Stranger Things Presentations

OwnerShip:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WcOZORCu8fFKySiAlzXFDJ8EZIe26SJyc9ijsDJm8p4/edit?usp=sharing

Production:
 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hPOdOLhCoMXUMpyvVQj5BqzCWgECtAtC1casZ3Nv6iQ/edit?usp=sharing

Distributuion:
 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-1c6Ikuopbl7ItwvhWcHWAQfXHM3uzCAurdBLl_Wb08/edit?usp=sharing

Circulation:
 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RDBwl4DcrSHPSEI3e_-kY4B-Kym7_Sv9t76ceN5_rHo/edit?usp=sharing

Social Group Essay

How are different social groups represented in the sequence you have analysed? What role does the use of media language, signs and signifiers have in constructing and presenting these representations as real?

The sequence I have analysed is the first episode of Stranger Things. This allows the audience to be introduced to the different social groups that are being represented throughout the episode.

A major social group being represented in Stranger Things is teenagers. This group is then split into two; the older teenagers and the younger ones. The older teenagers are Nancy, Jonathan and Steve. Nancy and Steve are stereotypical representations of teenagers in the 80s because Nancy is very dedicated to school but also has a keen interest in talking about boys with her best friends. This is because Nany is first shown on the phone (which is an 80s one) talking to her best friend Barb about boys.  Steve is the school jock, popular and comes across as a bit of a jerk. Jonathan however, is not the stereotypical teenager as he helps out his family. For example, he sates how he took an extra shift for money but he is giving this money to the family and not spending it on himself. He is also first show as cooking breakfast, before waking up his brother. This suggests he is becoming the father figure.

Secondly, the other group of teenagers is the younger lot of boys. They give a representation of geeky, bullied elementary school children. This can be seen from when they stay after class to look at the new radio the school has gotten in. Also there is a scene when two other boys start picking on them for their appearances.  Another scene that adds to this representation is when the boys are in Mike’s basement playing the board game Dungeons and Dragons. Later, Mike states they have been playing for almost 10 hours, which shows their dedication to the game.

Another group being represented is families and their relationships. The two families we see in this first sequence is Mike’s family and Will’s. Mike’s family is a proper American, middle classed family which don’t seem to have a close bond. The mother is the one to make the rules and the father just agrees, like when Mike wants his friends to stay longer but his mother won’t allow. He then proceeds to ask his dad and he just tells him to listen to his mother. She is stereotypical because she is seen making the dinner and looking after the baby too, which is a stereotypical mother in the 80s. In contrast, Will’s family is close and not the stereotypical family of the 1980s. This is because Joyce Byer’s seems to work quite a lot to provide for her family, she is constantly seen wear her uniform in multiple scenes. Also, the father figure is now put onto the teenager Jonathan as he is seen making breakfast and suppose to get Will up for school.

Stranger Things Episode Walkthrough

Stranger Things Narrative questions

Stranger Things Episode Timings

80s Film Research Homework

The Duffer Brothers created Stranger Things as a homage to 1980s films.

ET

The intertexuality in Stranger Things to ET is the  bike chasing scene. In ET, the most iconic scene is when the young children use their bikes to get away from the police. The police are trying to get ET back from the kids, and the kids are trying to get ET back to his spaceship. In Stranger Things, the young children are also trying to get away from the evil people who are trying to get Eleven. Mike and his friends have been hiding Eleven and keeping her safe from the scientist, and when they find out she is with them, they must get her to safety. The camera shots are mid shots with a mix of close ups.

Also, in ET, the kids find a stranger creature, something they do not understand what it is. Similarly, in Stranger Things, the young boys find Eleven and have no idea who she is or anything about her. But in both films, they take them in and form a relationship. The camera shots are both mod shot.

Alien

In Alien, the scientists are all dressed up in hazmat suits when to go exploring. Stranger Things replicates this when they go looking in the lab. Both places are dark and gloomy and therefore  the scientists use lights and the settings are in the labs too.The shots are long shot too. 

Another similarity between the two, is the scene when the humans are being possessed by the supernatural thing. In Alien, it is wrapped around his head in a hospital-like room with scientists around him, but in Stranger Things Will is being held with the thing in his mouth and around him. 

The Goonies

In The Goonies, the group of young boys have some roles that also are the same as the Stranger Things boys. For example, the leader is Mikey and there is the goofy one who is called Chunk. In Stranger Things, the leader is Mike and the goofy one is Dustin, both roles have similar thinking abilities and characteristics as The Goonies.

Stranger Things Character Analysis

• Goes 'against the binary'
• Characters move beyond simply good or bad. 
• Steve an Hopper are examples of complex characters.
• Novelists- multiple story lines and characters that stretch over a number of episodes and seasons.
• We ma seen flashbacks that explain the characters background. 
• Systemic change - isn't just focused on one individual.
• "Communities facing challenges and dealing them by embracing or rejecting their own diversity"- Jeff Gomez

Representations

• Teenagers- There are two groups of teenagers being represented;the young group of boys and Nancy, Steve and Jonathan. 
• Family life and relationships- There are multiple families which are being shown. There is Mikes's family and Will's family who are mainly being shown in Stranger Things. 
• Mothers
• Absent Fathers
• Police
• Government 

Stranger Things Intro

Overview

Stranger Things is an American science fiction-horror web television series created, written, and directed by the Duffer Brothers and released on Netflix. Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s, the first season focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy amid supernatural events occurring around the town, including the appearance of a girl with psychokinetic abilities who helps the missing boy's friends in their own search.

