Effects of the Media-

Hypodermic Needle Theory-
This theory focuses on the idea that audience's passively receive information from media formats without consciously doing so. Its aim is to effectively explain how mass audiences might react to mass media.

The theory suggests that the mass audiences viewing the text (eg. film, radio, poster) are manipulated by the producers, with the viewers thoughts and ideas been altered by the media. Manipulation of the population has been used through propaganda for years, which allowed the governments and people who needed support to alter the way people think, particularly the way they wanted them to think. It is important to address the fact that this is the main reason why people don't believe certain groups should be exposed to certain media formats, due to content that could be performed by the viewer themselves. An example is parents not wanting their children watching violent films, in fear that they may be encouraged to act them out themselves.

Uses and Gratifications- 
This theory suggested that audiences made choices about how they consumed the media they'd viewed. Suggesting that audiences had different motives and needs for viewing media and therefore reacted differently.




Lasswell suggested that media had the following functions:

• Correlation
• Surveillance
• Entertainment
• Cultural transmission

Further research was done into this theory and it was re-published in 1974. This time it suggested that audiences chose the media they viewed for different purposes:

• Diversion - escaping from everyday life
• Personal relationships - substitute for emotional interactions eg. soaps for family life
• Personal identity - learning behaviour/actions from media
• Surveillance - used for living eg. weather, news..

The list of uses and gratifications has been altered several times to fit particular media formats, such as video games and the internet. The main purpose of the theory is to suggest that audiences view particular media for personal gratification and use, these can be for various reasons.

Moral Panics-

Moral panics are effects which are supposed to emerge when the media consistently represents a subgroup as dangerous or deviant. If the media describes a group, such as 'youths' to be up to no good or troublemakers the public may treat them differently. They may try to avoid them on the street, and direct verbal and physical abuse at them. 

These 'problems' challenge the normal lives of the public and can disrupt them immensely. It highlights the impact that the media has on the population and how one little media text that suggests an idea can influence the whole population in their views.

Moral Panics can be broken down into 3 stages-

Occurance and Significance- 

When a situation occurs, the media capitalises on it and produce mass media coverage on the situation. This is particularly bad when the story involves violence. The media often heavily portray it as an extremely dangerous situation and the public becomes worried by this.

Wider social implications-

The public make connections between the event and the possibility of it happening to their society. This paranoia is further confirmed by experts in the field who claim that "one event is just the tip of the iceberg," this then confirms the public's belief that something similar will happen, even though it may not. The expert opinions create the illusion that the information and statistics are correct even if they may never happen.

Social control-

The stress and unrest developed from these moral panics usually results in a change of law/new law introduced. The laws target the 'deviants' and 'troublemakers' that caused the issues in the first place, which satisfies the public as the potential threat is reduced.

Inoculation Theory- 

Inoculation theory suggests that continued exposure to specific TV messages would lead to an audience becoming desensitised, and therefore not view issues as important and out of the ordinary. Once the media viewed becomes immune to an individuals system, they will see it as normal. 

For example, if an audience was consistently shown violence on the TV they will develop a different understanding towards it. It will become the social norm, and they may view it as normal and acceptable behaviour to be conducted by themselves and others and therefore will ignore it as anything out of the ordinary. For instance, they may have watched a gang beat up another individual. They would then become desensitised to this, so if they witnessed it in real life, they would believe it was just normal behaviour, despite it not being. 

Catharsis Theory-
Catharsis Theory looks into the idea that exposure to violence in the media may result in reduced aggression from viewers. It allows the audience to take out anger, frustrations or emotions without physically or emotionally hurting anyone, as their aggressive tendencies are released in a harmless manner  For example, children who play violent video games may be less likely to perform similar acts in real life as their frustrations have been reduced and they will be aware of the consequences of these actions.

The theory suggests that this is an effective way in reducing aggression amongst the population. Many believe that releasing this build-up of tension, and anger is much healthier than keeping it bottled in. The theory suggests that taking part in these media actions cleanses these negative feelings and emotions, and therefore reducing violence in societies.







What do the BBFC do?



The British Board of Film Classification's main aim is to inform the viewer of media content, and protect them  from what they may not wish to view.

Most of the media works viewed by the examiner is done alone. However, films for cinema release, video games and adult submissions are viewed by two examiners. The examiners will watch the film in the location it is submitted to be viewed in. For example, if it's a cinema release the examiner will view the film in a cinema, to understand the full effect it will have on the audience.

