting an alternative route into a different sector, however, it could have had a more in-depth knowledge as to the exact routes with some more solid ties to individuals these kinds of routes have actually worked for.

Networking

The expansion of my networking of people in videographer roles will be useful towards me getting into the role however, I haven’t communicated with my contacts as much as I planned, to this will likely affect me negatively and put be back in the way of getting job/clients potentially. However, I will need to do further networking for it to be of any effective use.

How has the coronavirus affected me?

It has halted the production of my major project short film which could result in no Ba honours worst-case, if this happens it will infringe upon my plan to apply to Twinkl publishing which was an opportunity to build graphics knowledge as well as being a potential stepping stone. The uncertainty around my major project has diminished other plans such as to show it at the end of year exhibition which would showcase my best work.

Has my plan being effective, will it result in my getting into the role of a promotional videographer?

Overall I think my plan has been reasonably useful and if I build upon it further could assist greatly in getting me into my role, however, it won’t be likely that after may I am able to get a job anytime soon without developing my skills and knowledge to a further amount. This may comprise of the following: doing some short mock-up adverts then trying to connect with some small businesses and try and build my portfolio that way. I will also need to develop my networking on social media a lot more. It is unlikely that my plan will end in me getting straight into the role of promotional videographer although it is still useful in the fact that if I build it to a furthermore professional level it should end in me getting into my role.

Development Log – Indoctrination

A detailed realisation of the rationale and processes required to execute the project, working collaboratively and/or independently where appropriate, to achieve a successful creative outcome.

Create strategies for negotiating the creative, technical and intellectual challenges of your production processes, identify simple and complex processes, as well as coming up with appropriate solutions to the complex processes(aka problems).

Discuss, evaluate and justify approaches are taken and decisions made in relation to the successful and effective completion of your project.

Log document production processes in relation to the outcome(indoctrination) Document creative processes, demonstrate effective planning, risks are taken and solutions to creative problems.

For my final major project, I have decided to go with a short narrative drama (5-7 minutes) following a male character with certain mental conditions(intermittent explosive disorder, an antisocial personality disorder and alienation) through his life as he becomes exposed to media violence, displaying desensitisation and side effects eventually becoming obsessed/aroused by watching graphic deprecations of violence. The purpose of my short film is to address the critical and cultural issue of media violence, being readily available to the mass consumption of media, and the issue of over-publication of media violence being identified as the problem.

My short film will be targeted at 15 classification age rating as strong violence will be implied however it will not be directly shown more portrayed through sound. The target audience is 15 and upwards, this is due to the factor that it should have some intrigue of the implication of violence, whilst at the same time being no higher than a 15 rating doesn’t put off people who don’t like visually graphic violent content. By doing this it should allow the piece both give a preferred different message about the correlation between, media violence and acts in which it has been linked to ‘real crimes of violence’, whilst at the same time leaving the audience to make their own assumptions about the effects and causes of media violence from this different perspective.

I am going with the genre of drama to address the issue of media violence “Drama films are serious presentations or stories with settings or life situations that portray realistic characters in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of nature. A dramatic film shows us human beings at their best, their worse, and everything in between” – Filmsite.org By going with drama attention should be drawn to the issue of media violence whilst at the same time is an interesting short story making it more likely to make people think about the issue.

https://dalesmedia.wordpress.com/2020/01/17/research-proposal/ – In my planning for the major project I did some research and mood boards into potential lighting and camera visuals which have contributed towards the visualisation of my short film which is bringing to from. However, after reading https://nofilmschool.com/2017/06/guide-how-use-light-communicate-emotion-film I have looked into various Lighting techniques, and ways in which to communicate emotion in my short film as that will be an important factor.

For the scenes in which the character is looking at videos, I originally had an idea to show a view of the actual computer screen, however, decided against this as it would require getting youtube algorithm to show the videos that would need to be relevant and recommended. I, therefore, decided to go with a motion graphics option, of showing graphics around the character of what they are typing, clicking on, I took inspiration from the film “The Circle” which uses to portray digital input, messaging etc.

Indoctrination Script – First Draft

For my first draft of the script, I went with an in-depth descriptive, and step by step narrative of the character becoming affected by the media violence, however, after giving it a look over after I had done it, I discovered I had used too many acts of exactly what the character was doing, which isn’t necessary and may even become boring to the audience being shown every act the character does without interpretation.

Indoctrination Script – Second Draft

I shorted my script and took out unnecessary scenes, as well as restructuring the descriptions as they went correct for the format an actor needs them to be in. I then had my script looked at and gone over by someone else in order for a new perspective on the narrative structure, and overall effectiveness of the script.

After getting feedback on the script I altered the necessary parts in order to make the draft to a more professional standard.

Final Draft

After changing the script and getting feedback on it I read an article https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-write-a-screenplay/, on the correct formatting of scripts and improved my scripts format, which is important in order for it to be correctly understood by the cast and crew.

