LO2, Task 3 Theory

Laura Mulvey (1975)- male gaze sex objects

John Berger (1972) "men act, women appear"

Claude Levi Strauss (1958) "binary opposition"- gender

Todorov- narrative stage the example appears in

Carl Rogers (1980) Ideal self/ ideal partner

Richard Dyes (1972) "star personae"- protagonist, how successful the actors are. Personality types
type cast-

Tutor feedback for LO1, Task 2

Demographic summary

NRS stands for National Readership Survey

Lifestyle is what you do with your life such as, hobbies and employment.

Spending power is the disposable income that allows people to spend money on products.

LO2, Task 3: Audience

Lauren Baxter

Introduction

Hello everyone, it's Lauren again from Education wise on lesson three, which is all about target audience. Ien Ang and John Hartley discussed how in pre-production there should be an imagery entity must be created, so that they can see what the audience interests and lifestyle are to make their film appealing to their audience. This is important to producers as it gives them an idea of what their target audience interest are so that they can work with them within the film. The target audience for Titanic is mainly females as it links to Kate Domaille's theory of narrative type- Romeo and Juliet.

Gender

An example from Titanic that is appealing to a female audience is where Jack and Rose fall in love. The denotations of this scene is where Jack takes Rose to a lower class party, filled with alcohol, upbeat jazzy music and dancing. They first had a fancy meal with Roses upper class family, which really communicates the difference between the two classes. This links to Claude Levi theory of binary opposition, upper class vs lower class. The reason why it appeals to a female audience is because its the moment where Jack and Rose start to fall in love with each other, which will make the audience fall in love with their relationship. Titanic is a perfect example for Richard Dyer (1972) theory of "Star persona" as Leonardo DiCaprio who plays Jack the protagonist, personality is love films and this particular scene connotes love and passion. He is stereotyped to be a beautiful man with blonde and blue eyes to make the audience fall in love with him. Another example in the film Titanic that signifies that its' target audience is female is where Jack is seen/known as being the hero for saving Rose. The denotations of this scene is where Rose is wanting to kill herself due to the society she lives in, she steps over the railings on the ship leaning over to jump off. Fortunately Jack is there and persuades her to come back over the railing; however she trips and is dangling over the ship with Jack trying to pull her up. This connotes fear, trust and panic. The famous line is said in this scene "I wont let go", which is foreshadowed throughout the film. This is appealing to a female audience as it shows how Jack is a hero, linking to carl Rogers theory (1980) of ideal partners as the love connoted by Jack makes him attractive. This influences women who want to be saved by a loved one. At the disequilibrium part in Titanic there is a scene where a male audience would be intrigued is where the genre action becomes more involved. The denotation of this scene is where Carl the antagonist tries to kill Rose and Jack, out of jealousy. A male audience would be appealed by this as it is full of action and movement creating adrenalin and spectacle to the film. Another part of Titanic where a male audience would be intrigued by is where the ship crashes an Ice burg and starts to sink. This is appealing to males as it makes them question the technical side of it such as "How did they make the crash look so realistic?". It is also filled with action as the "unsinkable" ship is sinking into the Atlantic sea, which connotes fear, panic and distress.

  

Age 

Titanic is filled with love and romance, which links to the genre of the film. The denotations of a love scene is where Jack takes Rose to the end of ships and holds here close where she is "On top of the world", love, companionship and comfort. This links to Carl Rodgers theory (1980) of ideal partners as we see Jack as this amazing person who a audience would see themselves with. This is relatable to age grouping in Titanic of 18 as Jack and Rose are around this age and it is a suitable age to fall in love with someone. There is also violence and gore involved in Titanic, for example where the antagonist Carl slaps Rose for being a bad finance as she has been seeing jack. This links to theory of binary opposition men vs women as Carl feels like he has more power and dominance over Rose due to the fact he's a man. This creates spectacle to the film which 18 years olds will be intrigued by. Another example of why Titanic is targeted at 18 year olds is sex and nudity throughout the film. The denotations of this is where Jack draws Rose naked, she lies on the couch where you can see her breast. The connotations of this scene is love, natural and passion. This is suitable to a 18 year old as they may relate it to their personal love life. Profanity is used in Titanic, Rose uses a hand gesture through the elevator window to a man who is chasing her and Jack around the ship, this is what is denoted in this scene. The reason why it is appropriate for a 18 year old is that under 18s could be influenced to do these actions to people, where as a 18 year old are more mature about the situations. A final example on why Titanic is targeted to 18 year olds is due to the fact it is educational to the audience, as well it will also be educational to a younger audience too. However an 18 and over will understand the context and the history behind Titanic as it is set in 1912. They will be able to see why there is binary opposition involved such as men vs women and higher class vs lower class, as the time Titanic happened there was social issues making the film more understandable. 

