Media Awards - The Experiment. Why it was the best?

I think that the two best Y12 productions are The Experiment and Labrat. Below I will comment on both using the techniques I have have learnt in my first half term of AS Media Studies.

The Experiment

Mise En Scene
In regards to the Mise- en- scene throughout the clip the narrative is constantly emphasized to the audience which helps to keep them engaged and interested in the clip. However, below I will break it down into the different elements of Mise-en-scene.

In terms of costume throughout the clip, the protagonist is continuously shot wearing the same outfit apart from when the flashback is shown. This highlights the difference in the girl’s life before she started running from the environment she once used to call home. This makes the audience relate to her unfortunate situation as it reaches out the audiences emotional side.

The clip conveys the narrative well through the facial expressions of the actors/actresses.  The protagonist (girl continuously running) has a look of worry and distress on her face which engages the audience emotionally into the narrative. This is because they are likely to feel sympathetic and feel like they want to help the girl.

After watching the clip, I noticed that lighting for the majority of the clip was fairly gray and dimly lit. The bit of the clip that differs is the flashback. This creates a strong contrast between the two different lives of the girl. The narrative is again well demonstrated through the lighting because we can associate loneliness and isolation to the clip.

 When Mise-en-scene is abbreviated to CLAMPS, the ‘M’ stands for makeup/hair.  Therefore, for this clip; we do not actually see anyone who is wearing make up in the majority. This emphasizes that time is of the essence to the main character and she does not have time for that sort of stuff in her new life that she has to lead.

The settings that alternate between the destroyed house and the deserted woods emphasize the narrative to the audience about loneliness and destruction of the girl’s life, as she has nobody to turn to for help. The third setting is based in a park at the moment of the flashback, when the girl remembers what her life used to be like before creating a more jubilant atmosphere.

Cinematography

In terms of Cinematography a lot  of excellent techniques were used in both the camera movement and the camera framing.  The first shot we see is a over the shoulder shot of the person looking at the evidence which leads them to "Alissa Garcia". The fact that the audience remains in the dark about the identity of that person suggests that they are the antagonist. This is because villains in film extracts don't normally show themselves straight away at least not until the protagonist goes looking for them. The second type of camera shot I identified was a close up, of the map on the wall which had the word' Green ford' highlighted in yellow. The use of this close up  draws the audiences attention to the map which creates questions for the audience known as enigma codes. " Why does the unidentified character have a map labeling Greenford"? " Of what significance is Greenford to them?" 

Then, in terms of camera movement, the first type of movement I spotted was a tracking shot. This means that the camera ran along pre laid tracks for the purposes of capturing a specific piece of action. In relation to the clip, the tracking shot is used when the protagonist is running through the deserted woods. The use of the tracking shot makes the audience feel like they are running with her, which means they are sutured into the narrative. I also identified a small series of point of view shots. These allow the audience to further identify with the characters, as they are almost placed in the shoes of the actors they see on screen. There are also a few close up shots such as when the flashback is shown, these help to emphasise how big of a change has taken place in the girls life.

Sound

The different types of sound used vary a lot throughout The Experiment clip.

The use of a radio audio immediately helps us to associate the genre of this narrative.

I identified non-diegetic sound when the music is played in the background of the clip; this helps to unnerve the audience and creates a tense and unsettled atmosphere.  The creation of the unsettled atmosphere helps the audience with the identification of the different characters within the clip although we really only see the identity of the protagonist rather than the antagonist.  There was also a use of diegetic sound; this is when the flashback is shown. The use of the diegetic sound here helps the audience to understand the importance of the memories to a girl who has to spend her life on the run. This is also a area where the audience are engaged emotional because it helps to make them realize how importance memories are and how important life is in general, makes them value their memories and life more.

Editing

Finally, in terms of the editing the majority of the clip was made up of straight cuts and continuity editing. Straight cuts are so common the audience does not tend to notice them and continuity editing is when shots are placed logically so that one event follows on from the next.  An example, of continuity editing is when we see a series of buildings and then we see a kitchen. This makes us make a relation that the kitchen is likely to be inside one of these buildings.  At the time of the flashback, there is use of a fade out/in editing technique as well as a dissolve. These techniques appeal to the emotional and somewhat psychological side of the target audience.

MCCAT

Overall, the media language techniques used were clear and strongly emphasized throughout The Experiment which is why I chose it as one of the best two productions from the Media Awards 2015. I would say that the best-represented aspect of media language is the Mise-en –scene and editing. This is because they together appealed to all types of audiences in a variety of different ways. I also liked the creativity around the narrative and the production work because it made it bespoke against the other productions and I would say that is one of the reasons why it won the award for the best production overall in A Level.