Experimentation

I set up a meeting with the actor to go through some lighting, and camera tests of the computer scene shot. – Reference in bibliography –  I did this to practise the shot, and work out some of the problems.

After practising the shots with the actor, a few problems raised, I had booked out small led lights which in the past had been sufficient, however, due to the time of day and light they didn’t make enough of an impact, as I discovered from filming in a room with a lot of light. So I decided rather than continuing to try and get the light to work which it didn’t, I booked out the studio to try some of the night time shots, this worked well with the led lights, however, in the end, I actually looked better with the just the light illuminating the character which goes with the feeling of the character been filled, with all of the over-saturated of media violence, and he’s becoming something different because of it.

I experimented with different lenses, DOF, Position and movement with the actor, I did this to try and go with a gritty feel, and to ensure the characters feeling and motives can be inferred visually whilst at the same time not being too obvious.

This was a useful session as it allowed me to communicate with the cast and crew and get a feel for what it would be like on set, as well as building communication with the actor as to the exact performance I needed.

After getting a feel for how long shots/scenes would take to film due to difficult camera shot and lighting I created a grant chart style schedule in order to order what Needed to be done from the deadline backwards. I did this because on a project such as this one of the important factors is management, by going with this style of schedule it allows me to go by and highlite tasks done as I go along making the project more manageable.

I did a recce of some of the locations quickly, for potential locations to film at as shown below.

After doing a detailed recce of some of the interior and the field locations, I saw a few potential problems, first of as to the mise en scene of the interior it needs to look like the character lives alone and is antisocial (Reference planning for major.) However, in its current state, the kitchen doesn’t look like that however I addressed this by coming up with a backup hour and a half to get to the location and remove some of the pictures and ornaments and rearrange for the correct theme and mise en scene in order not to attract attention away from the character.

Call Sheet Interior, Call Sheet Streets, underground Norton

After doing a recce, I created call sheets for, equipment that would need booking out, exact hour by hour day schedules, as well as all of the cast and crews, contact details. I created call sheets as it will be effective in managing the cast and crew and project on time and in order, as to minimise potential problems.

Detailed storyboard

I decided against going with a shot list and instead went a detailed storyboard, I have done this because often on set in the past I haven’t used one and are more likely just to use a script and a storyboard to show the visualization of a shot, however in consideration by professional standards this would not be done and If I were to give my storyboard alone without a shot list, it is possible the vision I have for my project could be portrayed, however, in the future I will fill out the correct documents as it is important whilst working in the industry to understand all the building blocks that lead to a successful project.

If the coronavirus outbreak haven’t happened a few things I would have done differently is to have made a more detailed and precise recce of the interior as I had planned which would have produced a more detailed and effective storyboard, as at the moment its okay but not necessary to professional standards.

Evaluation

If I had done the production of my short film as planned it is likely I would have hit a few problems such as lighting, as I have done some research into lighting a scene, however one thing I would have had problems with is lighting a day scene whilst not making it look like a soap opera with not enough dramatic lighting. I could have potentially overcome this by bringing Devo lights and focusing more and specific parts of characters face rather than non-directional such as led lights and turned down the exposure on the camera to create a more dramatic look.

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak/lockdown in the UK, I was unable to film my short film at all, even though I had planned out shots, and lighting I often come up with some ideas on set for shots, which I haven’t as I’ve only planned, this plus the factor that the Covid-19 affected a more invasive and descriptive plan for a recce of the interior of the location I had a less in-depth visualization of the shots in location, this means that the portrayal of my short film will not be as good as it could have been. This affects my creative artefact in various ways by it not being visualised to the fullest potential it could have been my creative artefact won’t portray the feeling, and thought invoking visuals it could have done. This means it probably won’t invoke a strong sense of the effects, causes and perception of the critical issue of media violence.

For the storyboard, I’m very good at drawing and so, I went with the pre-programmed models in a program called ‘Storyboarder’ this would be sufficient for portraying the visuals needed to be taken and could be given to a camera operator director and the vision I have for the film should be reasonably the same, however in the direction of the actual purpose of the short film, which is to: get the audience to have thoughts about media violence, to challenge their perspective and opinions whilst at the same time allowing them to formulate their opinions about the causes of media violence and its effect on individuals with mental conditions. However, due to the basic formless models used in this storyboard, it is unlikely that it will invoke emotion and thought to the standard my film would have if I had been able to produce it. In the shorts, I looked at in my planning for the major project they portrayed a feeling, to the audience, to be invoked by the audience, however in its current state as a storyboard animatic it just doesn’t invoke feelings the way a live film would have. However, it does portray the idea of what the film would look like and need to portray and could be used in conjunction with the script and be shown to a director/ Camera operator and I am confident that it could be used and correctly visualise the idea for my short film. I could have however tried contacting an artist to commission sketches which may have portrayed the feelings, the effect I wanted my short film too, this would have improved the effectiveness of my short film.

By conventional standards the idea of the piece does follow a realistic story of a real character with issues and mannerisms, however, in its current form as an animatic storyboard, it just doesn’t portray the emotion and verisimilitude the way in which I had planned to with an actor who is effective at portraying various subtle and extreme levels of emotion.