The examiners view the media and assess which classification it will be given.

• Universal
• Parent Guardian
• 12 (12A)
• 15
• 18
• R18

If a company requests a specific classification, the examiners will work with the producers to help the film fit the requirements. This usually involves re-shooting. As the last option, an examiner may cut out inappropriate sections of the media work in order to classify the piece. On rare occasions media works have been rejected by the BBFC, as they were seen as totally unacceptable, and with the amount of cuts needed it would make a disorganized piece.

Cuts are usually put in place as a last resort to allow the product to be accepted into a particular classification. This is mainly to protect the viewer, who may not be aware of the content shown in the media product. The board often suggests to the producer/distributor what needs to be removed in order for the film to pass as a particular certificate. It is important for the board to cut out inappropriate behaviour as it will allow the media product to be released without offending people or glamorising inappropriate actions, eg, violence. If the board is unable to cut the film to make it appropriate, it is often rejected. However, this is only in extreme cases, a common example is sexual themes that are deemed unacceptable. The rejection of media products is usually if the cuts make the product incoherent, or the cuts required would be too extensive.

The BBFC classifies all forms of media, from cinematic releases, trailers, DVDs, Blurays and video games. The BBFC focuses on providing the audience with extensive information about specific media products they are interested in, focusing on what it includes and the suggested audience for viewing it. By providing this information they keep the audience well informed and protected from any content that may be unsuitable to them as an individual. This is probably most important for parents who wish to keep their children from viewing and playing inappropriate films and games that may influence their behaviour, such as products with heavy violence. 

Media Theories -

Most media theories suggest that a successful film abides by certain rules. In order to see whether our film followed these suggestions set by theorists I conducted some research into narrative theories.

After researching Todorov's theory of equilibrium I decided to create a short video condensing what I had learnt,which I then applied to Just My Luck (a film similar to ours):

I then applied it to our film:

Equilibrium- Sarah visits her Grandma’s house, everything is like a typical day. They start coin collecting.

Disruption- Dorothy gives Sarah the lucky penny, and a series of bad events happen to her.

Recognition- She realises that these events are happening to her and that she is unlucky.

Attempt to repair – She visits her best friend Leah for comfort.

Restoration- She learns that Leah stole from her, and the bad luck she is experiencing is a result of Leah’s actions and not a result of the penny.

Although our film seems to follow this theory, it can be challenged. For instance, although our film uncovers why Sarah was experiencing bad luck, it doesn't portray what events will follow. We do not choose to re-establish an equilibrium or set up a new one, instead we leave the film on a cliffhanger. 

I then researched into Propp's Character Theory, in order to benefit from this research I created a short Prezi on the information I felt was relevant:

I then applied Propp's theory to our characters:

Hero is Sarah; she is given the magic coin by her Grandma and seeks the luck it possesses. She is motivated by her perceived lack of luck and is dispatched by the penny

Villain is Leah; as she is in a struggle with Sarah at the end of the film. Leah attempts to block Sarah’s luck by stealing from her and then lying about it.

Donor is Dorothy; as she provides Sarah with the magical object as a child.

Helper is the lucky coin; the coin helps Sarah find out what her best friend did and helps her realise that she is lucky. Lucy is also the helper as she tells Sarah that Leah is upstairs which allows her to go on and find out that Leah stole from her.

Dispatcher is the lucky coin as it sends Sarah in the right direction. Following her unlucky events, as a consequence of the coin, she visits her friend Leah in which she finds out the truth. Dorothy is also the dispatcher as she provides Sarah with the penny, which sends her in the direction of revealing what her best friend is really like. Diane also sends Sarah on her way as she acts as the main catalyst for encouraging Sarah to visit Leah as she accuses her of stealing £20, which upsets Sarah.

However, we do not have characters that assume the roles of the Princess, Princess’ father or False Hero, because we do not have scenarios that have developed these characters. From this it is very clear that our film abides by Propp's theory of narrative, but without completely mirroring it, allowing us to keep our originality. 