Poster Analysis 

Setting- Night time, prison like background, space-like.
Genre- Fantasy, supernatural, action, sci-fi 
Themes- mystery, power, another sci-fi world.
Narrative- A search of some sort, children's view point, binary opposition.
Intertexuality- ET, Ghostbusters, Star Wars, Goonies.
Characters-Mainly young with some older, various expressions, a smaller, mysterious figure at bottom.
Historical Period- 80s clothing.  

LFTVD Conventions

TV Dramas

-Various Locations

-Stock characters

-multiple narratives

-45 min to an hour episodes

-Dramatic cliff hangers 

-High production values

Intro to LFTVD

The Exam

-2 questions, one is 30 marks the other is 15
-Stranger Things and Deutschland 83
-Both are series with long narratives.

Network TV

-US network broadcasters must satisfy their advertisers and hold market share controlled by federal regulation. 
-NBC
-CBS

US Cable TV

-Launched in 1970s
-HBO was the 1st US National subscription cable TV channel
- Other US players include FX, Showtime, AMC.
-These subscriptions based cable channels can take more risks with content and form.

VOD- Viewing on Demand
-Content viewing VIA TV still dominates in UK
-Use of timeshift is increasing.
-3/4 of households in UK have PVR uptake but it has plateaued.

Audiences

-Binge watching started with DVD in late 90s/early c21
-US long form TV drama often uses easter eggs and mid season breaks to generate fan intensity  and maintain media profile.

Why Do Audiences Watch: 

-High quality drama

-Multiple episodes- hours,days , years.

-Content can be dark and difficult but innovative.

-It now attracts some of the best and innovative writers and actors.

-Timeshifterse , easily accessible. 

State of the Nation and Cultural Zeitgeist

• LFTVD challenged the simplistic story lines and stereotypical characters that dominate network TV in US.
• CULTURAL ZEITGEIST

Statement of Intent

Statement of Intent

The idea of my music video is to have a filmed being created within. It will be about the artist who will be portraying the part of a youngish girl who goes out to have fun and find herself. Many of the shots will be from someone else’s perspective however we will not know or find out who this is.

The genre of the music video is dance, and listening to the music it makes me think of music and them having a good time. I will also include a party scene to fit the genre of dance. It will fit to the beat dropping in the music. As the audience is 16-25, they will be able to relate to my music video, also the genre. This genre would be played at parties and clubs, and this age range would also be at the age of going to parties and dancing to the genre.

The performer in my video will be the age of the audience so they will attract the audience member we are targeting. She is a young artist so will keep in the young section of Universal’s artists.

The costumes in my video will be casual, the artist will wear different outfits throughout to show different sides. The lighting will be bright in most of the video however will include a few dark when in the club and party scenes to make it as realistic as possible. The actress in my video will represent the artist. There will be natural make up to show the casualness within the film and music video. There won’t be many props used in my video. It will be used in most scenes. The settings I will use will be bedrooms to start with to have the artist going out. I plan to use different settings around Chelmsford as I have a few places in mind that will fit with the concept. My intertextuality will include a scene from Forrest Gump, my actor will be sat on a bench with something in her hands, just like the iconic scene from the movie. The representation will come from the artist who is of the younger generation. This representation will attract my audience because 16-25 is the age people will be able to relate to this.

I will use Adobe Premiere pro to edit my music video. To start with, the shots will be slow motion and at a normal pace. Then when the beat drops I will use fast cutting shots and fast shots. I will use shots such as crabbing (when the artist walks down the street), close ups of the actor and etc.

My video will be narrative and have a secondary purpose of performance. The narrative will be the story behind the camera, the artist who is meeting someone secretly and goes on a few adventures with them. My performance will come in when the actor is performing to the camera, as if she is making her own music video. The narrative will be relatable to the younger age group of the range as they want to be mature and go out with friends and also just want to try and find who they are. Also, the performance base will attract all of the audience because the artist will be having a good time and the target audience is of the age where fun is a key factor to life.

One shot I would like in my video is of the artist walking and has flashbacks that flicker to the beat as she walks.

The message of my video will be that you can find yourself when you try hard enough to look for it. Only you can do it for yourself so take the time to do it.

Website

On an artist’s website the usually include their newest music with a music video link. I will include this so the fans can check out their new songs easily. The web design has to relatable to the artist. My web site will have a certain theme about it to relate to the artist. I will use blue and pink as the main colours and use it throughout the website pages. The different pages on my website will be home, about, music, video, gigs, gallery and contact. I also had a bar to the right of different social media platforms. This way my audience can keep up with my artist on different media. Also, as my audience is 16-25, it is a range that are familiar with social media and my style of artist. My record company is Universal, and therefore will have a mention of their name. Other features on my website will be comments for the audience, this way they can have a say on my music and make them feel included. To keep the readers interested, there will be lots of moving elements to my website.

Synergy is when two or more organisations or other agents cooperate to make a better ‘effect’ than they would separately. It is important to media industries because it could give them a much better result, than just doing it by themselves. I will have a logo for my artist, which will be memorable to her fans. I will use images for a gallery on my website, some of which will be from filming the newest music video. On my website I will have a link and also a video of my new video.