Reception Theory

Reception Theory - Stuart Hall 1980

- The reception theory states that media texts are encoded by the producer - they are loaded with value and messages.
- The text is then decoded by spectators. Different spectators will decode the texts in their own unique way. This may not be in the way that the producer intended for it to be decoded.

The theory suggests that:
- When a producer makes a text it is encoded with a meaning behind it or a message that the producer wishes to show to the audience.
- In some cases the audience will decode the texts theirselves
- In some instances the audience will fail to understand the message or they will reject it.

Stuart Hall found 3 different types of audience readings to the text:
- Dominant: how the producer wants the audience to see the text. For example watching a political speech and agreeing with it.
- Negotiated: A compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, where the audience accepts parts of the producers views but also takes their own views on it as well. For example neither aggreeing or disagreeing with the political speech or being disinterested.
- Oppositional: When the audience rejects the preffered reading, they will then create their own meaning for the text. For example total disagreement and rejection

What could affect us taking the: Dominant, Negotiated, Oppositional readings.
- Life experience
- Mood at the time of viewing
- Age
- Culture
- Beliefs
- Gender
Homework

The audience may chose to take a dominant view to a text, the reason for this is that the message has not been conveyed to them properly. This means they will enjoy the text more because they are able to understand what his happening and keep up with the film. Another reason may be because the video may relate to the ages of the audience. This means they can relate to what his happening more because they be going or are going through what is happening. Another reason may also be because the audience like the particular genre of the film or video.

The audience may take a oppositional view because the themes of the film this may be because the audience disagree with the messages in the video. Another reason may be because the audience do not like the genre of the video. Also the audience may be a different age to the characters in the video therefore cannot connect with the video and enjoy it as much.

The audience may take a negotiated view because they may like the genre, be the same age of the characters, however the story and messages of the video are to complex for them to understand and follow, which will lead to the audience having this view.

180 degree rule-  is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene.




Shot reverse shot- is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.

Male Gaze Theory

The male gaze theory

What's the male gaze?

The 'gaze' is how the audience looks at and see's certain people in that scenario.

For Women the male gaze can be looked at in 3 different ways:

- How men look at the women.

- How the women look and see themselves.

- How women see and portray other women.

Laura Mulver come up with the term ' The male gaze ' in the year 1975. Her theory was that the view of the audience about the characters in the scenario's came from a ' heterosexual ' male piece of mind.

The features of the male gaze:

The camera lingers on the figure of the female body, and the event which may occur to the women are presented in the context of the mans.

The male gaze tends to relegate the women to the status of objects. A female viewer must see the narrative in a different way, by identification with the male.

Criticism of Mulvey and Gaze theory:

A criticism is that women like to be looked at E.G: Beauty Pageants. 

The gaze can also be directed at people of the same gender, not all of which are sexual, some may be because of the clothes someone is wearing or through body image.

Categorizing facial expressions

Women                                                       

- chocolate box
- invitational
-super smiler
- romantic or sexual
Majorie Ferguson (1980)

Men
- carefree
- practical
- seductive

Trevor Millum (1975)

Key Theorists Believe: 
Johnathon Schroeder (1998) - "To gaze implies more than a look - it signifies psychological relationship of power in which the gaze is superior to the object of the gaze.''

Homework

As an audience we found it hard to answer the questions because we found ourselves distracted by the woman. Most of the camera shots we advertising her body parts which made it very hard to concentrate on the questions that we were supposed to answer. Most of the time the in the video its was focusing on the man but even still it was hard because when it went on to the girl it was enhancing how beautiful she is and it makes it very hard not to get distracted by that as we were still interested in the lady.

High Budget VS Low Budget Institution

Analysing still images

Camera shots and angles

Camera work Pan: Following character of object.  High Angle: Looking down on character or object Shows Authority.  Low Angle: Looking up at person or object Emphasizes importance.   Birds eye view: View above the scene Gets grasp how big scene is.   Point of view: View of what the character is seeing.  Over the shoulder: over a persons shoulder to view another character or object. (interviews or conversations).  Canted Angle: Used to show distorted mind/drunk.  Tracking: Tracks characters movements

Andrew Tudor ( Genre Theory, 1974 ) and Science fiction genre conventions

Chicken and Egg' Dilemma Commonly recognised formal elements and common features of a specific genre need to be identified.
Genre conventions: SCI-FI:
Colors: Silver because many things such as moon boots and helmets are silver, Shades of blue to represent out of space and milky ways etc, neon colors for stars and planets and bright things you'd find in space, bright flash colors again for stars shooting stars etc.
Costumes: Puffy clothing as out of space you'd imagine to be cold as there would be nothing to heat it unless your near the sun and you'd need puffy clothing for protection, big white space suits, moon boots, uniforms for on board spaceships like star trek you find they are all wearing uniform.
Sounds: The sounds that you would find would be quite loud and explosive such as meteors and comets smashing into one another. The roars of shooting stars flying about. Other spaceships in outer space could be inflicting damage on other ships resulting in loud crashing sounds. In a SCI-FI film you would hear the noises and blasts of fire coming out of the back of spaceships as the soar through out of space.
Lighting: The lighting in the scene would be quite bright as it is outer space, you would have stars and galaxies dotted around all over the place and it would light up everywhere. Planets would be bright and flashes of green and blue all over the dark blue sky would make everything seem bright.
Props: The props you would get in a science fiction film would be very weird, you could have weapons for if its a fighting film like in star wars and star trek they would use lasers and guns as weapons. You would also have a lot of equipment for when astronauts are flying around space such as cords to keep them attached to the spacecraft. You would also have props like steering for the spacecraft and buttons to control what it is doing.

Still Image lesson

The shining still image analysis - close up shot on scary mans face. The genre is horror, this is shown in the picture as his facial expression shows a sort of crazy twisted. His head is sweaty as his hair is sticking to his face gives him that sweaty damp look. The wide big smile gives us the sort of crazy anger look. The setting is a broken door which also adds to the horror genre as he is poking his head through the hole in the door that he could of potentially made.

Hobbit Poster Analysis