I then created another Prezi on Propp's idea of narrative functions:

(http://prezi.com/mp1cwf4gt6sr/propps-narrative-function-theory/)

I then followed Propp's suggestions and applied it to our film where possible:

In our film, we only really meet certain functions suggested by Propp:
1. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced); Sarah visits her Grandma’s house
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, and preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor); Sarah collects coins with her Grandma.
14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters); Dorothy gives Sarah the lucky penny.
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, and preparing the way for his /her receiving magical agent or helper (donor); Sarah faces a series of unlucky events

15. Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search; the unlucky events drive Sarah to Leah in hope for comfort.

19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed); Sarah finds all her missing items and learns the truth about Leah.

It is clear that our film involves several of these functions. However, our film doesn't include all of these functions and they are not in the chronological order. However, I believe that our film abides by Propp's theory, in a way that keeps our films originality. 

Barthes narrative code is another narrative theory. I decided to conduct some research into the narrative theory and condense it onto a short PowerPoint:

Barthes narrative code from beckynightingale

From researching Barthes narrative codes I've had attempted to apply his theory to our short film. I believe that our film does consist of several codes described by Barthes-

Enigma code: this can be applied to our short film as our narrative continually keeps the audience guessing what will happen next. For instance, Dorothy gives Sarah the penny and as a result the audience wants to know what impact it will have on plot and on Sarah. Sarah is also the victim of lots of unlucky but lucky events. The audience wish to see this resolved and want to find out whether the penny is bringing her luck or not. Throughout our film the audience’s knowledge is extremely restricted as they don’t know any more than Sarah does throughout. When Sarah learns of the coin’s luck and Leah’s antics, the audience learn of it at the same time.
Action code: this can be applied to our short film as Sarah loses her Ipod and her mum accuses her of stealing £20. The audience knows that Sarah didn't steal these items and because of this, it foreshadows that somebody else must have stolen them or some event must have resulted in their disappearance. This foreshadowing keeps the audience intrigued as they want to find out how these events have occurred and what Sarah will do to resolve the issue. They also want to keep watching to witness this reveal. Also Leah’s reveal that she stole from her and Sarah’s mum also keeps the audience watching as they want to see how Sarah will react to this. The audience want to find out if their friendship will continue or if this marks the end of their friendship. They predict that this decision must occur, however, in our film, we leave the audience guessing whether or not they remain friends.

They act as a main source of suspense! 

I then conducted some research into Syd Field's 3 Act Plot, in which I converted my notes into a powerpoint-

Syd field’s 3 act plot from beckynightingale

I then applied the theory to our own short film:

Act 1- the setup the audience is introduced to Sarah, the main character, straight away. The film establishes her relationship with Dorothy, the location (Barnsley) and time (Afternoon).
Plot point one- is Dorothy giving Sarah the penny. This poses the question to the audience why is it so lucky? Will it be lucky for Sarah? The penny sets up the narrative and is the driving force for pushing the narrative forward.

Act 2- the confrontation Sarah faces several events that give her bad luck, such as losing Kandi, breaking her phone and her mum accusing her of stealing. She is pretty helpless to these events and is simply a victim to them.
Mid-point- Sarah gets upset by the events and attempts to seek comfort in her best friend Leah by visiting her.

Act 3- the resolution
Plot point two- in our film is Sarah realising that Leah has stolen from her and her mum.
They then argue and Sarah has a flashback of her unlucky/lucky events. She realises that the penny did bring her luck, and that it was Leah who was unlucky. She resolves her issues as she finally comes to terms with the events, understands her feelings towards Leah and the penny. However, there is no denouement section as our narrative ends with Sarah slamming the penny down in front of Leah. 

I then researched into Levi-Strauss Binary Opposites theory, and made another Prezi as a way to condense my notes:

I then applied it to our film: 

Luck vs. misfortune binary opposite drives our narrative forward as the penny brings Sarah both luck and misfortune. She embodies both sides which is unconventional, as it almost acts as an inner conflict within her. This binary opposite causes Sarah to encounter several lucky and unlucky events which drive the narrative forward to the reveal at the end as she turns to her best friend, Leah in hope for comfort. However as a result of the clash, she finds out what Leah is like.    
Good vs. evil is clearly present in our narrative, as Sarah enters a conflict with Leah. This binary opposite is not present until the end of our film, in which the audience realise what has happened. Because they clash it makes the narrative end interestingly. However, we don’t resolve the clash between the two as neither side is removed and there is not a compromise between them as we do not reveal what happens next. 

