Media Theories

There are many ideas and suspicions circulating media. The following theories are justifiable as they all show general principles upon the media they have based their idea upon.


Enigma Code

Firstly, the Enigma Code is a text that is read and understood in different ways, there is always more than a single way to read a text. Bathes believes that you should not take a storyline or plot the way that it is. You should find a deeper meaning to understand the text in a way you understand it. The Enigma code allows the audience to be more involved and drawn in to a story. To be indulged enough to question a plot in different ways, there is always more than a single way to read a text.

The Hermeneutic Code 

This code is the story of which starts off with the audience being kept in the dark of what is going to happen. This keeps the audience in suspense and questioning.

The Proairetic Code  

This code can also relate to the previous code. This also build suspense and may leave the reader wondering what will happen next.


The Sematic Code 

This refers to the story using connotations to keep the readers guessing if there are other meanings to the original storyline.

The Symbolic Code 

This code reflects the sematic code as the symbolic code also has a wider meaning of a textual idea.

The Cultural Code

It is a recognisable theory that cannot be challenged as it is the only truth and foundation of the text.

Binary Opposites

Claude Levi-Strauss believed that the understanding of certain words is not just of the word itself, but the difference between the word and it's opposite. For example 'good' is opposite to 'bad'. In films it can refer to the opposite of a villain which is the hero, the human and the supernatural. Over recent years plots of films have become more complex. An example of a supernatural binary opposite is Harry Potter. Harry is seen to be the good guy and his enemy, Voldemort is the bad guy.  Throughout the franchise Harry is the inonnocent vs the corrupt Voldemort - another opposite portrayed by these characters. 

Laura Mulvey's The Male Gaze

This theory takes a feminist approach to cinema. The theory was that women are viewed as sexual objects of male desire. In a film the camera can act as a heteosexual male who we are put into the point of view of. The camera will highlight the women's curves of her figure. Films project a patriarchal society, where phallocentrism is regularly shown - phallus symbols give the reflection of male power and dominance.

The following are NARRATIVE theories.

Todorov's Narrative Theory

In 1939 Todorov created a theory that could relate to any film.  He believed that all movies followed the same narrative pattern in five stages, these are:

1). There is a state of equilibrium at the beginning
2). A disruption of that state by an action
3). A recognition that the disorder has occurred
4). An attempt to repair the destruction the disruption  had made
5). A return of restoration of a new equilibrium

As this theory can be used with any film, here is an example of an action thriller, The Maze Runner. (Contains Spoilers)
1). State of equilibrium - There is a community of young boys in a field ( "The Glade") where they fend for themselves. They are contempt and used to their routine.
2). A disruption - This is then interrupted by a newcomer called Thomas, who decides to do things differently by going into the forbidden maze
3).A recognition the disorder has occurred - The boys realize Thomas is different and does things in a way he think will help them get out of captivity
4). Attempt to repair the destruction the disruption made - They fight off the Grievers, Thomas let out unintentionally
5). A new equilibrium -  The boys and girl get out of the maze to be saved by a team of officials, that take them away from the dangerous place they once lived in to take them to a new place

  

Classic Hollywood Narratives 

It is structured in an unambiguous formation - the beginning, middle and end.  There is generally a distinct resolution at the end. There's a three act structure which shows an obvious format which we are familiar with. 

1. Problem is introduces at the start
2. Characters work on the problem
3. The problem is solved at the end

Vladmir Propp's Character Types Theory

He suggests that all narratives have eight different character types: 

• The Villain -  who fights the hero

President Snow - Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games Catching Fire) 

• The Dispatcher - shows that the villain is evil and send the hero off to the problematic matter

Yoda - Frank Oz (Star Wars)

• The Helper - helps the hero in the quest 

Donkey - Eddie Murphy (Shrek)

• The Princess of Prize - the hero is unable to have the woman he desires as there is evil getting in the way of them being together

Gwen Stacy - Emma Stone (The Amazing Spiderman)

• Father - he awards the hero for his efforts

• The Donor - prepares hero and/or gives them a useful object

Nick Fury - Samuel L Jackson (Avengers Assemble)

• The Hero/Victim - reacts to the donor, marries the princess

Batman - Christian Bale (Batman Begins)

• False Hero - takes credit for hero's actions, and then tries to marry the princess

Oscar - Will Smith  (Shark Tale)

Genre of Film

Genre is a type of media that fits into a category.