                                

  Lifestyle 

The lifestyles I have chosen are Settled Suburban's, Nest Builders and Urban Venture. NRS stands for National Readership Survey, what they do is look into lifestyle and spending power demographics and place certain people in categories. The lifestyle categories I have chosen for Titanic is Settled Suburban's. I have chosen this because of the history behind Titanic which is intriguing to a older audience (30-40), also for women the love between Jack and Rose is very intense and interesting making it appealing to them. An example of the genre of romance in Titanic is the sex scene between Jack and Rose where they make love. Hobbies including dinning would reflect a Settled Suburban audience as this would be a social hobby they would do frequently, which is included in Titanic. Another hobby a Settled Suburban audience does that is reinforced in the film is travelling, as the age group will be able to afford grand relaxing holidays which at first is connoted through the film. Urban Ventures will also be appealed by Titanic, as according to Richard Dyer (1972) theory of "Star persona" Leonardo Dicaprio personality is heart throb, he is stereotypically a handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes, which will intrigue a younger audience. Also travelling is a huge part of a Urban Ventures lifestyle as a majority of teenagers dream to travel and adventure is involved in the film Titanic. For a Urban Venture it links to Denis McQuail (1972) theory of escapism, as they get away from the real world, as teenagers face pressure in this modern world for example exams, being stereotyped and judged, so watching this film allows them to break away from it. Hobbies that are connoted though Titanic that would reflect on a Urban Venture audience is Jacks hobby of art, as this audience will be in education having the ability to study art, creating a hobby. Titanic would also intrigue Nest Builders as there is action involved in the film for example Cal (antagonist) tries to kill Jack out of jealousy as well the Titanic ship is sinking which involves a lot of special effects and technology interesting Nest Builders. Nest builders relate to demanding lifestyle such as starting families, careers and new homes. As nest builders will be very busy, due to the fact they will be starting new careers and families, watching Titanic also gives them escapism as they can relax whilst watching the film; However it also links to another part of Denis McQuail theory of building relationship as the action used in Titanic creates spectacle making a talking point between the nest builders.  

Spending Power

 Titanic falls in the National Readership survey social grade of spending power ABC1.CGI is used in Titanic to create the illusion and reality of the ship sinking in the Atlantic ocean. For example the denotations of this scene is where the Titanic has hit the ice burg and is breaking in half. This links to Denis McQuail theory of building relationships as this certain part of Titanic creates talking parts as it is spectacle allowing people to interact with each other. As CGI is used it makes the film more expensive and higher quality, linking to he social grade of spending power is ABC1, can afford a variety of merchandises such as blue rays and DVD's, as well as watching new films in the Cinemas. As well my audience would be able to go on holidays such as cruises like Titanic, and travelling as they have a lot of disposable cash to spend it on luxuries stuff. As Titanic is based on a true story and has a historical background, my audience will be able to afford going to museums learning in depth more about the history of Titanic. Linking to a cast member Roses mother she is very interested in her appearance such as make up, clothing and jewellery, for a women as well as a man due to the highly paid jobs they have the high income they earn will allow them to buy these merchandises linking them with characters within the film. Fine dining is used in the film for the higher class citizens, which will be relatable to some people in the audience as their disposable cash will allow them to eat in fancy restaurants with expensive drinks and food.

I know that was a lot to take in, but its all very interesting and informative! Join me in my next video where I will be talking about the Distribution and Marketing of Titanic. See you soon.



Mise-en-scene feedback sheet

LO1, Task 2: Analysis of Titanic

Introduction:
Hi guys It's Lauren. I'm back from Education Wise with Lesson 2 analysis of a 20th |Century Fox film. I have chosen to analysis the film Titanic which is a hybrid of romance, adventure and action. We will be looking at the purpose, form, genre, style, content and meaning, Mise en scene, camera work, camera editing and production process. Yeah I know a lot to take in; however it wont be boring as we will also be looking a theory's and why certain things were done to create spectacle.


Purpose:

The purpose of Titanic is to entertain their audience. This film has special effects included in, such as \CGI. It is targeted at a mass audience internationally, this means it reaches out to America and Europe. Its overall purpose for this film is to make a profit, as it is a commercial film for 20th Century Fox, which is a conglomerate.