I believe researching these narrative theories has allowed me to understand what is suggested and expected in a successful film. The ones I've chosen to research I also linked to our film. By doing this I am now able to completely understand where our film abides by them and where it challenges them. Researching into this has provided me with a deeper understanding of film narratives, and although some elements of our film do not follow the theories due to its short length, I believe we have been able to abide by them effectively, in our way that allows our film to make sense, stay original and keep the audience interested. 

Effects Of The Media

Before creating our film I decided researching effects of the media was important before creating our film, this has given me a better insight into theories to do with film making. 

Here is information on the BBFC.





Moral Panics 

Moral Panics was a theory created by Cohen, he argues that moral panics occur when a sub-culture or sub-group within society are repeatedly reflected in a negative way by the media. This is more commonly done through news papers and magazines and a good example of a moral panic was the Hoodies epidemic, the news papers and magazines created an idea in the public eye that youths specifically who wore a jacket with a hood were miscreants and up to no good. This created a fear of youths mainly by the elderly when passing them in the street even though it was a small minority who were being deviant. However once an epidemic like this is started by one for of media it travels quickly, we now see in films youths walking around with their hoods up and assume that they are deviants. Moral Panics cause public up roar and fear creating good publicity for the media. Because people want to know more and that they are safe this allows the media to play situations to their advantage and have been known to have people posing for photographs doing deviant acts to publish in papers. 

There are three things which create a moral panic: 

Social Control: 

This is the way in which we deal with the deviant behaviour which has caused a moral panic, in previous times new laws have been put in place along with people being publicly punished so that others fear committing the same crime, in a lot of shops since the Hoodies moral panic there are now signs asking people to keep their hoods down. This also makes the public feel safe again and gain trust in the government and media that something is being done.


The significance of an event:

When an event occurs the media pick up on it very quickly, they are also known for provoking situations and exaggerating them more, this causing more distress within the public, the way an event is reported can have an effect on how significant it is, if the media report it as being terrible people will believe it is. This is as many people trust what the news papers and magazines say and see headlines and make assumptions from there rather than reading full news articles. 

Wider Society:

The things occurring in wider society have an effect on the way people react to an event. Different crimes occur in different areas and some times people fear for their safety due to the area they live in, and feel they may be a victim of these crimes while people in other areas may not react to some things but do others. 


Hypodermic Needle Theory




This short video from You Tube explains the Hypodermic Needle Theory. 

The hypodermic needle theory is often referred to as the 'Magic Bullet' this theory is not based on actual research but assumptions upon human nature and the way they react to what they see and hear. This theory is a way of trying to explain and show why audiences react in the ways they do so things published and presented to the public by the mass media. 

The theory suggests that the things which appear in the mass media are fired straight into the brains of the consumers, the mass media can use this technique to manipulate the public into believing things that they want them to even if they are not strictly true! This is one of the reasons why Moral Panics occur because the natural instinct is to react to what we have seen/read. 

Inoculation Theory

The Inoculation Theory suggests that the more situations and scenarios shown through the Mass Media the more we become immune to them. If we see the same things repeatedly broadcast we soon begin to stop reacting to them as they become the norm to us. Now stories which used to shock the nation such as divorce are now completely normal and do not cause the same reaction this meaning news papers, TV programmes and film makers are now having to try even harder to create story lines which will entice the viewer rather than create something that will not cause a reaction as they are used to seeing it in the media eye, however they do have to be careful in creating lots of films with story lines such as crime as we do not want this to become behaviour that is socially acceptable. The BBFC can monitor this through age rating certificates to ensure people are aware of the content. 

Catharsis Theory

This theory describes the effect that a specific event has on an audience, this is mainly the effect of tragedy within a media form of comedy. This theory sees using media people can express their feelings without actually doing anything, they may watch a sad film when they are feeling sad and relate to it or feel angry and play a violent game which can act as release to them so they do not go out into the public and do anything like this. 

This theory also sets boundaries for people, they realise through media forms that if they do deviant things they will be punished in similar ways to what they see / hear when playing games, watching films or reading magazines, this encouraging people to release their anger in other ways rather than anti-social behaviour. 

Uses and Gratification

This theory focuses on the consumer of the media product. It suggests that people use the media for their own person reasons such as entertainment, education and also social interaction. Things such as films give you common ground with someone else who you may have nothing else in common with; this can be a starting point for interaction with another person. 