In the future at some point, I do want to produce this film as it is an issue that I have a passionate interest about, and in order to do this to the highest professional standards and creative expression, it can be there are a few things which would need to be changed improved. The following are the storyboard/shot list doesn’t have enough variety of shot sizes and angles and makes the piece less likely to evoke strong and powerful emotion in the audience, this could be improved upon by doing more research into similar pieces as well as looking more into the codes and conventions of drama genre. Another thing that I could improve upon is certain parts of the script, which are lacking in description of the actor’s performance at part, and if I couldn’t get the same actor I was going to use who can understand my vision and improvise very well, my vision of the performance required wouldn’t be effectively expressed in the script. This could be improved by reading more scripts and articles on correct script writing specifically of drama script writing.

I had problems in adding audio to the animated storyboard and so, in the end, went without it, this has negatively affected the video and will mean its message won’t be effectively portrayed although there are descriptions of the sound effects that would have been used in the detailed storyboard.

Due to the nature of the storyboard ananmic I wasn’t able to add in the motion graphics in which I would have portrayed the flooding of media violence into the character, making it seem less like his fault and more at the fault of the over-saturation of violent media content.

Bibliography/References

 

Facebook Chat with actor

https://dalesmedia.wordpress.com/2020/01/17/research-proposal/

V. Renee (2017) “a guide on how to use light communicate emotion for the film”. Retrieved from https://nofilmschool.com/2017/06/guide-how-use-light-communicate-emotion-film

Sc. Lannom. (2019) “how to write a movie script: screenplay format and examples”. Retrieved from https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-write-a-screenplay/

T. Dirks (2020) “Drama Films”. Retrieved from https://filmsite.rog/dramafilms.html

(Klein, A. N, Wang, J. G, Preston-Campbell, N. R, Moeller, J. S, Parvaz, A. M, Zhu. W, Jayne, C. M, Wong. C, Tomasi. D, Goldstien, Z. R, Fowler, S. J, Volkow, D. N ) (2014) “Reactions to media violence: It’s in the brain of the beholder”. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160225/

L. Rowell Huesmann (2007). “The Impact of electronic media violence: scientific theory and research”. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2704015/

Science Daily. (2017). Cross-Cultural-Study strengthens link between media violence, aggressive behaviour. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases.2017/04/170411085742.htm/

Columbia Medical Centre(2007). Science Daily. (2007). “This is your brain on violent media”. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071206093014.htm/

Nature. (2019). “Exposure to violence affects the development of moral impressions and true behaviour in incarcerated males. Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09962-9

Glassman. S PsyD. (2018). Is it time to look away? Health effects of watching violence in the media. Retrieved from: https://www.inquirer.com/philly/health/is-it-time-to-look-away-health-effects-of-watching-violence-in-the-media-20180315.html

(Klein, A. N, Wang, J. G, Preston-Campbell, N. R, Moeller, J. S, Parvaz, A. M, Zhu. W, Jayne, C. M, Wong. C, Tomasi. D, Goldstien, Z. R, Fowler, S. J, Volkow, D. N ) (2014) “Reactions to media violence: It’s in the brain of the beholder”. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nig.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160225/
Archer M.D, D. (2019). Violence, the Media and your brain. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/reading-between-the-headlines/201309/violence-the-media-and-your-brain/

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/downloads/story-circle-template/

 

Indoctrination – Presentation

Research Proposal

This research proposal will be addressing the critical issue of media violence, the effect it has on (some) individuals and the cultural issue of it being readily available to the mass consumption of media. As well as the issue of the over-publication of media violence being identified as the problem.

The potential solution is often seen to be to restrict access to violent content, but a better solution might be to understand underlying mental conditions that make (certain) people susceptible to reacting to violent content extremely. Cases in which individuals have acted out to the extremes of killing such as (The matrix films, Dexter, American Horror Story, American Psycho, etc.)

From an evolutionary perspective, people are more likely to pay attention to emotionally charged information to avoid threats to survival, which may help explain why many are drawn toward violent content. One psychological model proposes that frequent exposure to violent media helps establish aggressive “behaviour scripts” and more positive attitudes toward aggression. Glassman. S PsyD. (2018)

From a study with a diverse group of subjects into links between media violence and aggressive behaviour, the researchers identified four key findings from the study:

• Violent media use was positively and significantly related to aggressive behaviour in all countries.
• Exposure was related to heightened aggressive thinking and empathy.
• Media violence remained significant even after controlling other risk factors.
• The effect of media violence was larger than all other risk factors, except peer delinquency. Douglas Gentile – Science Daily. (2017).

Columbia scientists show that a brain network responsible for suppressing behaviours such as inappropriate or unwarranted aggression (including the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the amygdala) became less active after subjects watched short clips depicting acts of violence. These changes can render people less able to control their own aggressive behaviour. – Columbia Medical Centre(2007). Science Daily. (2007).

