Welcome to my AICE Media Studies Blog!

 Part B:    Elements of Mise en Scene consist of setting, acting, costume, hair/makeup, color, set design, composition, and lighting. The setting of a scene is a space and place for a story to be told while creating the mood, atmosphere, tension, or conflict. The acting of a character can display emotions that can create a certain feeling for the audience to connect with, which could impact the way a viewer may think of a film. Costume, makeup, and hair can tell the audience a lot about the character and setting of the film. The color of a film can determine the atmosphere and mood of the entire film. Set design is the artificial decoration used as the setting of a film. Composition is the way a scene is arranged within the camera frame which grabs the audience's attention and directs them to a certain person or object. Lastly, lighting can set the tone or mood of a specific scene.   

  Part A   This lesson aims to help students understand a deeper meaning in scripts and scenes in certain media forms. This lesson also allows us to understand directors' thought processes while creating a film and how they use Mise en scene to create storytelling through mere images within a film.  Mise en scene is a "technique" directors use to create a story and have viewers understand a certain scene or film product just by using a single image or frame.  designing, blocking, arranging objects, and framing in Mise en scene are all ways that directors place hidden meanings or metaphors in their films. The way certain objects are presented, placed, or shown may lead to a different meaning in a film or other media text.  

  Charles Peirce's Theory of Semiotics Charles Peirce was born on September 10th, 1839 and his theory includes iconic, symbolic, and indexical signs. Iconic signs are visual signs that ought to mean something, symbolic signs have a certain figurative meaning like how a dove represents peace and love. Indexical signs are where the signifier is caused by the signified. All of these signs are seen in most movies and shows today and are extremely important as it adds to the writer/director's vision of said movie and show. For example, the movie I chose was Spider-Man Homecoming, these many signs are meant to convey certain meanings and messages to the audience to catch to add depth to the movie.  The plot of Spider-Man Homecoming:  Peter Parker , The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, is patiently waiting for Tony Stark to give him a mission where he can help out as best as he can manage. Balancing everyday life as Peter Parker alongside being Spider-M...

    Ferdinand De Saussure's Theory of Semiotics Ferdinand De Saussure was born in Switzerland on November 26th, 1857 and was a semiotician. He is considered as one of the major founders of semiotics. His theory was comprised of finding that semiotics had to do with the certainty that everything could be considered a sign. This means that factors like facial expressions, props, and costumes all remotely had meaning to them. For example, in the reaping scene of the Hunger Games, the costumes for the impoverished districts are very austere and worn out. While the wealthier districts such as district one, wear very colorful and luxurious looking clothes. This shows how the poorer districts are treated compared the wealthier districts, it creates an extreme contrast between the two costumes. 

Roland Barthes' Theory of Semiotics  Roland Barthes was born in France on November 12th, 1915 and was a literary theorist and semiotician. He played a large role in the analysis of sign systems surrounding pop culture. His theory is that signs have both a denotative and connotative meaning. The denotative meaning is the literal definition of the sign. For instance, the denotative meaning of the Symbol in this scene is that it is the Mocking Jay Symbol. The connotative meaning is the audience's interpretation of the meaning or something the director or writer tried to convey within the audience. For example, the symbol represents freedom and expression. 

 Media studies is important as it allows you to analyze the way media is produced and the practices used to make the media. Personally, my favorite media products are music and films. Other media products I consume consist of social media, shows and digital gaming. I access my media though Spotify, Netflix, Instagram, and TikTok. It is important to understand who, why, how, or when media is used to engage audiences as it allows you to understand the type of audiences they are attracting and the people willing to view that piece of media. The factor I find most interesting in Media Studies is, being able to lean how much work and thought was put in to create even a small piece of media. I hope to accomplish a deeper understanding for films and the small details that allow you to find a deeper meaning to the particular film During my blogging journey, I will take notes on important topics to help improve my understanding of Media Studies. I will learn how to manage my time wisely to ...

 To me, Media studies is the understanding of the way a piece of media or text was made, and being able comprehend and break it down to the root of why the piece was created. Through this course I hope to learn about how and why different types of media are important and the different actions taken to make that particular piece of media. Not only that, but to also learn how to create and publish media to attract certain audiences other than just for entertainment.