2. Personal Study Project
• You will need to produce
1. A research document
• Collection of quotes and summarised information
based around your topic
• This should include research from a wide variety of
sources (not just websites- this is critical to achieving
beyond a Pass)
• An alphabetised bibliography on the final slide
DEADLINE 03/11/22 in Personal Study Section of website
3. Deadlines
Date w/c Task[s]
Summer Choose your focus topic and basic research of theories
12/09 Research all 4 theories (4 sources minimum)
19/09 Research theory (2 sources minimum)
26/09 Research product/person/studio (secondary research) (3 sources minimum)
03/10 Research product/person/studio (secondary research) (3 sources minimum)
10/10 Analyse a product/scene/specific pages/photographs/levels etc.
17/10 Final additions and upload to PERSONAL STUDY area of website. Start essay.
Half term
6. Auteur Theory
Author Robert Conley
Book Title The Auteur Theory: Tarantino’s Blood
Page Reference(s) 77
Summary of Theory
• Auteur theory is about how certain film
related creator, for example the director,
cinematographer or actor has a certain and
often recognisable style.
Quotes
• “There are three qualifications for
someone to be considered an auteur, as it
has been explained to me: (1) Technical
Competence; (2) A Stylistic Stamp; (3)”
7. Reception Theory
Author
Book Title https://medium.com/@ateel/the-application-of-stuart-halls-audience-reception-theory-to-help-us-
understand-whichlivesmatter-
3d4e9e10dae5#:~:text=As%20Hall%20says%20it%20%E2%80%9CThe,%E2%80%9D%20(Hall%2C%201973).
Page Reference(s)
Summary of Theory
• Reception theory is about how an
individual interprets and responds to
a certain piece of media and how
different people interpret pieces of
media because of factors that could
be geodemographics and upbringing.
The pieces of media could be anything
from an article, a film and so on.
Quotes
• As Hall says it “The consumption or
reception of the television message is
thus itself a ‘moment’ of the
production process, through the latter
‘predominant’ because it is the ‘point
of departure for the realization’ of the
message” (Hall, 1973).
8. Hypodermic Needle Model
Author
Book Title https://lessonbucket.com/media-in-
minutes/the-hypodermic-needle-theory/
Page Reference(s)
Summary of Theory
• The hypodermic needle theory is the
idea that the media can almost
metaphorically inject messages into
the brains of a passive audience.
Resulting basically in a mass opinion
and no real individual opinion.
Quotes
• “It suggests that we’re all the same
and we all respond to media
messages in the same way.”
9. The Male Gaze
Author
Book Title https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-the-male-gaze-
definition/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIn%20a%20world%20ordered%20by,%2C%20%E2%80%9Cthe
%20Patriarchy%E2%80%9D).
Page Reference(s)
Summary of Theory
• The theory of the male gaze is to do
with the idea that in some media
products, some women get overly
sexualised by heterosexual men
causing the women to almost seem as
if they are more passive objects rather
than people.
Quotes
• “In a world ordered by sexual
imbalance, pleasure in looking has
been split between active/male and
passive/female.”
11. Auteur Theory
Author
Book Title
Page Reference(s)
Summary of Theory
• The idea of auteur theory is to do with the
idea that the director is viewed as the major
creative force in a film. As well as that, it
links to the idea that some directors have
distinct style and attributes that makes one
of their films obvious that it’s theirs. Some
times it can be very obvious, for example
almost all Wes Anderson films. Wes
Anderson has developed a style that makes
it as clear as day that you’re watching a Wes
Anderson film. Where as it can also be a bit
less obvious such as some of Tarantino’s
styles with his car boot shot and choice of
natural dialogue.
Quotes
• “…troffo said that auteurs should also
have a consistent theme to their
work…” –The Media Insider
12. Auteur Theory
Author
Book Title
Page Reference(s)
Summary of Theory
• Some people though, believe that the idea
of the Auteur Theory is wrong and could
be considered unfair with the view that
films are a collective product and good
ones especially are made well thanks to
having a good collective. They believe that
it takes more than just one person to
create a good film. Where as the people
who believe in the idea of Auteur theory
believe that a good auteur could take a bad
film idea or story and make it a good film.
Quotes
• “I always argued against the auteur
theory; films are a collaborative art
form. I've had some fantastically good
people help me make the movies.”