In virtually every aspect of today’s entertainment world (TV, movies, video games, music) violence is ubiquitous and often glorified.

A study by the Indiana University School of Medicine examined young men and violent media exposure. There were visible alterations in MRI brain scans in the prefrontal cortex the ‘thinking part’ of the brain which deals with concentration, decision making, self-control and inhibition while the amygdala is part of the limbic system, the so-called ‘emotion centre’ that serves many emotion functions, but can be a trigger for depression, anger, aggression and impulsive behaviour. Archer M.D, D. (2019). “Of course, just because the brain has changed does not prove causality. If it were all bad, we would be dealing with millions of aggressive, violent young killers, and that’s simply not the case.” Archer M.D, D. (2019). “But the findings are intriguing and beg the question: Does an activation of the limbic system and an inhibition of the prefrontal cortex predispose to violent behaviour? This is a relatively easy proposition to test and I suspect we will see more studies soon”. Archer M.D, D. (2019). As archer suggests there will be more studies into the effects and influence of media violence, however

Creative Response

To address the issue in the form of a creative artefact my first idea was a live-action short drama/thriller cautionary tale about a character with pre-existing conditions and an obsessive-compulsive interest in violence, which adds up, eventually leading to the character killing his roommate. I decided to discard this idea and go with another one because the first idea would be showing that certain individuals (males) are susceptible to media violence to the extreme that they will act out to an extreme level. However this would be going with the idea that media violence causes violence and would be just like the publication of media violence being the problem that this creative artefact should be going against, so I went with my other idea.

Indoctrination a 5-7 minute short drama, following a male character with mental conditions such as intermittent explosive disorder, an antisocial personality disorder and alienation through his life as he becomes exposed to media violence, displays desensitisation and side effect eventually becoming obsessed/aroused by watching graphic deprecations of violence. By going with this idea it will challenge the audience perception of the factors which lead to incidents in which films have caused violence such as “Matrix Films”.

There are various cases in which media violence has been linked to extreme acts of violence, however out of the media forms, films, tv, video games the highest amount of pieces to have influenced individuals and lead to extreme acts of violence in films. For this piece I will be going with a fiction drama short film rather than a documentary because I feel that it will be more effective to evoke, feeling and thought in the audience through the use of fiction in which the audience will feel what the character feels, see what they see etc. This should have a more profound effect on the audience rather than them seeing a documentary and being informed on cases in which media violence has lead to acts of violence and the pre-existing conditions with it. By going with fiction rather than a documentary it may be a risk, however, much like media violence, shocking and interesting imagery, is more likely to evoke feelings in an audience making them rememberer the experience more so than in a documentary.

I had various divergent ideas for the name of the fictional piece, however after looking into various other ideas, for names such as (Reaction, obscure, viewpoint, hidden, the edge, excessive, unperceived), however I converged those ideas and went with the name Indoctrination because it best explains the cultural issue of individuals being indoctrinated to like violence, and to watch it to a much more graphic way, I also went with the name indoctrination because it suggests that its not so much the fault of the person being affected by the media violence its more the fault of culture.

• Finding from research into risk factors for aggression traits there were 6 main factors, “The findings strongly suggest that media violence is similar to other known risk factors for aggression” – Douglas Gentile – Science Daily. (2017).

 

 

He will be a male as according to the graph above, be affected by media violence this would suggest that the probability an individual’s with (certain) pre-existing conditions would act out violently perhaps to an extreme level, however,

Context and Audience(What is the context of it, where is it going to go and who is going to watch it, why, why will it belong there?):

I plan on indoctrination going into film festivals such as (Aesthetica, Spirit of independence, Sheffield Short film Festival, Sheffield International Film Festival, High Peak Independent Film Festival ) because it will challenge the audience’s perception of media violence, however more specifically I plan on the drama going into mental health film festivals, on in particular is the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival foundation, which is one of the world’s largest social justice festivals with annual attendances of over 25,000 at more than 300 events stages throughout Scotland, including film, performing arts, literature, music and visual arts, the festival aims to support the arts and to challenge preconceived ideas about mental health. Now in its 14th year, the festival showcases its official selections and award winners to diverse audiences, and calls on all filmmakers, established or aspiring, to submit films addressing mental health in various ways. A few other mental health film festivals that could be useful in focusing the target audience on the mental health aspects, as well as film, are: Unbroken and youth mental health create.

What age and why?

The target audience for indoctrination will be aimed at 15-17 aged (male) due to the factor of that being a factor in a lot of the cases of films being linked to media violence and up, as a rating due to suggestions of and shown violence. The audience will be people with an interest in the arts and have an opinion of the causes and effects of media violence. The audience will also have an interest in mental health, the audience may know someone with mental issues, have some themselves or be in the mental health industry. Due to the target audience has an interest in mental health, the range of influence should have the effect of bringing a light on media violence issues as well as presenting an alternative solution to media violence being more so about paying more attention and assistance to individuals with certain mental conditions, rather than trying to restrict media violence.

