Twitter - Codes and Conventions

Hashtag

A hashtag provides the user with links to the topic or subject that is within the hashtag. Hashtags consist of sentences with no spaces beginning with a hashtag. Hashtags are important because they contain links to websites and information that people may otherwise be unaware of or unable to find.

Columns

Columns divide the various sections of Twitter into various genres.They consist of vertical grids that seperate different types of content from each other. They are important because without them, different content and genres might become mixed up together, or someone might not be able to find the help/resources needed to complete a task.

Trends

Trends are the various topics and subjects that are popular on Twitter. These trends appear in the form of a small image of the topic accompained by the name of that topic followed by a brief synopsis about what the topic entails at the underneath the name and the image and you can to follow it or not.

Pictures

Pictures are images that people take either of themselves or on a specific topic. These pictures can be posted onto the person's Twitter page or can be sent to friends or around the world to other people's Twitter pages. They are important because, for example, people who have not seen each other in a long amount of time can send each other pictures so that they can see what each person looks like.

Followers

Followers are people who follow your user name and work around Twitter. The amount of followers that you have obtained will appear on the followers counter in the top-right corner of the screen. Followers are important because, without them, no one would know how many people are liking what they are writing about on Twitter.

Thumbnails

Thumbnails are quick skecthes that people, most likely in the employment genre of Art, draw themselves and they can be posted to the person's Twitter page or be sent around Twitter. These are important because if people create Art for a living and want to showcase their work quickly, they can post thumbnails on Twitter for instant feedback.

They are also formatted for easy access on Twitter for phones and tablets, which makes them easier to view.

Search Bar

A search bar is used for typing in a specific subject or user name when you cannot find it yourself, and it is also remarkably quicker and easier than searching through Twitter pages to find what you are searching for. This is important because, otherwise, Twitter users would have to spend lots of time searching for the subject or user name that they are looking for, and even might never find it.

Analysis of 'John's Not Mad' Magazine

I created this article by first opening a Text Box and typing the headline onto the document. I then Copied and Pasted my essay onto the document, using a Text Box to place my essay into. I also used Text Boxes to type quotes from my essay into in Bold letters to make it look more authentic. I used another Text Box to create my by line and place it at the top of the article. 

I then obtained four photographs of John, past and present, and placed them onto my article to give the impression of a genuine magazine article. The images give a sense of nostalgia and sympathy and give the reader an opportunity to view John as he has aged. I have maintained the columns in an order that fits a magazine article. I have also tried to keep text and imagery in the line so as to not cause confusion and to make the main body look professional.

I used Text Boxes and imagery to create two fake adverts to make the article look genuine. The adverts are quite short, however they still contribute to the impression of a real newspaper. The by line has been  placed in a manner to make the article look interesting. 

What I found good was the creation of quotes using Text Boxes. I found this good because I feel that the quotations give an interesting insight and I learned a lot of skills because of it.  What I found bad was the part when I had to arrange the screen shots from the internet because there was a lot of difficult cropping and photo-column alignment work involved. 

Below are two screen shots showing the process that I took to create the magazine.

Codes and Conventions Newspapers

Headline - It is in bold, big font so that the reader can identify that the newspaper has access to important news.

Imagery/Photos - Helps to add definition and an insight to the newspaper. Usually a minimum of three images. E.g: secret photos, 

Text - Adds dialogue and structure to the article and helps to place an image in the reader's head.

Quotation Marks - They help to identify what a interviewee is saying and when it changes to another interview.

White Spaces - Allow words and sentences to have spaces between them so as to not get mixed up.

Graphics - They provide interesting illustrations to carefully explain facts, charts and statistics. 

Sub-Headings - They are smaller than the headlines, but they provide a brief synopsis of the article whilst encouraging the reader to buy and read the newspaper.

Mast-Head- Useful so that the reader can grab people's attention and to explain in detail.

By Line - Tells the reader who wrote the article/the author.

Exaggeration - Sensationalises a topic and makes it sound batter/worse than it really is.

Body Copy - It is the segment of an article that people read.