Form:
I am analysing a feature film as it runs for 194 minutes.
It has been distributed through DVD/Blur Ray, streamed through Sky, cinema, streamed through, pirate websites (illegal), app store, Google play download films onto Devices and TV. The reason why Titanic was distributed through so many platforms was so that it could reach out to a wider audience.

Genre:

There is a mix of genres in the film Titanic, this is called a hybrid. Titanic genres include; drama, romance, historical, action and classical. Barry Keith Grant (1995) talked about films having sub-genres Titanic includes sub-genres, such as action romance and classical romance. It fits in with Kate Domaille's (2010) narrative type- Romeo and Juliet as it is a deep love story.


Style:
The style of Titanic is Old-fashioned. Titanic has high production values to make it look expensive so that is fits in with the style verisimilitude for when it was set (1912). There is a juxtaposition to how higher class and lower class people wear and look like to reinforce stereotypes.

Content and meaning:

Narrative
The narrative of Titanic is an epic action romance film. It fits in with theory of Kate domaille's narrative type- Romeo and Juliet as it is a deep love story. There is a lot of binary opposition throughout the film to reinforce how stereotypically men were more dominant over women, higher class citizens had more power over lower class, as well as older age people could control the younger generation. Jack who is a lower class citizen who won his ticket on Titanic in a lucky hand in polka falls in love with a engaged higher citizen women Rose who is forced to marry the antagonist Cal for more wealth. Jack challenges the stereotypes in this film as he strongly tires to win Rose, which he does. However with Cal's jealous he frames Jack as a robber, which Rose is manipulated to believe. At this part the ship is sinking and Jack is locked on a lower deck. Higher class women are helped onto life boats whilst lower class citizens are stuck beneath the decks waiting for their turn. Rose eventually figures out Jacks plan and saves him. Rose is taken to a life boat; however jumps off as she wants to be with Jack, which makes Cal try to kill them both. Cal fails at this and gives up on trying to get his fiancé back and gets onto a life boat with a child he pretends is his. Titanic sinks and lower class citizens are left to freeze in the Atlantic oceans, which connotes their lower rank society; however some lifeboats come back and luckily Rose is alive and survives the tragedy. She starts a new life without Cal and her family, but with Jack always in her memories.



Titanic fits in with Todorov theory of structure. Equilibrium- Titanic sets of safely, passengers are secure on the ship, everything's calm and balanced. Disequilibrium is where Rose is wanting to kill herself due to her society class, Jack and Rose fall in love; however this is forborne as they are in a different class, plus Rose is engaged. Titanic hits an ice burg which makes it sink, killing a mass of people. Roses fiancé tries to kill jack, however fails at this. Jack, Rose and a mass of people (lower class) are left to freeze in the Atlantic water. The new equilibrium is that Rose has survived the disaster and makes a new start in life with Jack always in her memories.


Diegetic

In the film Titanic there is a lot of dialogue used which is natural so we know that this is diegetic sound, as the audience and characters can hear this. This diegetic sound will have been planned in pre-production and planned in production. A famous line from Titanic which is foreshadowed throughout the film is "I've got you, I won't let you go". The denotation of this scene is Jack holding onto Rose, as she is hanging of the ship to commit, trying to save her. The connotations of this are love, strength and trust, which is an important part in Titanic. This links to the narrative/genre of romance as it is constantly reinforcing the connection Jack and Rose has. Another significant line in Titanic is  "I figure life's a girt and I don’t intend on wasting it, you never know what hand you're going to get dealt next, you'll learn to take life as it comes at you, to make each day count".  The denotations of this scene was Jack living the higher class life, dining with “fine” people; however he stated and showed to the “fine” people how he was totally fine being a lower class citizen. Proudness, dignity and courage were connoted in this scene. This particular line actually fits in well with Claude Levi Shaw's theory of binary opposition, higher class vs lower class. The dominant characters in this part are the higher class citizens as they have "power" over Jack, so Jack is subordinate; however Rose is also a subordinate character as she is being forced to marry Cal. This reinforce how men were stereotypically more dominant than women. Titanic includes a sound bridge, to make the transition more natural. It started as non-diegetic and became diegetic, it denotations were classical music being played in a very posh restaurant to make the film verisimilitude for when it was set. The sound track connotes elegance, calm and movement.