However due to the fact that the age ranges that go to film festival been various it is likely that the age range 15-17 will watch indoctrination, however, a larger audience age range will also see it making its effect and influence able to go beyond the preferred target audience age range.

As individuals with an interest in the films and the arts, they will have different opinions on media violence, the focus of the indoctrination is to present a perspective of media violence in which there is an effect but it doesn’t lead to killing, although depending on the way in which the piece is read an oppositional reading of this short film could be that this person may eventually escalate to more extreme acts of violence.

Aims and Objectives

• Get actors for the piece.
• Get a location for the filming.
• If you need the studio, you will need to solve, when you’ll need it and what for it. As well as making sure the actors can make the dates and times.
• Do a schedule.

In a study with pre-selected participants based on trait aggression, the study revealed baseline differences found specifically in individuals with associated disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder(a long-term pattern of disregard for, or violation of, the rights of others. A low moral sense or conscience is often apparent) and intermittent explosive disorder(sudden episodes of unwarranted anger The disorder is typified by hostility, impulsivity, and recurrent aggressive outbursts), as it has straightforward face validity. In addition to elevated trait aggression(the predisposition to hold hostile, cognitions, express anger, and engage in physical and verbal aggression), as well as alienation(being different from everyone else, separated from society) and stress reaction and demonstrated poor inhibitory control as measured by ANT conflict, which is part of externalising behaviours in adults. Studies show that inhibitory control plays an important role in violent media effects and aggression. (Klein, A. N, Wang, J. G, Preston-Campbell, N. R, Moeller, J. S, Parvaz, A. M, Zhu. W, Jayne, C. M, Wong. C, Tomasi. D, Goldstien, Z. R, Fowler, S. J, Volkow, D. N ) (2014) From this study it is clear that are specific factors as to the likelihood of a normal individual without pre-consisting conditions acting out violently after watching acts of physical violence is significantly less, in comparison to a subject with said specific traits in individuals. This again taps into the limited effects theory, which argues that the influence from a “Mass media message” on individuals is limited or even trivial, which supports this theory of there needing to be a set of ideals, circumstances such as these traits in order to influence an individual to act out violently.

For this fictional piece, I have decided to only go with showing some of the mental conditions that are linked to causing aggression after being linked to watching violence because that way I can ensure these conditions are shown in the piece and paid attention to rather than going with all of them and it seems like this person who has been affected by media violence might be more at fault for his actions rather so than it just been the fault of media violence which exacerbated his mental conditions.

Draft Ideas and Developmental:

Camera

As for the camera techniques in which to be used for indoctrination, I plan on using a mix of some quadrant framing to suggest that the character is alone, alienated from society and antisocial whilst at the same time junta positioning to close-ups and filled frames to create a visual tension and a claustrophobic feeling to make the audience feel how uncomfortable he character is. As to movement, I plan on using a lot of movement at the beginning and near to the end going with stiller shots as it relieved that this individual is aroused by media violence and affected by it but he is also out and about and is a well-adjusted person in society. I plan on using a mix of different lenses to create a distorted feeling. I also plan on using different lenses to further show the characters feelings and conditions in the top right pic of a crowd, I plan on using a similar depth of field with a slower shutter to make the crowd seem apart from the character furthering the characters feelings of alienation.

Lighting

For the lighting, I plan on going with various themes as shown above from low key, in a dark room to, well lit outside to show that the character is alone and being affected by a dark force(graphic violence), whilst at the same time he is a normal person going about his day and could be mistaken for being seemingly normal to the outside world. I plan on potential using a silhouetting effect of the character which could suggest that has hidden thoughts and urges that would be missed and not seen by others.

Costume

For the scenes in which the character will be exposed to media violence, and become affected by it, I plan on going with the same sort of look as shown in the left image above, by changing clothing, hair and lighting I will evoke thought/ a passage of time showing the character become effected by watching violence. In the pic on the right, I plan on the character being dressed in black and other dull colours which could suggest mystery and a potential suspiciousness, although once it is revealed this person is normal and in-fact has just been delivering leaflets from the duffle bag he carries with him. It could be determined that he is in fact just a normal individual.

Examples of media pieces

The clip above has inspired me to use claustrophobic, framing by filling the frame, I plan on using this type of framing to create a visual tension in indoctrination, a feeling of being trapped, uncomfortable which will suit the feeling the character will begin to feel as he becomes exposed to and affected by media violence.

The trailer above which depicts a girl who is abused and then ending up being inspired by a western to kill the person hurting her. – This piece has the feelings evoked in which indoctrination needs to evoke. This piece has visual tension, a building interest. I plan on indoctrination having a similar theme/mood because this will evoke shock and emotions in the audience making them more likely to remember the piece and think about the mental conditions which exacerbate the effect to violence after the fact.

From this media piece, the techniques(Juxta-position, moving shots, close-ups) used to evoke feelings of PTSD will be a useful factor in shocking and making the audience feel what my character will be feeling in indoctrination, this will further the likely hood of it having an effect on the audience. After looking at the divergent pieces above I converged a mood/theme from the pieces above which has helped me to further visualise how indoctrination will express the side effects of watching violence.