–Alan Parker
14. Topic Research 1
Author
Source
Page Reference(s)
Details about topic/Quotes
• I have decided to research Robert Yeoman and his work with Wes Anderson as it holds a very
big part in the reason as to why I have become interested in film. After watching ‘The Grand
Budapest Hotel’ for the first time I became obsessed with his work with Wes. There’s little to
argue against the statement that Wes Anderson has the most recognisable style within
cinema, but without Robert Yeoman, it possibly wouldn’t have been achieved. You could
make the statement that the usage of Auteur Theory pushes work of people such as Robert
Yeoman into the dark because people give too much credit to the director for the style of
film without realising how big a part the cinematographer has in the visual style of a film. As
Robert Yeoman has done more work with Wes, it’s been said that he’s had more involvement
in the decisions on how to shoot certain shots. For example in their first film together and
Wes’ first film, Bottle Rocket, they together decided to film it all on 27mm lenses, but Robert
found that in the close ups it distorted the face slightly, but after thinking that the distorted
look wasn’t right for Lumi Cavazos’ close ups because of her beauty, Robert approached Wes
saying that for her close ups, they should use the 35mm lens. This was made a final decision
backed by Robert.
15. Topic Research 2
Author
Source
Page Reference(s)
Details about topic/Quotes
• Robert Yeoman was born in Philadelphia USA on March 10th 1951.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/robert_yeoman
• Robert met Wes Anderson because “…“Wes wrote me this handwritten, very personal letter saying – I’m
paraphrasing here – “Hello Mr Yeoman, I’m Wes Anderson. I’m a big fan of yours. I wrote this movie
called Bottle Rocket and I wondered if you could read it.” I read the script and I liked it so I went and met
Wes and we just immediately clicked…”
• Robert on working with Wes- “…“Wes is very precise, with a very strong vision, so we always have a long
prep period ahead of shooting, and it’s been like that right from the start. We look at a lot of movies – I
can’t remember exactly which ones for Bottle Rocket – just to get ideas. Sometimes they have nothing to
do with the film we’re making, like we used to watch Chinatown all the time just because we both loved
it…” https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/10447/the-cinematographer-who-brings-wes-andersons-vision-to-
life#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWes%20wrote%20me%20this%20handwritten,and%20we%20just%20immediately%20clicked.
• Robert on how he lights – “…I’ve had people say, “you know your movies look like you didn’t even light
them” and I kind of take that as a compliment…because I want it to feel natural…” Robert talks about how
he like to use soft light in his films to create a
16. Topic Research 3
Author
Source
Page Reference(s)
Details about topic/Quotes
• Although when Robert Yeoman works with Wes Anderson it results in this hyper-stylized nature with
overuse of symmetry, colour and angles. He interestingly likes to opt try and light his sets in a way that
makes it come across as naturally lit. This then links to the fact that he is also used by directors that like to
shoot comedic and improv films. Having lighting that comes across as natural helps the actors in these
kind of films because it gives them the freedom to improvise that more dynamic lighting maybe wouldn’t.
• Robert is also well known for his use of the sun and how he can use it to his advantage. That being using it
for lighting or timing shots for when it disappears for example behind buildings. In an interview with
Robert Yeoman he talks of an app on his film that helps him use the sun with his work “I have this little
app on my phone called sun seeker and I can sit in a cafe and I'll say you know from two until four the sun
is pouring in here and the rest of time there's no sun if we're going to be in that time we either block the
sun or we create the sun you know and it's really helped me a lot ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4faZVg9z3I&t=18s
• When working together, Robert Yeoman and Wes Anderson almost always opt for the option to use an
anamorphic lens. I feel as if, although to some it might not be obvious but the anamorphic lens is one of
the key parts in the style that Yeoman and Anderson creates. Not only does it specifics wise help because
it allows the large depth of field that they both use a lot. But with anamorphic lenses they create this
slight fish eye lens, then paired with the look of the lights when unfocused looking oval and the slight
unfocused look around the edges I believe this helps add to the hyper-stylized look of their films because
it just compliment the idea of unrealism that their films follow with their prop and costume design.