Online Questionnaire Reflection

Here are the results from from our online questionnaire. We put links to the questionnaire on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, this has enabled us to get the information of a variety of people, with different interests rather than just asking our peers in class which are likely to have the same or similar interests.

One of my Facebook friends who is now a doctor shared our questionnaire link which hopefully will give us a broader range of answers from people of different professions. 

Over all we are satisfied with the results given, the age range is from 13-43 and a mix of males and females. All but one person gave us a rating of 6 upwards out of ten, with the majority of them being 8, 9 and 10. This is positive as it shows that our story line appeals to more people, however since we did get some lower marks we altered our storyline slightly giving it a more detailed end and middle. 23/25 respondents said that they would either possibly or definitely watch our film this means our film must appeal to quite a large audience and interest them. 

We wanted to be able to give our film the optimum rating of 12A as this is proven to be the best rating and appeals to the largest amount of people. The majority of the responses we got back suggested that our film should be a 12A we are pleased with this as it has given us reassurance that we have chosen the correct rating for our film. 

Overall I am very pleased with the response we have got from our questionnaire as I feel we have had a positive response from the majority of the the re-spondees gave the answers we were hoping for and the ones that didn't have enabled us to look as aspects of our film plan and change them and we now feel that we have improved our storyline and are much happier with it than before. Through doing this anonymously it means we have got peoples true opinions of our film and the response has boosted our confidence and made us want to strive to create a film which we hope will be enjoyable for all. 

Effects of the Media

What and who are BBFC

BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification. It is a company that classifies films, videos and games into specific categories to make sure the audience know about what sort if content is in the film and to protect them from anything they may not want to see. BBFC has been around 100 years. They are an independent self financing organisation.

Films are classified using specific guidelines; an example of a guideline for a U film is that it is suitable for everyone and should be no discrimination, drugs, bad language, sex, nudity or horror, and any negatives should be balanced out with a positive. These guidelines change every few years to keep up with the social norms of what we find acceptable. For example in 1913 when BBFC was first starting out there were restrictions on bathing scenes as well as incurious dancing.

There are several classifications each at a specific age:





U
PG
12A/ 12
15
18

Most film are watched by a employee of the BBFC and then matched to a rating, but some film request a specific audience (e.g. they are made from a popular book whose audience is a certain age) and so the BBFC work with the film editors to make the film fit the classifications. Hunger Games is a good example of this, it started out as a book and so already had an audience but when it was finished the rating was higher than they wanted it to be and so had to get rid of some violent bloody scenes to help it be more suitable.

Inoculation Theory 
Inoculation theory is that if someone is exposed to a specific message for a continued time them it would make the audience desensitised and find the message ordinary and unimportant. E.g. continued exposure to violence would lead the audience bored and not affect them therefore becoming immune to the message or scene.





Moral Panics

 A moral panics is an intense feeling in the whole of the population over something that appears to threaten social order.

The media is used to further a moral panic rather than create one (as it would have done in the past) and so may last longer than it is needed. For example a Magazine or newspaper will pick stories that will interest their readers and could influence what they feel about certain places or people and so fuel the issue further e.g. if a Newspaper say a teenager has beaten an old lady, many of the population may see all teens as someone who would beat up an old lady and so feel threatened when ever they see a teenager, especially older people.

Moral panics have several features; concern, hostility, consensus, disproportionately and volatility.

Moral panic in media example...
Concern- A news report is saying more teenagers are hanging on the streets causing criminal damage
Hostility- People try and stay away from teenagers on the street as they are now been seen as 'folk devils'
Consensus- There is a spread acceptance on the issue and they feel that teens pose a real threat to society.
Disproportionately- Even though it was a couple of teens who caused damage, the majority of teen are been punished by having a curfew in place.
Volatility- Moral panics tend to disappear as quickly as they came as new and media are telling the public different things and so loose interest on the current moral panic.


Uses and Gratification Theory
This theory is an approach to mass communication. It focuses more on the audience/ consumer instead of the actual message and thinks the audience chooses the media to suit their own needs. It suggests that people use the media to fulfill their own gratifications.
Basic model...
Identify- Recognising the product, person that reflect similar values to you.
Educate- Being able to acquire information, knowledge and understanding.
Entertain- What you are watching should be a form of entertainment and let you forget any worries.
Social interaction- It should produce a topic of conversation between other people.