Indoctrination will explore some of the processes/side effects involved in watching violence. It will be based on the evidence that suggests that watching violent media takes a toll on us physically and emotionally. Seeing violent scenes on television can trigger a kind of mental ‘camera flash’ in which high levels of arousal join the release of hormones associated with storing memories. The more intense the negative feelings stirred by violent media, the more vivid and available those memories will be. Not only will we remember the details more easily, but we may think about what we saw more often and even struggle to turn away from it. Glassman. S PsyD. (2018)

Physical

• Insomnia, Headaches, Heart Disease, Immune Disease

Mental

• Depression, Anxiety, Traumatic Stress, Anti-Social Personality

Nature. (2019)

1) The priming process, through which spreading activation in the brain’s neural network, excites other brain nodes such as cognition, emotion or behaviour. This priming makes linked behaviours more likely, which means media violence primes aggressive concepts, which make aggression is more likely. L.Rowell Huesmann (2007).

2) The arousal processes – through which media violence arouses the observer, aggressive behaviour may also become more likely in the short run for two possible reasons – excitation transfer and general arousal. L.Rowell Huesmann (2007).

3) The immediate mimicking of specific behaviours can be viewed as a special case of a more general long-term process of observational learning. The neurological process through which this happens is not completely understood, but it seems likely that “mirror neurons,” which fire when with behaviour is observed or when the same behaviour is acted out, play an important role. L. Rowell Huesmann (2007).

Long term content effects, on the other hand, seem to be due to 1) longer-lasting observational learning of cognitions and behaviours (i.e., imitation of behaviours) which is a further development of this imitation behaviour with more substantial and longer-lasting effects. L.Rowell Huesmann (2007).

2) Activation and desensitisation of emotional processes. – Compassionate fatigue. Both of these long term processes tend not to occur independently of other learning processes. It is therefore plausible that these effects do not occur independently in most normal participants without other factors. L.Rowell Huesmann (2007).

Schedule

17th February – Start pre-production and production documents.

24th February – Finished script and sent to actor, practise lighting with the actor as well as suggesting direction ahead of time.

2nd March – Finished relevant documentation and permission for filming. Such as hotlists, H&S, etc.

9th March –  Do some test shoot shoots outside with lighting. / Assist on another project.

16th March – Filming

23rd March – Start editing

30th March – Finish Visual Edit

6th April – Add in sound tracks/effects.

13th April – Show the piece to some peers in the target audience range to make sure it invokes thought and feeling, to get recommendations on parts the may not work.

20 April – Have project finished, and ready to be submitted to film festival as soon as they open.

This will mostly be effective in the development of indoctrination, however by only giving myself 1 week to film I may be restricting the possibility of reshooting, so I may restructure the schedule at a later point in order to add in a bit of room if some shots need reshooting.

Research Material/Reading List: (Bibliography)

(Klein, A. N, Wang, J. G, Preston-Campbell, N. R, Moeller, J. S, Parvaz, A. M, Zhu. W, Jayne, C. M, Wong. C, Tomasi. D, Goldstien, Z. R, Fowler, S. J, Volkow, D. N ) (2014) “Reactions to media violence: It’s in the brain of the beholder”. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160225/

L. Rowell Huesmann (2007). “The Impact of electronic media violence: scientific theory and research”. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2704015/

Science Daily. (2017). Cross-Cultural-Study strengthens link between media violence, aggressive behaviour. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases.2017/04/170411085742.htm/

Columbia Medical Centre(2007). Science Daily. (2007). “This is your brain on violent media”. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071206093014.htm/

Nature. (2019). “Exposure to violence affects the development of moral impressions and true behaviour in incarcerated males. Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09962-9

Glassman. S PsyD. (2018). Is it time to look away? Health effects of watching violence in the media. Retrieved from: https://www.inquirer.com/philly/health/is-it-time-to-look-away-health-effects-of-watching-violence-in-the-media-20180315.html

(Klein, A. N, Wang, J. G, Preston-Campbell, N. R, Moeller, J. S, Parvaz, A. M, Zhu. W, Jayne, C. M, Wong. C, Tomasi. D, Goldstien, Z. R, Fowler, S. J, Volkow, D. N ) (2014) “Reactions to media violence: It’s in the brain of the beholder”. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nig.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160225/
Archer M.D, D. (2019). Violence, the Media and your brain. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/reading-between-the-headlines/201309/violence-the-media-and-your-brain/

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/downloads/story-circle-template/

 

Indoctrination – Presentation

Business cards

Research

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set off for some business card free samples

Insert screenshots

take photos of the business card samples and talk about them. Talk about resizing business cards after the fact of finding out the template was wrong and then went to measure accurately that the business card would be the correct size.

Design

Minimalistic, maybe insert some inspiration.