17. Topic Research 4
Author
Source
Page Reference(s)
Details about topic/Quotes
• He received a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University in 1973 and a Master of Fine Arts from the University
of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1979
• Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Yeoman spent his childhood in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
• He went on to shoot many independent films including Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy — for which he
won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
• He has worked on every live action feature film by Wes Anderson
• “My parents bought me a camera when I was in high school. I took basic darkroom classes, and shot a lot
of black-and-white photographs of people and architecture in different areas of the city”
• Robert talks of working with Wes and how he has had to work around difficult shots. For example with
one scene in The Gran Budapest Hotel. There was a shot where Robert had to stand on some tower
scaffolding in the middle of the inside balconies and whip pan at 90 degrees to each character. Robert
talked of the struggles of lining up each shot perfectly, to get round it he created the idea of attaching a
laser to the lens of the camera which pointed directly downwards, and then he marked on the floor each
shot with an “X” made from tape so instead of having to line up each shot through the viewfinder, he
could just line up the laser with the X’s.
18. Topic Research 5
Author
Source
Page Reference(s)
Details about topic/Quotes
• Robert Yeoman has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood for more than three decades.
His impressive resume includes credits on “The Big Lebowski”, and “Fargo”.
• Yeoman has never shot a movie in his native country of Australia (although he’s been tempted to shoot a
movie back home). He told Collider that he didn’t want to work on any Australian productions because
they wouldn’t have afforded him the opportunity to work alongside such talented filmmakers as Martin
Scorsese and David Fincher
• Over his 25-year collaboration with writer/director Wes Anderson, his work has become as essential to
the visual style of Anderson’s films as the actors who play the parts
• “Wes and I usually have a conversation right at the beginning,” says Yeoman. “He’ll show me a few
storyboards or photographs that he likes or we’ll talk about other movies we like. Then I’ll start making
sketches of ideas.” https://filmlifestyle.com/robert-yeoman-cinematography/
19. Micro Analysis
Source
Analysis
-Although when people think of Wes Anderson and his films they
think of the hyper-stylized look and that being created by Wes.
Robert Yeoman still has a big say in how Wes’ films look, because
of the Auteur Theory, Robert has kind of been pushed into Wes’
shadow. On Wes’ first feature film, ‘Bottle Rocket’, Robert and
Wes at first decided that they were going to shoot the whole film
using only 27mm anamorphic lenses, even though the studio
said otherwise. Robert and Wes chose to use the lens through
the whole film to keep the same consistent style all the way
through. But when it came to shooting close ups, Robert had a
different idea; He found that the 27mm lenses created this
distorted and uncomplimentary look and believed that this style
wouldn’t work for Lumi Cavazos’ close ups because of her
beauty. Robert found that they should use a 35mm lens for her
close ups to reduce the distorted look and help portray her
beauty. After taking it up with Wes, it was made the final
decision.
20. Micro Analysis
Analysis
-In the scene where Richie tries to kill himself, there are certain
techniques used by Yeoman to enhance the heavy feeling of the
scene and the actions that we, the audience, were watching. For
one, the choice of colour. I feel as if the colour plays a big part in
how heavy this scene feels. The washed out pale blue enhances
the feelings that Richie is feeling, almost putting us the audience
into his head; it allows us connect better with Luke Wilson’s
performance. The use of blue is common with the ideas of sadness
and depression, but this shade that Yeoman went for, very pale
and cold feeling I feel really enhances Richie’s reason to kill himself,
the feeling of loneliness. Another factor is the choice of camera
angles. For example the choice of camera angle over is hands as
the blood pours in from out of frame is, what I believe to be, a very
clever shot. It creates this uneasy feeling in the audience without
being too graphic. It doesn’t allow us to see anything making us
turn to our imagination which creates it a more personal
experience for each audience member. The shot, the bottom left
picture, used as Luke Wilson delivers his line I feel was minimalistic
but effective. Choosing to have the camera almost directly in front
of Richie and having Luke look just the right of frame allows the
audience to properly indulge on Luke’s performance resulting in an
enhancement of the line, “I’m going to kill myself”.
21. Personal Research Project
• You need to produce an exploration of an element of media that you are
passionate about and is directly linked to the style of media you will make
in your FMP.
• This could be centred around a specific director, product, specific genre or
a social/historical/cultural context.
• You will need to write a minimum of a 1500 word essay exploring the
topic.
• You will also need to complete a bibliography of sources directly used in
your essay.
• The final section of your essay will focus on how your findings link to your
own work and your intended outcomes on your FMP this year
22. Essay Title
• Person or Studio Focus
How is [THEORY] relevant when analysing
the work of [PERSON/STUDIO]?
• Specific Product Focus
How is [THEORY] relevant when analysing
[PRODUCT]?