Genre is an important and key essential in film. Genre often makes films very easy for filmmakers to create. This is because it targets to a specific demographic for the viewers whether its horror, a romantic comedy or a documentary. Everyone has a genre they favour and love to watch.  The audience like the idea of genres because it can suit the mood they are in at any cost. If they are feeling energetic and upbeat they may want to watch an action adventure movie or thriller.There are many other types of genre for instance: comedy, musicals, crime, period dramas, westerns, sports, science fiction etc. 

For the writers and directors it is a simplistic way to get money. More currently the film industry have been targeting teenagers for horror movies (Paranormal Activity franchise, As Above So Below), even though it may be unsuitable for some to watch, they purposely rate the movie a 15 so that teenagers will pay to see their film.

Furthermore, the action genre has also become very successful. With The ever growing popularity of comic books, series of superhero movies have been made. From The most recent Guardians of the Galaxy to the Avengers Assemble franchise it is a way for filmmakers to produce content that is infinite. Also with this franchise also come merchandise which produces more money added to the box office only their movie. Comic/ action movies are very popular with not only children but teenagers and young adults; or even men and women who have grown attached to their favourite superheroes over the years. 

Therefore as you can see genre is an important factor in any movie being made today. As it stimulates and engages the audience in whatever genre they choose to be lost in. 

Conventions of a Thriller

Thrillers are named after the fearful excitement they give the audience. Thrillers are flexible and entertaining with non stop action. Thrillers should consist of fast pace frequent action with resourceful heroes. The plot is usually villain driven, who creates difficult obstacles the hero must avoid and overcome, to win. They use devices which add to the suspense such as red herrings Red herrings are a decoy to confuse the audience into thinking it's something it is not. As well as this they use cliff hangers, hinting the story isn't over yet or a gripping finale to finish at a aggravating yet climactic end. They also use sound very tactfully with their use of music. The example I have used is a score by acclaimed composer Hans Zimmer. This music portrays an intense feel to the thriller, Inception which adds credibility to an already impactful movie.



Thrillers are a very complex genre, as they have many sub-genres. Thrillers can overlap other popular genres. Here are some sub-genres of Thrillers:

Firstly, a psychological thriller consists of a mental and emotional like conflicts the main characters may face. An example is Donnie Darko, Blue Velvet and Se7en.

Secondly, disaster thrillers have populated over the years. Some sort of natural disaster occurs during a film like this. Such as: floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis. Films like The Impossible and newly, Into the Storm are examples of this genre.

Thirdly, drama thrillers are another common type of sub-genre. These films involve more character development than an action thriller would, which builds more substance to the film. They sometimes come with great plot twist like The Prestige, The Illusionists and The Interpreter are some examples.

Moreover, a crime thriller in this case focus more on the criminal(s) rather than the legal force of policemen. Full of suspense on if the criminal act that has taken place was successful or not. Some examples include: Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects and Inside Man.

Furthermore, action thrillers often consists of a hero/heroine who has to accomplish their goal in a constricted amount of time. These films contain lots of violence and the antagonist; that we are supposed to root for, is very clear from the start. Examples are The Hunger Games, James Bond and Jason Bourne franchise.

And finally, political thrillers which the hero/heroine had to ensure the stability of the government. Seven Days in May, Argo and Zero Dark Thirty are all examples of that type of film.

Cinematography Exercise - Evaluation

In this short film exercise we were not aiming to create a story but towards the end we decide to make a miscellaneous plot. The story that we cam up with is that Me and my partner for this task are looking for her phone. Searching the whole school for the phone. We also achieved including all shots in out short clip. We decided to do an high angle shot for one of our sequences, because it showed how I was lost and confuse because i couldn't find this phone and how i had almost given up. The choices we made were successful as our original motive was to get the camera shots needed that would fit together to make somewhat of a story.  All of our shots were taken with as much care and as steady ad we could. Howeve, the shots that were not start was the ones without a tripod for instance the tracking shot which tilted more than we wanted it to. Also, the rolling shot was not at all smooth this was mainly because of the stiffness of the tripod which didn't allow us to do a satisfying shot we were happy with. After many attempts by both me and my partner the best outcome was what we have in the final product. All shots I felt were framed up to the needed standard. The shit which overall was not up to standard of our other shots was the again tracking shot, medium shot and rolling shot. The positive elements of out film was the outcome of the over the shoulder shot and the extreme close up. Both felt quite well constructed, and the over the shoulder shot was well rated for there not being anyone behind the camera at that point. There needs to be some improvements in our film as we have not finished the final outcome was not what we wanted. I added a shot in last minute as we forgot which thew our whole project off. Including the music and captions. Therefore that is something that we have to go back and do again.