Creation

Artefact

Anger Management Idea

For my creative practise artefact idea I decided to do an anger management campaign that would help with managing, preventing and bringing awareness to it. It would have a website, app and card kit, However, after delving more deeply into the context of where it would go, who would use it and the connection between media violence and a direct cause, I decided to discard the idea because there wasn’t a completely concrete connection to watching violence and being violent, as well as due to the factor of not having a context as to where it would go, and who the target audience would be. I went with my other idea for the artefact, a magazine spread on media violence, about popular films, series linked to ‘acts of violence in real life’ with a Q&A with from an academic on media violence. For this magazine spread I looked at a few magazines such as Esquire, total film, pilot, empire and more, however, in the end, I decided to go with Empire for my magazine spread because the films magazine has various spreads in which have films, and series talking about them, as well as special features on Q&A’s and interesting topics on media forms(Tv and films). Therefore my spreads on media violence should be appropriate to be in the empire magazine and would be accessed by the readers of the Empire magazine.

Empire’s Target Audience is predominantly male readers who have a keen interest in mainstream films;  ‘Empire’s’ average reader is “30 years old, living and working in London. He is funny, smart and switched-on. According to their website, 76% of readers are male and are often also read by affluent ABC1 movie fans and cinema hounds. Therefore the preferred target audience should have an interest in reading about violence linked to popular media pieces such as films as they have a keen interest in mainstream films.

I created a very rough layout with some columns and other ideas to visualise how the spread will look. Then after looking at the 2018 empire limited issue, I liked the design of paper texture rather than just basic colour scheme and thought that the rough texture of the paper would fit the theme of violence better than just clean non-textured colours. I decided I wanted to use this design of a paper texture rather than plain colours, although I didn’t have a clear enough visualisation of how the magazine spreads will look.

So I looked further into various Empire magazine issues I gained a better visualisation of how the magazine spread would look, as to the elements of the cover, grid systems, the fonts that could be used and design elements being used in the empire magazine issues, however, I decided to go against some design elements such as warp text which has being occasionally used through the issues of the empire magazines because it is easier to read and is more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

For the backgrounds of the spreads, I went with a paper texture theme throughout with at time overlapping paper textures, I did this because it allows there to be further separations from the other elements whilst at the same time adds a new and different element creating interest, and something new that the reader may not have been expecting. For the main body and text informing the reader about the films and violence linked to them I decided upon a border around the body of paragraphs much like the one in the image on the left, I have decided to go with this because it separates the design elements in the spread from the main image, the background and the text bringing focus to the articles. However, for shapes of these boxed filled borders, I decided upon a diagonal edge rather than a rounded or straight edge because it makes the blocks look similar to film tickets that have been stuck to photos/ are hanging from them, I did this to add a twist to the design to make it more interesting to look at and read. For the text I went with Sans typefaces for the headings, subheadings because this is the format of the Empire magazine, I also did this because as it is a geometric font based on geometric and rigours shapes, they are more modern and used less for body copy. They have a general simplicity. Calonaci, D. (2016). This simplicity delivers the focus more to the body of the text which, I went with a Serif font because it is the format of the Empire magazine, as well as because of the general readability and better definition and flares because of the small ligatures called ‘serifs’ in this case Calonaci, D. (2016).

I used the traditional 10 size font to 12 leading(space between the lines of text) for the body of text, however, I went against this somewhat at the beginning for a title to start off the spreads on TV and Films. Rather than following the rule of +2 I went with a much larger leading because it better suited the design and is more aesthetically pleasing and interesting to look at. I kept the kerning of the text to the standard settings throughout because I don’t’ think it will fit the overall design layout.  I justified the alignment of the text to the left because that’s how most text throughout the empire magazine is formatted and because the eye reads from left to right and so it makes it the optimal format for reading easily. However, I didn’t do this for the adverts in the spread to make the artefact look like it could be in Empire magazine, I justified centre for these following the layout of adverts scene throughout various Empire magazine issues.

I designed the front cover after looking at several different issues of Empire, following a basic design layout I used hierarchy to create levels of importance as well as the format of previous Empire issues. I did this to create an aesthetically pleasing, readable and fits the design of the Empire Magazine.

The finished artefact should be read by the preferred audience of the empire magazine as it is in that format and it has content is suited to the Empire magazine, however, had I gone out of the realm of the strict rules used in the Empire magazine and gone experimental it could have appealed to an even larger audience, however, I did not do this as it wouldn’t have fit with the theme I was going for. Throughout the magazine, the design techniques are mostly sound, the grid systems are accurate to the Empire magazine, although on done spread with two series on there is a little too much empty space and Rag on some of the body’s of paragraphs could have been better and this may have made reading the paragraphs difficult for the reader.  In the section on the Q&A, I did not use a photo of the academic whereas in most of empires issues there usually is this could have effected that particular spread and it may not be read as much as the others because of this because the interest may be lost. The adverts and spreads I did on media violence where appropriate, although I could have gone even further and done a view spreads on something such as ‘Top 5’ goriest scenes of all time, overall though this spread on media violence fits the idea of an empire magazine spread and explores the effect media violence can have.  A few improvements that could be had, on this spread is more experimentation with the spacings of text and perhaps more expressive type fonts to gain more attention from the reader. Also, one final improvement would be to ensure all photos are of high resolution as some in this spread are a little soft and out of focus looking at times.