• Choose your person, studio or product that you will
focus on related to what you will make as your FMP
• Choose one of the theories from the
23. Essay Plan
• Your study should be structured using the following
– Select a director/designer/producer/studio/etc
[dependent on your area of interest] that you consider a
strong influence on your work and that you can do the
necessary analysis and investigations into, both from a
technical focus and academic focus
– Undertake macro analysis, this would be looking at the
wider context of their work [this could be historical
backgrounds, the world they operate in, influences, where
their work is seen, etc]
– Undertake micro analysis, this would focusing on specific
films/scene/levels of a game/photos/graphic designs etc
– Link this investigation to your own work and your intended
outcomes on your FMP
24. Essay Plan
1. Introduction to your topic (~100 words)
– Who/What did you research? What do you plan to discover through your discussion? How will you go about
doing this (macro, micro and application of theory)?
2. Introduction to your theory (~100 words)
– Explain what your theory is and its origins. What are the main beliefs of the theory? What are the criticisms of
the theory?
3. Macro analysis (400+ words)
– Context of a person: Reference their history with media. What products have they made in the past? What is
their production signature? How are they critically regarded? Any criticisms of their work?
– Context of a product: Reference the production process. Discuss the studio/company that made it and their
history. How is the work critically regarded? Any criticisms of the product?
4. Micro analysis (400+ words)
– Analyse the product/scene/specific pages/photographs/levels etc.
– Discuss the technical construction of what you are analysing (colour, composition, content etc etc) and reference
what impact each aspect discussed on the audience .
5. Application of Theory (400+ words)
– Apply your chosen theory to your chosen product/person/studio with frequent examples.
6. Your own work [~200 words]
– Talk about specific elements of the study that you will incorporate into your FMP this year;
– Link specific research outcomes to elements of your planned FMP, whether it be technical aspects, conceptual
elements or creative inspirations
– Be specific and aim to talk about 3-5 areas that you can link forward into the FMP
7. Conclusion (100 words)
– Reference general theory and your focus statement when making your concluding points
– What have you discovered from your study?
– Answer the question from your title
25. Academic Media Theories
• You should make specific reference to at least
one of the following media theories:
1. Auteur Theory
2. Reception Theory
3. The Hypodermic Needle Model
4. The Male Gaze
• You may find other relevant theories in your
investigations for your research document
28. Micro Analysis Checklist
• Mise en scene
• Colour, costume and props discussing their subtext/connotations
• Binary opposition where appropriate
• Camera
• Shot type (Extreme long shot, long shot, medium long shot etc)
• Angle (High angle, low angle, eye level etc)
• Movement (or lack of movement with a locked off shot)
• Focus (shallow or deep focus)
• Composition (who is higher in the frame, closer to the camera).
• Editing
• Compare a minimum of two shots and discuss their relationship (are the shots the same or different? Why?
• Pace (fast or slow paced shots edited together)
• Any specific editing techniques (match on action, jump cut, montage etc.).
• Sound
• Diegesis (Diegetic, Non-Diegetic)
• Location of sound (internal, external, simple, displaced)
• Visibility of the sound (synchronous, asynchronous)
• Music suitability (parallel, contrapuntal).
• Lighting
• Key (high key, low key)
• Colour/temperature (warm, cold)
• Harshness (soft light, hard light).
• Text/Font
• Serif/San Serif
• Colour
• Font style
• Hierarchy
• Text/Dialogue
• What is being said/written
29. Quotes/Sources
• Reference and foreground your focus
statement regularly.
• Include your sources regularly and throughout
– Quotes, statistics, analysis, film dialogue etc
• Include a referenced source directly in your
discussion every 250 words (as a minimum).
• Update your research document as you
include additional sources (if necessary).
30. Types of sources
• Chosen products (films, art, magazines, TV shows, games etc)
• Books (written by or about your director/theme) [Google Books]
• Academic articles (Google scholar)
• Interviews
• Documentaries
• DVD extras
• DVD commentaries
• Reviews/Popular Articles
• Journals
• Questionnaires (survey monkey/MS Forms)
• Focus groups
31. Bibliography STYLES FOR DIFFERENT SOURCES
1. Film Title (YEAR) Directed by DIRECTOR [film] Location of Distributor:
Distributor.
2. “Episode Title” (YEAR) SHOW NAME. Series and Episode numbers.
Channel. Day or broadcast.
