AS Coursework Resit Changelog

 

• Re-did evaluation to show better technical ability in the form of a vlog. ( http://joelbloggs.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/final-powerpoint/ )
• Made more links to primary research in my evaluation.
• Showed more awareness of media institutions in my evaluation.

Popcap on iPad, 3D and crying goats

http://www.zdnetasia.com/popcap-on-ipad-3d-and-crying-goats-62062924.htm

• Synergy showed when they hired the university student that created World of Warcraft add-on to increase their audience.
• Synergy and convergence shown in working with Apple’s Game Center for their new Operating System 4.0
• They say Facebook and smartphone’s are the most exciting platform to work with because they bring millions of customers in.
• According to the company, the 11 million or so monthly active users average a staggering 43 minutes per session. All this for a game that only lasts a minute.

Exam Question

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender using the following:
• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene

Camera work and mise en scene are used to a great extent in this extract to represent gender.
One of the preliminary shots shows the use of the set to empower the Master over Martha. This notion that the Master has the upper hand is enhanced by the low angle with an over the shoulder shot from Martha’s point of view and even more so when she is forced to kneel beneath him. Throughout the first half of the extract, low angle shots are always used for the Master and high angle shots for Martha to keep reinforcing the differentiations in power between the two.
These angles start to level out and turn into eye-line shots between the two characters when Martha explains the situation and the audience starts to realise she is the one with the power. The use of the ticking clock, added with more and more quick cuts, creates an intensifying pace within the extract and shows the Master becoming more anxious while Martha stays composed.
A very powerful point of view shot is used at the end of the extract to denounce the Master of all his previously shown power over his female counterpart with the Doctor looking almost vertically down while floating upon the Master who is scrambling backwards across the floor. This shows that males, especially the Doctor, are the most important characters in the narrative, not the females.

In juxtaposition to the male dominance shown in this sequence is the female character behind the Master. She is placed above the Master in the hierarchy of levels and is set apart from other characters through the red colour of her clothing. Red is often associated with sin, guilt, pain, passion, blood, and anger, some of which you are draw to feel she may produce upon Martha. She is later shown to be a protagonist by joining in with the chant of ‘Doctor’ which leads me to believe the colour resembled the Greek and Hebrew symbolism of love and sacrifice.
The male antagonist is portrayed as one with power and wealth from his costume compared to the army looking attire of Martha. This adds to the sense of emasculation of the Master’s authority as it creates a sense that he is the General and Martha the foot soldier.                                                                               The set uses a lot of artificial light to create a very futuristic atmosphere with the main sources of light scattered around the set. The brightness is used to indicate of the possible future events and when the Doctor transforms back into a human being he becomes a source of light himself with his mystical bubble surrounding him. The set also has a lot of futuristic props with a lot of buttons and gadgets, something that represents a very male orientated area.
There is very minimalistic amounts of editing with the larger majority of it being continuity editing. This enables the story to flow and change pace when necessary. Cross cutting is used when to link Martha’s flashbacks to the action at hand.
Sound does not play a major role in representing gender in this extract, with the majority of it being digetic sound effects to keep sound continuity and create more realism. Non-digetic sound is used to highlight important parts throughout the extract, notably when the Ark Angel Network is mentioned as the way to rescue the Doctor from his confinement.

In conclusion, I feel that the extract used a very conventional method of representing gender with the female disempowered by a male at first but then gains the upper hand. This was done in various ways with the pinnacle being the change in camera angles throughout the shot-reverse-shot’s between Martha and the Master.

Bejeweled Research

• PopCap produced Bejewelled.
• It was formed in 2000.
• Bejeweled is classed in the ‘casual games’ genre.
• It is also classed as a puzzle game.
• Players can download free versions onto their mobile phone.
• Bejeweled is available on PC, mobiles, internet, iPhone, iTouchm PSP, DS, DSi and BlackBerry.
• PopCap have won over 24 awards.
• PopCap have over 35 different games.
• PopCap has over 200 employees (games developers.)
• Bejeweled was originall created for PC games as a web based Flash Game called Diamond Mine, but had to change the name as it was too similar to Diamond Mines.
• A Bejeweled scratchcard is available.
• In September 2006 it was available to download for the iPhone.
• In October 2007 it was available on the PS2 and Xbox 360.
• In September 2008 World of Warcraft made a free version of it as an add on for the WOW interface.
• In October 2008 the third installment of Bejeweled Blitz was available.
• In December 2008 it was available on Facebook.
• In Novemeber 2009 the iPhone released Bejeweled 2.
• In December 2009 it became available on the DSi.

 

Bejewled

At first I was entertained and hooked by Bejewled as it offered exciting colours and sound effects which hook the player. After a few rounds of playing, the repetitivness started to bore me.
I am a dedicated gamer and therefore I need sustainable games to keep me interested, something Bejewled does not offer due to its simplicity.

Evaluation

This is my final evaluation.

Thriller Opening Sequence Evaluation

Categories: AS Coursework, Mr. Dunford