Big Bad Media Blog

  Hello there! This is an instalment of a section of this blog that I'm calling 'Thoughts That Go Nowhere', which is basically what is says on the tin. I've been having little internalised debates and analysis sessions with myself about numerous aspects of numerous films so why not finally put some of them down in black and white for no one to really care about! A heads up, these discussions will very rarely have any fixed or final conclusion to them and are lacking in any great epiphanies or revelations, they just simply are- thoughts that go nowhere.  Recently I have noticed that a common point of comment or critique in regards to films is how predictable the story turned out to be- "oh yeah it was okay, I kinda guessed the ending though", "I knew what was going to happen like five minutes in so it was so boring"- and those opinions are completely valid and justified, the sense of discovery and surprise is snatched away from a viewer when a movie m...

A mode of documentary refers to the type or style in which a documentary is; the purpose of the documentary. Different modes of documentary will serve different purposes or have different techniques in which they achieve their goal to inform or present. Poetic Documentary Being one of the most curious modes of documentary, poetic documentaries will use associative or suggestive editing to use a captured mood or emotion about a subject to represent and inform rather than make any explicit statements or arguments. These documentaries do not continuity editing or techniques, such as voice overs, text or graphics; instead they will show 'patterns' within shots and images. Poet documentary is a mode that provokes internal thoughts and questions on a subject through emotion and perhaps a shift in perspective. Expository Documentary This mode uses rhetorical questions and techniques in order to draw an audience's attention to and question a point of reality; it exposes an audience...

  Being more guidelines than rules, Grice's Maxims refers to a series of 'correct' methods when it comes to communicating and conversing with one another. Grice's Maxims are stated thusly:   The Maxim of Quantity - be as informative as possible, give the required information, no more and no less. Too little information is not useful or rude and too much information will become irrelevant, odd or suspicious.  The Maxim of Quality - be as truthful as you can be, do not give false information or information that is not supported by evidence.  The Maxim of Relation - be relevant by giving information related to the topic of conversation.  The Maxim of Manner - be clear, brief and polite; in relation to being polite, do not be obscure or ambiguous in your manner (do not lie). These maxims are statements on all human communication with one another, therefore, these observations and guidelines can apply to advertising.  One of the maxims that is particularly relev...

  There is a variety of techniques used by advertisers to appeal and persuade an audience.  Ethos This kind of appealing is based around the company or brand being considered reliable or credible by the wider audience. Ethos advertising may include endorsement from celebrities or statistics from professionals to promote the message that the company or product are to be trusted.  Pathos This is an appeal to emotion, advertisers will actively aim to appeal to evoke an emotional response from a consumer. The aim can sometimes be for positive emotions, such as happiness, excitement and empowerment; other times it will be for negative emotions such as pain, sadness or guilt.  Logos This is an appeal to logic or reason, through evidence of facts and statistics, it aims to provide consumers a full understanding of the product, and why it makes sense to invest in it. Adverts legally have to give the straight facts, but words can often be twisted-  Grice's Maxims- Tom Sc...