Non-diegetic

Mainly the non-diegetic sound in Titanic is usually the incidental music "My Heart Will Go On". The denotations of this track is that it has a very slow/steady tempo; however it gradually becomes
and faster to connote that its slow to fall in love, but then comes all at once. It also connotes, love, emotions and connection, which represents Jack and Rose in the film. This reinforces the narrative of Titanic as it connotes the connection and love between the two. Another non-diegetic sound featured in Titanic is incidental music, it is denoted in the scene where Rose is forbidden to see Jack by her mother and it later becomes diegetic to make the editing invisible. It connotes thoughts, feelings and determination, due to the context it is in. The thoughts Rose will be having is her role in society and why she is being forced to marry a rich men. The effect this has on the audience is that we are shown women's role in that era. Another example of non-diegetic sound is incidental music. The denotations is where the ship hits the Ice age, it connotes danger, panic and chaos. This part of titanic emphasises the disequilibrium of the film. The effect this has on the audience is that is the we are almost scared and panicky with the actors, making us feel involved.

Mise-en-scene:

Location
Titanic is set in the 1912, so the setting is very elegant and high standards to create verisimilitude. The ship is split into two to show the binary oppositions of dominant and subordinate, which is Claude Levi Shass (1969) theory. Titanic significant locations are mainly on the ship, although there are scenes filmed in England and America. The two most important areas on the ship is the higher class (top deck) and lower class (bottom deck) as this is where you see the differences between characters and setting. The denotations for the higher-class level is a extravagant hall, elegant and sophisticated ballroom/ restaurant, king size rooms flooded with expensive and high quality decorations. The connotations of this are wealth, elegance, power and sustainability. In contrast to this the lower class level restaurant is very blandly decorated; however in scenes the lower class passengers improvise with their areas, making it fun and vibrant.

Costume 
Titanic use costume to show the binary opposition of higher-class vs lower class. The denotations of higher class for women is always extravagant dresses flooded in expensive jewellery; this signifies wealth, power and glamour. This was important to show that higher class women dressed like this as it juxtaposes with the lower class people, effecting the audience as we know what there personalities would be like. For men the denotations of their costumes would be suit and ties, cane, too hot and a cigar, the connotations of this also showed wealth, power, snobbish and unwilling. For lower class passengers their costumes were the complete opposite, the denotations of this was scruffy shirts and knee high trousers, rolled up soaks with low quality shoes, cigarrates and braces. Their costumes connoted poor, unhygienic and plain lives. Lower class women would were light dresses very plain to connote lack of quality and poor. The antagonist Cal is always wearing a tuxedo to connote how powerful and wealthy he is, also it reflects stereotypes of shift upper lip due to restricted costumes. 

Props 
The main character Rose has a very important prop with her which is carried and foreshadowed thought the film. The denotation of this prop is a crystal diamond necklace with a deep blue Sofia gem in the middle. The connotations of this is glamour's, wealth and love; however the antagonist Carl who gave Rose this necklace wasn't in the intension for love but more possession, control and dominance. This shows stereotypes of how males were dominant over women. Jack also has a significant prop, which is the art book he holds, as he is lower class he has a very high standard of work that is often associated with artist in the era this was in. This challenges stereotypes of his class as it connotes high culture due to art. The connotation of this is passion, ambition and creativity. These two props are very important in Titanic as the denotations of one scene is where Jack draws Rose only wearing the necklace and it is seen as a treasure of memories to the old woman narrating the film. This would fit into “The Male Gaze” as men would be attracted to this film as Rose is naked in this scene; however Roses intentions in this scene are to be sexy as she's loves Jack. 

Lighting
Lighting in Titanic uses light to connote the mood changes in scenes. When Rose first met Jack the denotations of the light was a soft yellow, this signified high culture and extravagant to the scene. There is always a contrast in lighting between the upper level and the lower level. The upper level has high key lighting, which makes the audience feel wealthy and alive. Where as the lower level has is natural lighting, which conveys the working environment of the lower class’s. 

At the disequilibrium part of Titanic (Todorov), which is when the Titanic hits the ice berg low-key lighting, is mainly used to connote death and fear. The denotations of this scene is the RMS Titanic sinking being destroyed and people trying to survive. As this is happening at midnight and the Titanic is a beautiful magnificent ship it shows juxtaposition as it was seen as the "unsinkable" ship. 

Overall lighting is used to create and show meaning throughout Titanic. It has effects on audience on how to feel about certain characters as well as the role in women which links to opposition dominant  vs subordinate theory.