Hypodermic theory

The hypodermic theory (also known as the magic bullet theory) is another model of mass communication. The theory is that the message of a type of media is directly received and accepted by the receiver and will respond in a predictable pattern. 
For example the Nazi propaganda showed the opposing side been bad not their own side been good. 




Catharsis
Many producers and directors of violent media claim that their products are cathartic, this mean providing psychological relief through the expression of strong emotion. 
For example Sega Soft has made an online network that has lots of violent games on and claim to give users the 'primal human urge to kill.'

Elliptical Editing

Elliptical editing is a type of editing that cuts unnecessary actions from a sequence. This means the sequence is shorter than real time and so doesn't last as long. This can be a positive because if a scene last (for example) a few hours it would cut it down to only a few minutes. However it does have to be done properly or it would look too much like jump cuts and might start to get confusing for the audience.

Here is an example of elliptical editing in Batman Begins;

In this short clip it starts with an extreme long shot of the man walking along a long empty road, it then cuts to the man walking over the mountain that we have seen in the first shot that was very far away. This means the whole journey from the man walking along the long empty road to the high mountain has been missed out because it is not needed. We automatically know he must have walking that long way to get there and isn't needed to be shown to waste time.

Here is our example of elliptical editing. We have re-edited our Journey video so we miss out any parts that are not needed. The original film lasted 1minute 40 secondes and after editing it shorter it now only lasts 47 seconds. 



We conducted our own practice in elliptical editing. We decided to use key features usually displayed in elliptical editing films/clips such as cross-dissolves. Cross-dissolves allowed us to remove vast amounts of time that are not necessary to our plot/film such as an individual travelling across a room which can be seen at 00:30 seconds in our own version. We also simply removed unnecessary footage that still allowed flow of footage but could cut out time, such as Annabelle's journey towards the front door at 00:00-00:04, where were remove at least 10 seconds worth of shots no longer needed and cut it down to a short four seconds. This would be extremely crucial in relation to our short film, in which we only have 5 minutes to get across our plot to the audience, so this practice is essential if we want to use elliptical editing in order to cut down the time of our short film and fit in all the essentials. This practice has helped us understand the restrictions of producing short films and given us a good way to edit our film in order to fit everything in and keep the structure perfect. 

Passage of time and flashback research~

Passages of time

Passages of time are useful in films in order to show that the action has progressed in time. They are useful as they can move progress to any unit of time, such as hours, days, weeks, months or years, and still keep the narrative continuous and the keep the audience intrigued. 

There are several ways a passage of time can occur:

Showing the date or time on the screen:
A good example is Love Actually's passage of time: 
(Skip to 29 seconds) 



The passage of time in Love Actually is something we have taken inspiration from in the beginning of our film where Sarah grows up. We thought it would be more appropriate to have Sarah being given the penny as a child and then having her as a teenager for the remainder of the film. This meant that we needed an appropriate passage of time, and one with the number of years past, is the most appropriate for our film as it is subtle and stylish.

Using transitions such as a fade, wipe, dissolve, cross-dissolve, etc: 

This cross dissolve, in "One Day" is extremely effective as it quickly displays that a passage of time has occurred to alert the audience that the film has changed time periods. This would be effective in our film when Sarah takes Kandi out for a walk as we want to progress from the house to the park without the showing the action of her walking there. This was allow us to pick up the pace of the narrative, and portray what we want to show the audience in a much quicker time lapse, which is important as we only have 5 minutes. 

Passages of time can occur in both linear and non-linear narratives as they are used to show the transition between two time periods. This can be achieved in either a chronological narrative, in which a passage of time could be simply used to speed up the events and link them all together, or can be achieved in a non-chronological narrative, in which a passage of time could be used to depict that the narrative has gone back or forward to another time period. 

They are useful as they allow editors to put together two different scenes from different time periods without needing any information about what went on in between. It conserves time, especially when there is more than an hour gone by in the passage of time. This would be essential in our short film, as it would allow us to cut out irrelevant shots and still convey the message we want to, but in a shorter space of time. 

What is a flashback?
A flashback is a scene inserted into the narrative to take the audience back to another point in time, which disrupts the chronological order of the narrative. 

Flashbacks are often used to offer information to the audience that they wouldn't have been aware of. They are usually used to offer visualisation of events that a character is thinking about rather than the character describing the events. More than often, they are used to show information crucial to the narrative that would make the plot confusing without been shown.

