Three-point lighting

The Three Point Lighting Technique is a standard method used in visual media such as video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery. It is a simple but versatile system which forms the basis of most lighting.

Key Light

This is the main light. It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.

Fill Light

This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To acheive this, you could move the light further away or use some spun. You might also want to set the fill light to more of a flood than the key.

Back Light

The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.

Magazine industry - 3 point analysis

'The magazine industry has survived the coming of the digital age because it has been able to exploit technological advances. Indeed, it has always done so throughout its long history.' 



The word magazine describes branded, edited content often supported by advertising or sponsorship and delivered in print or other forms. Traditionally, magazines have been printed periodicals which are most commonly published weekly, monthly, or quarterly. These may be supported by printed one-off supplements and annual directories. Increasingly, magazines exist online where content is available through websites or in digital editions, or delivered by email as an electronic newsletter. Many magazines brands also deliver tailored information services to the audiences. Magazines brands also engage with their audiences face-to-face by organising exhibitions, conferences and other events. 
            The magazine industry has always been up with technological advancements such as the use of photoshop and airbrushing models. If you look at the history of magazines they have always kept up with technological advances. As soon as something new develops, the magazine industry uses this to their advantage. Example the ability to use more advanced technical photography i.e. images going from black and white to coloured and they can be edited. Magazines use these advances to exploit them, for example fairly recently magazines have become available on the internet, this could be seen as a abad thing, as readers could argue there is no point in purchasing the magazine if they can simply read the information it entails online. However instead magazines and exploited this fact by revealing only snippets of their magazine which in turn encourages their audience to buy the real thing because they are intrigued to read the rest. As well as encouraging regulars it could also persuade those that have never bought that particular magazine before to buy it. 


In conclusion, diversifying isn't a choice that magazines companies can make, it is necessity for them in order to keep the company afloat and information relevant to their audience. Magazines have done this well throughout their history and will continue to do so in the future. Hopefully this means that magazines will always be current and upcoming. Because of this the demand for magazines will always be strong and ongoing.

MISE-EN-SCENE, THIS MUCH I KNOW...

Mise-en-scene is a French term meaning what is put into the scene of a frame. For film, it has a broader meaning, and refers to almost everything that goes into the composition of the shot. There are five elements of mise-en-scene, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour, positioning of characters/objects within a frame, settings and props, and the costume, hair and makeup of characters. Mise-en-scene is a tool used in film making to communicate essential information to the audience.

Settings and Props

Settings and locations play an important part in film making and are not just ‘backgrounds’. Sets are either built from scratch or time is spent to find a setting that already exists. Settings have the ability to manipulate an audience. The setting can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood of a film.

Costume and makeup

Costume refers to the clothes that characters wear. Using certain colors or designs, costumes in film can be used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters. They can also give the audience a better understanding of the character’s personality and what part they have to play in the scene. Makeup can be used to subtly add expression to an actor’s face. For example makeup can be applied under the eyes to add tone and make the actor look tired. Makeup can also be used to hide any wrinkle, blemishes and imperfections that the camera picks up and is not wanted in the film.

Lighting and Colour

Lighting can have a massive affect on how a shot is received by an audience. The direction, intensity, the type (natural or artificial) all contribute to have a scene is received and gives the audience snippets of information about where and when the scene is taking place.

Acting

The facial expressions and the body language an actor/actress uses to in a film can have a major impact on the audience. Different facial expressions at different times within a scene can give the audience information at the character (his personality, how he reacts in different situations, etc). The body language used by an actor is another subtle affect of mise-en-scene. Without closely analysing what the actor is doing, an audience might not realise how his body language is affecting there interpratation of the character.

Positioning of characters/objects within a frame

A director will carefully position objects that may have a significant role in the story in specific positions in a scene. Doing this is just another layer of telling the story. Positioning of the actors and actresses in a scene can add to the tone of the scene, and where they are placed can show who are the main dominant characters.

Remake of the opening two minutes of The Breakfast Club

My Character for Willy Wonka

This character is a fun loving guy, trying to live life to it's fullest. He's an excentric genius that has a love for chocolate and making it. His strange antics depict him to be mad and perculia.

opening of a feature film.

American Beauty
Character: Lester Burmham
He's bored with his life. He knows the ins and outs of his day very well, and has obviously been in the same routine for such a long time, that not only does he know what he's going to do each day, he's bored with it. his wife seems to be the dominant figure in the household and both her and his daughter seem to have little respect for him. I wouldn't say he's depressed, more he's waiting for something different to happen. He seems at this point to have a pretty dull and mundane personality, probably an effect of his boring life.
Because the opening two minutes depict quite a boring and depressing lifestyle, I assume that something happens that changes Lester's life completely, or something that happens that is somethings that is so different to the happenings of his usual day that it interests him.

Jerry Maguire
character: Jerry Maguire
He's very confident, well spoken, knows people and is very comfortable with the way he looks, how he performs at his job and how he generally behaves. Seems like the kind of guy that knows a lot of people, has good connections and can make his way easily enough in the world. in the short introduction to the film, he starts off depicting his life as a very happy and successful one, but nearing the end of the two minute clip, there's an undertone that he's not entirely happy with his life/the stresses his career entails.

Comparison between Jerry Maguire and Lester Burmham
Their personalities are very different. Jerry has confidence and Lester obviously doesn't. Jerry has a successful  career, and a fast paced lifestyle, and Lester is the opposite with boring life and a slow and unfulfilling lifestyle.

Early Doors
Character: Ken
He has a practised and fine tuned routine. He tips cheap brandy into expense bottles to make the brandy look more expensive; this gives the impression that he isn't fussed about rules and regulations as long as everyone's happy and he makes a little more money. He has the look and personality of what we see to be a typical landlord (overweight, jolly, welcoming in the locals)


Opening Sequences


London to Brighton
Has quite a dark opening scene, that is high paced. Doesn't explain much about what is going on in the story so the audience are confused as to what is happening. Because you don't know what's going on, the audience has to imagine why the mum has a black eye and why the mother and child are in the situation they're in.

The Graduate
The shots of him from him coming off the plane,  then his short journey to exiting the airport are quite basic, boring shots. These shots reflect his life and his personality. The way he's dressed and the airport in the surrounding background is also plane and boring.

Napoleon Dynamite
opening sequence is very different to most, and incorporates the credits in a way that is visually interesting and sets a tone for the film, also giving a small insight into the story (school trays and food).