3. Game Title (YEAR) Console [game] Studio. Studio Location.
4. Artist surname, artist first initial. (YEAR) Title [details of its materials]
Location where it is. City where it is
5. Artist surname, artist first initial. (YEAR) Title
6. Author surname, author first initial. (YEAR). Title. Publisher Location:
Publisher.
7. Author surname, author first initial. (YEAR). Title. Available:
WEBLINK. Last accessed DATE YOU LAST VISITED SITE.
8. Author surname, author first initial.(YEAR) “Article title”, Magazine
(Issue Number), PAGE REFERENCE
9. In writing
“QUOTE” (INTERVIEWEE cited in AUTHOR, YEAR, PAGE REFERENCE)
In Bibliography
Author. (YEAR) “Article title”, Magazine (Issue Number), PAGE
REFERENCE
10. Anon (n.d.) Title Available: WEBLINK. Last accessed DATE YOU LAST
VISITED SITE.
1. Film
2. TV show
3. Game
4. Art
5. Photography
6. Book
7. Website
8. Magazine article
9. Citation
10.Unknown
author/date
32. Bibliography STYLE EXAMPLES
1. Jaws (1975) Directed by Francois Truffaut [film] Universal City,
California: Universal Pictures
2. “Gone” (2001) Spaced. Series 2 Episode 5. Channel 4. 30th March
3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) Nintendo Switch
[game] Nintendo. Kyoto.
4. Goya, F. (1819) Saturn Devouring His Son [mixed media mural
transferred to canvas] Museo del Prado. Madrid
5. McCurry, S. (1984) Afghan Girl
6. Greene, N (2007). The French New Wave - A New Look . London:
Wallflower Press.
7. Hitchman, S. (2008). A History of French New Wave Cinema .
Available: http://www.newwavefilm.com/about/history-of-french-
new-wave.shtml. Last accessed 11th Mar 2022.
8. Smith, J. (2014) “French New Wave Cinema”, Total Film (Issue 332),
p34-35
9. In writing
“QUOTE” (Truffaut cited in Smith, 1994, p25)
In Bibliography
Smith, J (1994) “Interview with Truffaut”, Sight and Sound (issue 67),
p24-25
10. Anon (n.d.) The French New Wave Available: www.realwebsite.com
Last accessed 11th Mar 2022.
1. Film
2. TV show
3. Game
4. Art
5. Photography
6. Book
7. Website
8. Magazine article
9. Citation
10.Unknown
author/date
34. Z Library
• https://z-lib.org/ is a really useful website to get
online PDFs of almost any book in existence.
• You can look up keywords and find quotes really
easily
35. York College Library
Access to
ebooks online
following links
on the Opac
Use the CLASS code to
find the physical book
in the library
https://elibrary.yorkcollege.
ac.uk/opac/opacreq.dll/ne
w
39. Zlibrary
Some will let you
access online, some
you may need to
download as a PDF
(you can get zlibrary to
send a copy to your
Kindle or ebook
reader)
Some features only
unlock if you have an
account. But its free.
https://cc1lib.club/
You can access both
books and journals.
43. Cite them right
You can find additional support on referencing on
https://www.citethemrightonline.com/
44. In text references
• Comes in 3 Flavours;
1. Regular
• Include a quote and then out the author’s surname and year of release
– Films such as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), which employs the post-modern narrative focus
of an oppressed minority and applies modernistic Silver Age comics visual style through “Ben-Day Dots,
hard facial lines, and misaligned color palettes” (Cardenas, 2021),
2. Front-load it
• Mention the author, title of the book/article and year of publication before jumping into the quote
– Luke Turner authored the Metamodernist Manifesto in 2011, formalising his beliefs of the core
principals of the movement. Turner states metamodernity is “an oscillation between positions, with
diametrically opposed ideas operating like the pulsating polarities of a colossal electric machine,
propelling the world into action”.
3. Citation
• If someone was quoted in something else (like someone being interviewed in an article) you “cite”
them
– For it to have been universal across all homo sapien societies (as it is suggested) then “it must have a
social purpose” (de Waal cited in Ambrosino, 2019).
45. Including sources
• When including a source in your script include brief information from your
bibliography with a page reference where relevant.
Example
Truffaut uses long shot durations throughout the 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1959).
Truffaut references this stating “It was an accident” (Truffaut in Smith, 1994,
p34).
12. Truffaut, F (1959) The 400 Blows
13. Truffaut, F cited in Smith J (1994) Interview with Truffaut (Sight and
Sound, issue 67)