Flashbacks can either be:
Subjective- where they show thoughts or memories of characters
Objective- where the show past events in relation to the present day.

The effect of flashbacks are usually established through a variety of ways.

• Showing the date/time of the scene through narration or subtitles.
• Using a transition such as cross-fade or dissolve to show the transition from present to past.
• The action may be shot blurred, or in monochrome so the audience is aware that the scene is a flashback. 
• Borders are also used to show the difference between a flashback and actual time events. 
• Sound may also be edited, uses of echoes and sound effects on voices are also used to alert the audience to the change in time. 

Flashbacks are often used in non-linear narratives. Non-linear films involve the narrative be shown out of chronological order. The flashbacks usually lead to the audience feeling slightly disorientated and confused, as the plot usually jumps back and forth between the past and present day. An effective use of flashbacks can be seen in several films, such as:

 We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011) - 15

The film, We Need To Talk About Kevin was shot in medias res, as a non-linear narrative. The film is extremely disorientated and follows a non-chronological order throughout. Throughout the film it's quite difficult to piece together the different pieces of information you are provided with, as the narrative constantly moves from the past to the present day. The main character Eva's (Kevin's mum's) perspective and interpretation of events are shown throughout the film, with her memories been shown as flashbacks. 

The flashbacks are effectively portrayed throughout the film, and transition subtly. The flashbacks allow the audience to gain a deep understanding of the plot and piece together its narrative.

This is an example of the kind of flashbacks used in We Need To Talk About Kevin.

The frame begins quite unsteady, and remains so throughout. This unbalanced long shot creates the illusion that we are looking back into Eva's memories and alerts the audience to the fact that this is a flashback. There is very little happening in the opening of the flashback, mainly because it is allowing the audience to familiarise themselves with the location and understand what is happening. Diegetic sound is slowly building up, starting from a low level. This creates the idea that Eva is trying to recall these memories, and the low to high change in volume is showing her familiarising herself with the event again.  We could use this method in the filming of our flashback in order to help the audience understand that this is in fact a past event. However, this would be too time consuming for our film as we only have 5 minutes to shoot it in and we don't want to lose the attention of our audience. We think it would be more appropriate for our flashback to be quick-paced as Sarah is realising the events that have occurred and, in a rush, is putting together the pieces of information. Therefore this kind of flashback opening would be unsuitable for our film. In our flashback we wish to include both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. We want the audience to use the diegetic sound of the past events to understand why Sarah was lucky. However, we also want our flashback to include non-diegetic narration of Sarah explaining what has happened. This will allow us to ensure that the audience fully understands what has occurred in our film. This would convey her inner thoughts and encourages the audience to sympathise with her, rather than Leah. 

The next shot gives the impression that Eva is invading her memories. This medium close-up shows her getting up close with her memories, as though she is trying to figure out where everything went wrong. Celia looks past Eva's character which suggests that although she is looking back, she is not actually there. There is a build up of diegetic sound up until Celia turns around, which suggests that Eva's memory ends there of this particular event. In our flashback we want to convey the idea that Sarah is looking back on her events, rather than looking from her perspective. This would be more beneficial for our film as Sarah doesn't know any more than the audience at this point (restricted) and therefore it will allow the audience and Sarah to piece the information together. The effects used in the flashbacks of WNTTAK creates too much suspense and conveys an eerie mood. Although it is effective, our film is a drama-fantasy film, in which the purpose of our flashback is not to create suspense, but rather tension. 

In this close up shot of Eva we can clearly see the expression in her face upon recalling these events. It creates the idea that Eva is desperately trying to look back into her past in order to figure everything out. The fogged up class suggests that whilst she is recalling key events in her past and piecing together everything that's happened, she still has much more to discover. The fog suggests that she is still ignorant to important information and that the only way to resolve this is to look further back into her past. In this close up shot we have a sound-bridge of non-diegetic narrative. She is almost reminiscing about what her past was like with her daughter and husband before Kevin destroyed it. How her life has changed since then.

The next shot is a medium close up shot, filmed in slow motion. This effect creates the idea of a flashback so much more as it's almost shot in a different effect than the rest of the film shown in the present, allowing the audience to distinguish between the past and the present. The slowed down speed emphasises the importance of the shot and focuses on the importance behind it. There is also non-diegetic sound over the top of the shot of Celia and Franklin playing together, creating the idea of a positive time in their lives before Kevin ruined it all.