Camera Work:  
A significant scene in Titanic, which uses a lot of different camera techniques is where the ship hits an Ice berg. This part of the film Titanic is the disequilibrium. The denotations of this is a medium close up shot is used on the chief captain to connote fear and panic. The effect this has on the audience is that we feel involved. The movement used in this shot is a slow zoom in, slight low angle, onto his face to really emphasises the fear in his expression, which moves into a close up shot. The focus in this shot is shallow depth of field which connotes importance; it links with Claude Shass theory of binary opposition as it reinforces his role on the  ship, also it reinforces stereotypes of men, as in the time Titanic was set there wouldn't be any females working along side with the captain. An alternative interpretation to why all of these camera skills were used in this clip is to connote guilt and culpable, as he feels like he's let the crew and passengers down. High angles and low angle camera work is denoted to signify the binary opposition of society status. A low medium shot angle is used when we are seeing the antagonist Cal, to connote power, dominance and wealth. Where as the camera work used on Jack (sub) is a high medium shot angle to connote vulnerability and  lower status. It creates a spectacle element to the film as to the audience we see a show down between the two characters. A establishing dutch angle shot is used when the ship Titanic is sinking in the Atlantic ocean. The connotations of this is unsteadiness, disorientation and instability, which adds action and spectacle to the film. The effect this has on the audience is that they feel fear and discomfit with the instability of the camera angle. It really emphasise the disequilibrium of Titanic. The camera movement panning is used to connote movement, fear and concern. The denotations of the scene is crew workers and passengers running to life boats trying to save life's. The effect this has on the audience is that it creates spectacle. A very significant part which almost challengers gender role is that higher women class and women with children were put onto lives boats before the men. The effect this has on the audience is that it creates spectacle. A very significant part which almost challenges gender role is that higher class women and women were put onto the life boats before men.

Editing:
Shot reverse shot structure is denoted in Titanic quite frequently; however a significant part where this edit is used, which links to binary opposition men vs women is when the antagonist Cal is  speaking to Rose the submissive. A high angle and medium close up shot is used when we see Rose, as this connotes her role in society and powerless. On the other hand when the shot cuts to Cal a low angle medium close up is used to represents and connote his power, dominance and strength. This links in to the theory of binary opposition as it reinforces how stereotypically men are more dominant than women in the time the film was set in. Another use of editing used in Titanic is insert shot used on Roses necklace in a close up shot to connote importance and possession. The iconography is very important here as the necklace isn't given to Rose by Cal throughout love but it done throughout control, linking to how a stereotypical rich man would act towards their fiancé in that era. The focus on the necklace is shallow depth of filed to signify dominance and importance. The effect this has an the audience is that we are shown the difference between men and women in that era as well as social class. Titanic uses the edit eye line match, the denotations of this is where Jack has finished drawing Rose and she finally gets to see the drawing. There is a medium shot used when Rose is looking at the drawing. The effect this has on the audience is that we get to see Roses expressions, which connote love and happiness. It then shows the audience what the drawing looks like, which is effective on the audience as we get to be involved in the film as it is almost like we are looking through Roses perceptive. In a way this links to Carl Rodgers 1980 theory on Ideal partners as because of Jack kind gestures and love for Rose makes us want to be with him.

Production Process:

Pre production

Pre production is the planning of Titanic preparing and finalising what will be featured in production. An example of this was script writing for the crew, this included dialogue for the actors, lots of drafts scripts and blocking on stage. Costume fitting was also processed in pre production, this was making sure that costumes were designed in the era Titanic was set as it needed to fit stereotypically to how higher class citizens would wear to what lower class people would wear.

Production

Production would be the process of filming scenes, shooting script and on set effects. When rehearsals would start the camera men would get a shooting script for which parts should be in certain frames, so that it is easy to edit when coming to post production. In the film Titanic they built only half the ship, on set effects were filmed in Titanic such as when the ship hit the ice burgs; however this was also done in post production to make it look realistic.

Post production

CGI was used in post production as they only built half the ship so when we see wide shots of the ship this would've been done by CGI. This helped create the illusion of the ship. Special effects were added in post production, such as digital water and smoke to create the diegies of being in the Atlantic sea. Editing shots such as shot reverse shot structure, eyeline match and insert shots were edited into the film Titanic in post production to create spectacle.

MTG

My MTG for CDM is merit 


LO1 Century Fox Pass- achieved a pass
LO2 Analysis Distinction- achieved a distinction 
LO3 Audience Profile Distinction- achieved a ?
LO4 Distribution Pass- achieved a pass
LO5 Legal and ethical Merit- achieved a ?

Overall I am hoping for a distinction