A Level Media Studies

1. Conventions and
Representations
By Oska Dean
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube

2. Genre
- Our opening film genre was a Sports
Drama.
- The key iconography in this opening
sequence was the stadium and our
manager.
- The majority of our shots
were focusing on the details within the
stadium which was to signify the
theme of the story.
- We also had a small amount of insert
shots of the manager to show that he
was the owner of this club and
stadium.
Written in the Stars -
YouTube

3. Other Products
For our products we looked
at for ideas we came across
a few films that gave us
some inspiration.
We looked at:
- Moneyball (2011)
Bennet Miller – following
Baseball coach Billy
Beane (Brad Pitt).
- Coach Carter (2005)
Thomas Carter –
following Coach Ken
Carter (Samuel L.
Jackson).
- Million Dollar Arm (2014)
Craig Gillespie -
following J.B (Jon
Hamm).
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube
(shot from our
sequence
similar with
the others).

4. Characters
What we found similar
about characters were the
storylines behind them, this
is because all of the
characters we found came
from the bottom to the top.
Our manager's story was
told through the sound,
which would give the
audience the idea that our
team had a bad season.
We also attempted to
convey the emotion through
the mise En scene facial
expressions which would
connote an idea and give
the audience a good image
of disappointment
Facial
expression
conveying
disappointment
Dialogue in
Moneyball
portraying themes
of constant losses
and poor form,
similar with ours.
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube

5. Narrative
We focused largely on our narrative as we did not do
much storytelling through shots.
We had different narratives such as phone-in calls, post
match reports and in-game commentary.
'I don’t believe that, that
is terrible'.
'an absolute shambles and
embarrassment'.
'but this manager has come to
the end of the line'.
'every week, we get stiffed by
the refs decision'.
'I feel physically sick to be
honest'.
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube

6. Tone/Atmosphere
Our atmosphere we tried to create made the audience
picture what the team was going through.
We tried to make the tone quite moody to match the
team's poor season, therefore it would give the
audience a good idea of the storyline and what would
come after the opening sequence.
We matched the dialogue with a melodramatic
soundtrack which would exaggerate the dialogue to
make it more noticeable.
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube
- Editing – slow paced long takes
with a still camera shot.
- Camera – mainly insert shots and
close ups to focus on small
details
- Sound- non diegetic, however
small ambience towards the end
when focusing on manager
- Mise-En-scene – costumes
mainly manager stereotypes
(tracksuits) located at a stadium
and bright lighting, facial
expressions of the manager

7. The impact
 Why – We used this CSEM because we thought
that it matched the theme very well, slow editing
paced combined with a slow soundtrack goes hand
in hand.
 What – The impact on the audience makes it more
appealing for them to watch, as the insert shots
show small details about the club, they can also
listen to the soundtrack at the same time which
keeps them engaged.
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube

8. Fonts
- In our sequence we chose the font that reinforced
the ideologies of a masculine football theme, we
wanted a thick blocky font which connoted
masculinity.
- Our original colour was black as it is more
masculine but we changed it to white as it fit better
with the shots and colouring
- We used an animation of fade-in with the shots as
it made our overall sequence look better.
Our original font before
the changes
Our new font, which was the
result of our change.
The font was also made bold
to stand out even more.
OUR FONT AFTER
THE CHANGE
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube

9. Stereotypes/Conventions
In our opening sequence we did not really
challenge any conventions, our sequence
had strong themes of masculinity in a male
dominated industry, adhering to dominant
ideologies.
This reinforced the stereotypes to
familiarise the audience with similar pieces
that have been produced.
This was mainly shown through the
soundtrack and all of the voices being
male, furthermore the only time there was
onscreen presence we showed a man.
We didn’t want to challenge stereotypes
because of risk, we wanted a sequence
that was more suited to a targeted
audience.
Only onscreen character shown as a man,
reinforces stereotypes as football is
stereotyped to be a male dominated industry.
(Men are more likely
to watch a male
sports film).
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube

10. Steve Neale +
Our Sequence.
Steve Neale's genre theory supports the idea that film genre
goes through a cycle and changes throughout its lifespan –
the genre will change its cycles in order to move to the next
stage of the lifespan.
Our genre is not particularly different to the expected formula
and can be labelled underneath the cycle of 'classic', as it is
what you expect.
We added essential elements such as male presence and
ideologies of a football ground which can give connotations
of large groups of men together.
Both these shots are from the stadium, these
images connote ideas of male presence
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube

11. Social Groups.
In our sequence there are not many social groups represented as there is only 1 character onscreen.
However, we do also focus on the location (the stadium) and the soundtrack which has people
included.
Therefore, we have: 2 different representations of men, and 1 representation of the stadium.
The male groups are represented as unresourceful and complaining, this is shown as throughout the
soundtrack the dialogue is mainly male voices expressing their disapproval of the current position of the
club (in other words complaining).
The stadium is represented as dirty and poor quality, this usually contrasts the kind of environment a
man would put himself in as men are stereotyped to be high-earners and hard-workers that do not
associate themselves with poor quality products or places.
(7) Written in the Stars -
YouTube

12. Editing
Our sequence was edited in a slow, continuous pace,
each insert shot of the stadium had exactly 6 seconds
onscreen, this was the perfect amount of time for the
audience to read the credit and observe the shot.
It gave our sequence a slower pace which we tried to
create so it did not feel too rushed, and so we could
also include the soundtrack and make it noticeable.
We wanted it to be even and continuous so it did not
feel like any shot was prioritised and the audience
could focus on each shot at the same level, creating
an image of the stadium in their heads.
Around 6 seconds
given for each
shot.
Credit would
appear for
almost 2/3 of
the shot.

13. Camera
Most of our camera work was mainly composed of insert shot, to focus the
viewers attention to a specific detail within the scene.
The insert shots would add detail to our sequence and create an image in the
audiences head to give them an idea of what kind of club we are, (rich or poor),
(clean or dirty).
When focusing on our character, the shots remained close-up and therefore
enabled the audience to focus on facial expressions that would further add to the
idea of disappointment.
Facial Expression
showing disappointment,
further adds to the tone
of loss.

14. Mise En Scene
In our Mise En Scene, our location/setting was a
stadium which allowed us to focus on things such
as Props, Facial Expressions and Lighting.
Our Lighting was going to be bright as it would
allow us to focus greater on the props.
Props were mainly comprised of rubbish,
notepad/pens as the stadium already had a lot of
character to it.
Our Facial Expressions focused on the manager
expressing disappointment and upset, to convey
the idea that the team is doing poorly.
Lighting –
Bright.
Props –
Broom +
Rubbish.
Facial Exp -
disappointment

15. Sound
Our sequence had a quite a unique soundtrack that was composed of
multiple different types of sound, we had phone-in calls, post match
reports from the manager and live commentary
– this would be the narrative to the story during the insert shots, telling
a story through both sound and shots.
Our soundtrack itself was quite melodramatic and over-exaggerated to
add to the dramatic theme of constant loss and poor form for our team
focused on.

16. Representations
Our sequence used theories of John Fiske and Judith Butler.
Fiske is denotation and connotation, so what is being represented and how is it being shown.
- We were representing the stadium as dirty and poor, and also the team as disappointing
and in bad form, this was through the use of our insert shots.
- Denotation – what is being filmed? - the stadium and the man onscreen.
- Connotation – how is it being filmed? - CSEM such as sad soundtrack, dirty stadium/props,
insert shots and disappointed facial expression.

17. Representation
Judith Butler is talking about gender performativity.
Whether it challenges the gender stereotypes or adheres to them, our sequence was adhering
as the masculine theme was maintained through;
- Soundtrack (male voices talking about football) - very stereotypical, usually a main topic of
conversation among men.
- Camera (shots of man as the manager) - men usually stereotyped to be managers when
the job is thought of.
We adhered to the stereotype of Judith Butler and did not challenge gender performativity.

18. Summary
In our sequence we did not subvert any stereotypes and adhered to any that were used or
shown onscreen, this would minimise the risk as we are not challenging the ideologies that are
present within society nowadays.
Therefore, our sequence was more safe and generally suited more to a wider audience, this
could also be seen as more appealing specifically to a male audience as it is similar
with current films in the market and does not try anything new and create any risk.