The final close up shot of Eva in the flashback consolidates this idea that Eva was looking back on the life she once had. The shot suggests that she was happy in this time period and would prefer to be here again. The shot allows the flashback to continue but allows the audience to understand the emotions of the characters. 

Overall, the flashback shown in We Need To Talk About Kevin, is an extremely effective and moving effect. It informs the audience that this is Eva looking back on her life, and clearly divides the past and the present day, through unbalanced filming and slow motion. We have taken a lot of inspiration from this adaptation and interpretation in order to make ours fit our film. We want to clearly show the divide between the two periods of time and make the audience aware of what it's purpose is. We hope to create the impression that we are looking in on Sarah's memories and convey the importance of the lucky penny to the audience, and how it has affected events. 

Another example of the use of a flashback in films is:

The Mummy Returns (2001) - 12

The film, The Mummy Returns is another film shot in a non-linear narrative. There is frequent flashbacks experienced by certain characters in the film, that allows the audience to develop background knowledge to the plot and understand the narrative. The film focuses on Rick and Eve trying to save their son, as well as the world, but in order to do so they must understand of the bracelet and its purpose. The flashbacks are extremely effective in explaining the past lives of certain characters and how this affects the present events.













The transition into the flashback is very clearly portrayed early on. A ripple effect is used to show the change from present to past, which allows the audience to know that the film has changed time periods. Transitions such as ripples, fades and dissolves are often used to differentiate between the two times and prevent audience confusion. The long shot very effectively demonstrates this transition. The use of a transition into a flashback is extremely effective when used properly, if not done well can look cliché. We believe that using a transition to display the change to the flashback would be effective in our film, as we want to make it as clear as possible for the audience. This will help us convey that Sarah is looking back and realising what has occurred. 

This medium long shot clearly sets the scene of the flashback. The gold tones suggest a much more ancient time period. Also the positioning of characters: we have the Emperor centre top of the scene which clearly states his importance and significance in this time period. Then there is the two girls in the foreground. The placing of the two girls at the front suggests that they will be the focus of this flashback. It is important to be aware of the setting and placement of props and characters when filming. We will need to take into consideration the positions of our characters in the flash to make sure the audience is aware of who is the focus and what to look for. We have also taken inspiration from the use of a different tone in order to depict our flashback. We have decide to use a grey tone in order to show that Sarah is looking back on the day's events and piecing them together in order to understand the events. 


This close up high-angled shot of Eve creates the idea of who is the more dominant character in this shot. By showing the power equation through shots such as this it keeps the audience informed as to who is the superior character, without needing any form of speech, just action. The non-diegetic music picks up speed and has a deeper tone in this frame, suggesting a realisation from the main character, about something she was not aware of. The idea of changing tone of music to reflect the mood/knowledge of the character is extremely effective. This would be useful in our film, as we want to convey that Sarah is realising the events and that tension is building up in response to her findings. Sarah is piecing together all of the events that have occurred in order to understand the purpose of the penny. Music similar to this would be effective in our film as it would show the tension rising and emphasise the importance of Sarah realising what has happened. 

The next shot of a close up of Eve re-informs the audience this is still a flashback. The build up of non-diegetic music continues demonstrating that a realisation of events has occurred for her. This is an effective method as it breaks up the flashback shown and keeps the audience on the look-out for important information shown in the flashback. Although this is a good way of displaying a flashback, we don't intend to show Sarah looking back into her memories. This is because we believe it will take up too much time, and would not be very effective in our 5 minute short film. We want to be as concise as possible and make the audience aware that it is a flashback without basically showing them that our character is looking back.

There is again a use of a high-angled close up of Eve, demonstrating that the shot is back in the flashback. Once again we have the gold colours to allow the audience to familiarise themselves with the flashback again and to make them aware that they have transitioned back. This is an extremely effective method in keeping the audience intrigued and breaking up the flashback.

Overall, we want our flashback to be clear, effective and interesting. We want to entice the audience into wanting to find our why these factors contribute to our film and it's importance. We believe that having well established flashbacks will allow us to achieve this, by clearing differentiating between past and present, using transitions if necessary to divide the flashback and display information clearly and concisely.