Lead Story - The first article that appears on the front page.

Decks - Summary of a story.

Slogan - Used to promote the newspaper/article.

Columns - Help to divide the article/s

Advertisements - Newspapers are paid by companies to advertise their products in their newspaper.

Captions -

The Guardian 

The Guardian is filled with the codes and conventions that I have mentioned earlier. The headline is in a large and bold font. This is done to make the headline large and therefore more intriguing. As for the imagery, they have merged five images together because they all connect with one another and are related with the main image. This is done so as to give an idea of correlation and structure and to use a plethora of important events to emphasise importance. They also use red tags to tell information about the events in question.  the sub-heading is slightly smaller than the main headline, yet it is capable of reading, 

Media Level 2 Analysis of 'The Boy Can't Help It'

Media Level 2 Analysis of 'John's Not Mad'

Alex's Diegectics & Non-Diegectics Film

This is a film that me and my small group made whilst filming in and around the Media Suite in Hyde Clarendon. We were assigned to create a film with diegectic and non-diegectic sounds with two different types of scenes: fast-paced and slow-paced scenes with background music corresponding to the different scenes.

Me and my group were initially unsure as to who would be doing what in which scene, but after a brief discussion, we decided on what we were doing and prepared our equipment, ready to begin.


Firstly, I started by carrying a camera as I walked up the Media Suite stairs, and another member of my group walked through the Media suite doors. Since I was carrying a camera, the scene gave a third person perspective.

Another member of my group then recorded the conversation that we had on what we were going to do. I then filmed me once again carrying the camera as I slowly walked out of the Media Suite doors.

We also filmed me in a first person perspective running into the Media Suite with a forlorn expression on my face being pursued by a hooded figure, played by another member of my group. We then turned all of the lights off in the production space to add ambience into it.

The walls with other students' work on them provided the ideal backdrop and gave our scene an eerie dark maze feel to it. We then used the lights from our phones to light up the areas that we wanted to be seen.

Unit 20.1: 'Goodbye Afganistan' Analysis

My Observation of ‘Our War – Goodbye Afghanistan’

The first observation that I conducted of the Afghanistan documentary was of a close-up of a soldier preparing for war. This creates a sense of feeling of depression as if you are actually meeting this person first-hand. The second time that I encountered this was when I saw a first person depiction of a war in Afghanistan with narration voice-over. This was a combination of perspective and sound, and I felt compelled to watch onwards because this is a prime example of the effects.

I also heard some diegetic sound of bullets firing. This was applied to make the viewer feel morbid and depressed and sorry for the soldiers in combat. The narration of the voice over gives a blunt in-sight as to what the soldiers are feeling and experiencing.

I noticed some jump-cut editing that linked one scene to another. This is done to make the documentary feel more fast-paced and to speed up the power and emotion of the film. The interview was most of the time foreshadowing what we were about to see in archive footage.

Even thought the soldier had already told us what was about to happen, we were still taken aback to graphic nature of the voice-over and the combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound created a truly distressing piece of film.

The close-ups of the soldiers faces created negative emotions because we became concerned for their safety, due to having seen a soldier in third person, and were hoping that none of them were going to be hurt or killed. 

The sights of the conditions of the army base, with an expressive description, gives an in sight as to how different and privileged our lives really are here in Britain. The voice-overs are very good at telling us how to feel when watching a specific scene and can generate a whole range of various emotions.

The uncensored swearing, mixed with the melancholy sound of traditional military music, created a plethora of sympathy and empathy for the soldiers, as we could see why the soldiers were so aggravated and that they were so determined to win.  The medical troop yelling at the other soldiers in first person perspective makes me feel sympathy towards the soldiers in battle, because they are battling, despite fearing that they could be next.

The FOW footage of the soldier’s mother mourning his son’s death with the other soldiers in his group, with the narrative voice-over, makes you feel sympathy towards the mother, because she has out-lived her child.

This scene I feel most of all emphasises the effectiveness of the perspective, sound, editing and cinematography techniques that I have learned today.