Binary opposites & Enigma

Binary opposites are pairs which are opposites which are used in film noir to create tension or conflict. An example of these are , black & white, good & evil, life & death and justice & corruption.

A particular film which uses alot of binary opposites is 'The Black Dahlia'.



This image to the opening scene diplays many binary opposites with the white, light buildings against the dark sky. this could also represent the good and bad which is also happening in this particular shot.

Enigma is the mystery of the film such as asking questions which the audience do not know whats happening in the film, but then which are later answered.




In this opening scene it may cause confusion to the audience as they do not know anything about the characters and why the drama in the scene has happened. An example of a question maybe, 'why did the woman get shit in this opening scene?'
this would then probably be answered later in the film.

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark. The term is usually applied to bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. The use of effects representing contrasts of light, not necessarily strong, to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects such as the human body.



Chiaroscuro is also used in cinematography to indicate extreme low-key lighting to create distinct areas of light and darkness in films, especially in black and white films. Classic examples are The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) and the black and white scenes in Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979).

by declan cunningham

reference - wikipedia

Discuss the difference between Film noir and L.A noir reference to ‘The Third Man’ and ‘L.A Confidential’

Film noir are films from the late 1940’s, which are based in black and white. The black and white themes of the film are to bring out more of its features to the audience as you can see a lot more with the contrast of black and white lighting. Film noir in this era is associated with a low key black and white visual style. The majority of the films in this genre are about murder, crime, betrayal or mystery which tends to make these films have more suspense and makes the film more ominous. The film noir genre was just made after the Second World War which is the main cause for why most of all these films are set in a depressing manner.
One particular common film of this genre noir film is ‘The Third Man’. This is because the film has most of the characteristics of a general film noir movie, in the way where the film is set, the voice over and the light on dark lighting. ‘The Third Man’ is set in Vienna, scenes are shown at the start of the film which makes the city seem very dark, gothic and mysterious, the way they do this is by showing images of old churches and the way that the dark city seems to contrast with the light sky. The voice over at the start of the film is in a conflicting language which may indicate isolation. The narrator seems to lower his when talking about the darker things which happen around Vienna as well, like the black market. Also when this is happening there seems to be a contrast with the music as it is cheerful and jolly music playing. In ‘The Third Man’ the lighting is very low key, where the key light is around the corner from a very distant shot. The film is very black on white.
Another style of these films is L.A Noir Films. These are practically the same types of films with the same characteristics, but in some way different as well.
The majority of L.A noir films are set in colour unlike the film noir style. L.A noir films are set in the heart of Los Angeles. This could seem odd to the audience as the film noir genre is seen as depressing and dark whereas Los Angeles is associated with sunny beaches and happiness. In these films the audience gets to see more of the darker underside of Los Angeles with the themes of crime and deception like corrupt policemen and as well as the contrasts of the jazz music and the lighting that is used in the opening on the films. The lighting that is used in this style is to create moral ambiguity.
A film in the style of L.A noir is ‘L.A Confidential’. This is about corrupt policemen and Hollywood ‘sleaze’. This style of corrupt policemen is there to confuse the audience as the police are seen as universally good. The film also creates enigma in the opening scene with the good cop/bad cop and with the distinctive looks and voices of the characters.
The film L.A confidential does have some noir conventions such as the styled clothing, flawed heroes, corruption, and femme fatales. The femme fatales in this style of noir are very similar to the film noir style with the femme fatales being seductive and with the ability to hypnotize the male heroes or victim.
The styled clothing is also very similar in the way that both the female and male characters dress. The women tend to dress in something which seems to seduce the male in some way. The males in both of the styles of noir films dress usually quite smart as they are usually policemen or detectives, which tends to be suits or an overcoat of somekind.
A lot about the film noir and L.A noir styles are very similar but also different in many ways as well. Film noir focuses on the more depressed side and darker side of the film noir genre whilst L.A noir is set in a depressing manner but also at the same time the audience gets a happy and jolly sense possibly as the setting is not as dark and dreary as it is in ‘The Third man’. There are also small differences like the style and genre of music used and the contrast of picture with music.

Media Advertising Campaign

Declan Cunningham





Codes and Conventions:

In my magazine advert I have taken in everything which has been used for the image like, lighting, characters and the positioning of the product. I think that the positioning of the product is very important as the target audience need to be able to see the product clearly. The target audience for this advert would probably for the ages of around 16 – 20 year olds who play a lot of sport; this is because my genre for the advert is sport which is why the picture is set in a locker room with the sport clothes in the background. The costumes that have been used, one person is dressed reasonably smart as he is considered maybe to be the coach or manager of the team in the locker room, the other person is dressed in a jersey or a sporting top which could be presented to the audience as a team member. I chose the genre of sport as it appeals to me as I play a lot of sport. I think that this will appeal to the target audience because it is based at 16-20 year olds where most people are considered to play a lot of sport.


Representation

Particular social groups have been presented in my magazine advert as it has a model of around the target audience’s age group so they may able to relate to it. I think that the advert is trying to say to the audience that the body spray that it is trying to sell is successful to the target audience who play sport, which is shown by the ‘cheesy’ smiles on both of the model’s faces. The product could also seem successful to the audience as it is based on the genre of sport, a lot of teenage males play sport and are likely to need some sort of body spray for afterwards.


Target Audience

I think that the demographic audience for my advert would be probably for the C1, C2 and downwards. It could be a possibility that the audience could go slightly into a higher category as everyone needs body spray and everyone plays some kind of sport. My advert is based at people who play sport as nobody wants really wants to smell after playing a game.


Evaluation

I think that my advert has many strengths and weaknesses. I think that the image advertises the product well but also it is a little rough around the edges. This is partially as I had never used Photoshop before. Other students have seen ym advert and said it was a good piece of work which I am pleased with.

Conceptual analysis of a print advertisement rooted to 4 key media concepts

Name of Product: T-mobile Magazine advert for top-ups


Codes and Conventions: purpose and effect


The images in my advertisement that I have chosen is very comedy based. The image is placed in a shop or a supermarket using all natural lighting. The reason why the advert is reasonably humorous is the models being used and then expression on their faces. One of the models is holding the other with the slogan being, ‘with longer top-ups, you’ll be missed.’
As this adds more humour to the advert it also strengthens the marketing of the product. This slogan also suggests that the particular deal on phone credit is excellent that it would be so long until you will have to top-up your mobile phone again, and therefore would have missed you.
Furthermore the advertisement could be also trying to sell you mobile phones or other deals on this particular mobile phone network.


Representation:


This magazine advertisement is comic based as it is meant to make the audience it is intended for laugh. It adds humour as you would not really see this happen in a supermarket or shop, as it is strange and odd behaviour. This advert could also be stereotyping chubby people to add humour to the advert as most ‘bigger’ people are funnier like comedians.


Audience:


The demographic audience for this advert would probably be the C2 category. These are people that can probably afford to have a mobile phone but would have to have a good deal as they couldn’t afford to pay monthly on some sort of contract Phone Company. I think that the age range is around 16 – 25 years. This is looking at the two models in the advert gives us a brief idea on what the age and gender ranges are.



Evaluation:

I think that this is a very good advert as it catches the eye of the intended audience due to its humour, and is likely to be a successful product as it has good deals. I had chosen this advert as it caught my attention straight away and it came to me to as quite a funny magazine advertisement that you do not come across everyday. I thought I would choose this to do this as it would be moderately interesting to evaluate.