Empire Magazine Spread

Calonaci, D. (2016). Practical Responsive Typography. P. 5, 9.

Personal Professional Development

All4 Leeds, not Sheffield funded why?

I had the opportunity to progress my skills through a marketing event, this could have been useful to develop my marketing skills, however after looking further into the event, I decided not to go because it wasn’t going to be relevant to the role I want to get into(Videographer) but could have been useful for building upon networking and communication skills.  I alternatively spent time developing my graphics skills and networking via Linked in with videographers. – insert this.

Anger management graphic idea

10 cards. With a bit about anger management with solutions.

Something like maybe a leaflet with more info.

– could go in-depth a little more

– could be informing the person of services, places they can go for further help.

Cards to write down thoughts. Maybe.

Something like a folded up poster or something.

Something that can be interacted with to show at the end of the person using the cards perhaps such ad:

Look up how to make the box. Look for some templates. I think for the cards about half to an inch bigger in size than playing cards.

Could maybe do some of the photographs for it yourself rather than getting them all online or for the ones you can’t get off of pixels.

Could be a part of development improving lighting skills. Could do it in the photography Studio.

Anger Management Idea

The idea for my artefact would be to have a website, app and a kit as anger management campaign.

The app and website would be a part of a campaign from an organisation such as mind/young minds as a joint campaign with mindfulness/Headspace(Mainstream meditation app). This would be the main part of the campaign and then cards/anger management kit would be more of an offshoot as something that would be given out at anger management group counselling, at schools/colleges,

Who would the campaign be aimed at?

The mainstream, everyone has issues with anger at some point in life, some more so than others and are both influenced by it and have influenced others by it. This campaign will present people with the choice to gain control of their anger by either visiting a website or having it in their pocket on their phone. 

The cards will be a vessel in which to counsel and teach people techniques to deal with anger, in most cases before it has happened, in others after it has(group counselling) and to inform the mainstream of the causes of anger that may be unknown by the mass, such as

Website

The idea for the website is to have information such as warning signs of anger, its precursors to violence, fear, anxiety. It will inform the person viewing the website of anger management techniques in a visually pleasing way could be different graphic pieces, – Reference a website along the lines of mind,mindful.org – but focused on anger management, prevention and awareness./ https://www.headspace.com

App (Graphic representation of how the app would look. Could be moving, animated motion graphics.)

Maybe there could be a short survey at the beginning which will analyse the person and from its information cater to the person making solutions/coping techniques more prominent than others but still in the application. – Survey Idea – Headspace/mindfulness(Mind and headspace joint campaign) app.

Cards idea – Where would they be given out, to who and when? (To schools/ colleges get people to gain insight into the warning signs of anger and learn how to deal with it when it comes to gain some control, a link to the app and website could come in the kit.)

I gained inspiration from a stress management campaign on Behance that promoted healthy stress management. The idea for this is to have a kit in an a5 ish sized box which will contain, 6-8 cards (With a type of anger/reaction, e.g. a person lashing out physically, a person lashing out verbally and a helpful quote about anger as well as a solution such as instructional breathing on the back), a booklet/leaflet(maybe) (Delving into more depth about management techniques and places/communities that can be reached for help with managing anger healthy).

Mindful app, Headspace, Mindfulness meditation   

• https://www.mindful.org/
• https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-of-anger/
• https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-help-control-anger/
• https://www.headspace.com/meditation/anger

Look at

Headspace design

minimalist app ui design

Organizations – Charities 

• https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/feelings-and-symptoms/anger/
• https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anger/treatment-and-support/#.Xa7ML-hKgdU

• https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anger/#.Xa7MMehKgdU
• https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/get-help/anger/

• https://www.angermanage.co.uk/
• https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/anger-management/
• https://www.sheffieldmind.co.uk/anger-management

I then looked into anger management techniques. – Add a link to research with bibliography.

I gained an idea from a Stress Management Campaign on Behance.  Insert images.

Looked into some abstract photography/ers () – Insert some images.

After looking into what would be required for

So I created a practise piece in illustrator of how the cards could look, to see if it is something I could do effectively. – Insert Image –

after doing this I decided this would be a more effective and possible idea for something I can do. Come up with a solid reason as to why you are going to do this idea instead of the photography idea.

Anger Management Kit Idea

I gained inspiration from a stress management campaign on Behance that promoted healthy stress management. The idea for this is to have a kit in an a5 ish sized box which will contain, 6-8 cards(With a type of anger/reaction,e.g. a person lashing out physically, a person lashing out verbally and a helpful quote about anger as well as a solution such as instructional breathing on the back.), a booklet/leaflet(Delving into more depth about management techniques and places/communities that can be reached for help with managing anger healthy).

A mockup of how the cards could look

Insert image.