Rachels Research On Bollywood Conventions

Below is Rachel's research on Bollywood conventions:

Bollywood Conventions

Due to the fact that we are strongly considering making our coursework with a Bollywood inspired theme, or style, I decided to do some extra research on the typical conventions of a Bollywood film to see how they differed to traditional Hollywood. This is to see what codes and conventions we may need to include in our product to make it realistic. 

Bollywood Codes and Conventions

• Dominance of one or two actors (Usually a male and female)
• Using other forms of performance art such as playing an instrument, singing and dancing
• The presence of a religious figure that all the characters believe in, such as a God or Deity
• Romance is the main plot or subplot in the story (This might include love triangles)
• Large studio sets with elaborate design and decoration
• Films are usually set in Mumbai, India (However, some popular Bollywood films have been set in western cities such as New York City, and London
• Authentic and elaborate costumes, such as traditional clothing (i.e. saris and dresses)
• Other key themes include; melodrama, obsession, and kidnappings.

There are also some traditional gestures and symbols used in Bollywood films such as:

• Seeing someone tug on their ears – When someone tugs on their ears it is usually seen as an apology and the quivalent of saying sorry.

• Seeing someone touch another person’s feet - According to Hindu theology feet are the most polluted part of the body because they are the closet body part to the ground. So when a person touches someone else's feet it is a sign of great respect because they are honoured and touching their feet is a privilege.

• Someone waving their hands over another person’s head - Usually a person will do this to a bride. They will wave their hands over the bride and then make fists of their hands and crack their knuckles on each side of their own head. Whoever does this takes on any evil that may be sent toward the bride.

• A woman wearing red dye in her parting - This red dye is called vermillion and when a woman wears it in her parting, it signifies that she is married and her husband is still alive.

• Kohl is placed on someone’s cheek - When someone looks strikingly beautiful it is assumed that they will attract a lot of jealousy. Therefore, a black dot (kohl) is placed on their face as a blemish to ward off jealousy of a person's perfection.

• When someone presses their palms together - When two characters first meet, one of them will press their palms together and say “Namaste.” This is equivalent to the American/English handshake because it shows the possession of manners. However, it holds a higher level of respect than shaking hands.

Evaluation Of Rachel's Research

Overall, Rachel has done an advanced piece of research which will help us with our coursework. After looking at and reading through Rachel's research I have definitely achieved a wider understanding into the codes and conventions of Bollywood films which we will need to use in our coursework piece. Reading through Rachel's research it has shown us that we will have to consider carefully which conventions to include as we don't want to make our piece too unique and original as it will become to distant for the audiences expectations. However, we need to include enough conventions so that the Bollywood within the piece is noticed and considered by the audience.

Bollywood Thriller Survey

We decided that we should make another survey to find out the public's opinions on Bollywood thrillers. This will help us and we can see what to include in our title sequence and things to avoid.

Development of Our Ideas

Idea one: From previous research on thrillers in general me and my group have become very keen on the idea of making a Bollywood thriller which will have a key theme of "Obsession". Now we have briefly decided on what type of cultural thriller we are going to make and the theme we then thought of possibilities of story lines  We thought of a theme of "Unrequited Love" as we think it would fit in with the main theme of obsession. Love and romance is also something that appeared frequently when looking at and reviewing the conventions of Bollywood, because of this we thought it would be a good idea to include a slight theme of love as it is what the audience would expect. The story line which we thought may go with this idea is: a man who's love for a Women has never been understood and has distorted his thoughts leading him on to act sporadically. A story line such as this we also believed would look great if some kind of flashback could take place.

Idea two: Another possible idea based on a similar story line is that a male antagonist is having hallucinations and believes their lover is cheating on them, driving them insane. This plot may go down well with thriller fans however if we were to aim it at the Bollywood market this could be seen to be bending the conventions too far.

Problems with doing Bollywood?
As we looked into Bollywood further to develop a more advanced understanding we noticed that we had a slightly dilemma. We found out that Bollywood is iconic of Indian culture featuring dance and music. This may be a problem as the upbeat music may not fit into the dark tone and mood we want to create in the opening of our thriller. However, we looked into different types of Indian music which is more slow and mysterious and will help providing the correct tone. This is the only huge problem we can find  which shows us that the pros outweigh the cons. Below is an example of the type of music we could use: 



Overall, I think me and my group are making good progress with developing our ideas as we all have agreed on the main theme which leads us onto thinking about our story line. Highlighting errors that may bring our coursework mark down helps us notice what we need to do to change the problem resulting in our coursework piece being successful.

Representation Of Gender

In class today we looked at an extract from Doctor Who which we have previously seen. Instead of analysing the whole extract we had to analyse one shot. In our group we got given a shot of a computer generated image. At first, I struggled to pick out the significance as I am not used to analysing extracts which have characters that are fictional and extraordinary. Anyhow, me and my group went on to picking each of the important parts of the shot. We got given a question which was: How is gender represented in this extract?


This is the paragraph we wrote: Within the extract masculinity is represented in atypical way. This is shown through the use of a medium shot. Within the shot we can see the whole of his body which emphasises how weak and fragile he is - this contradicts the stereotype of a typical male. Additionally the cage is symbolic of being trapped and reinforces his lack of masculinity he has a lack of control. The extremity of the cgi exaggerated his age conveying his venerability. 

We then got given feed back from the whole class which helped as we could all see how we could develop and improve our paragraph. Overall, doing this has helped me as I now know how to analyse fictional characters in extracts and also has built up on my knowledge on how to answer a gender question.

Improving My Skills..

From my previous essay I received two targets which were:

• Be more detailed in your analysis of editing - pace and style.
• Be more detailed in your analysis of sound.

I have decided to look at two extracts and pick out the types of editing and analyse the sound further. I think this will help me when I come to writing my next essay as I will have a more advanced knowledge on how to write about editing and sound.

The first clip that I am analysing is Child's Play (I have only analysed up to 5 minutes)


Sound - The sound from this extract changes dramatically as in the first half of the extract, the sound which is used is mostly diagetic sound of the characters talking. However, the sound of doors slamming is non diagetic sound as it has been added in to make more of an effect. In the second half, the non diagetic sound comes in which is very parallel in the scene as the character is feeling sad and exhausted at the time and the slow music reinforces the characters mood. The ambient sounds in the background such as the noise of traffic and cars outside of the apartment help make the scene look realistic. The scene then goes onto a sudden contrast to what it was like before, as suddenly sharp non diagetic noises start to come in resulting in a dramatic change in the mood and tone of the film. This already creates an ominous tone in the scene connoting something bad may happen to the character as the sharp sounds are very negative. The sound then carries on and is very breathtaking as the sound is very violent which again is parallel because a fight is currently happening in the scene. Whilst, the diagetic sound of the character screaming help reinforce the violence and pain as the sound of her screaming is exaggerated.

Editing - The first thing that I noticed was the shot reverse shot between the boy and the doll. This creates quite a fast pace in the scene as it is very hurried. This also denotes his anger towards the doll as the pace of the editing is so fast that the scene all of a sudden has a dramatic effect. Eye line match is also used between the mother and the boy which conveys the equal status between them and how they both view each other. When the mother returns home home in the scene, the shots are quite fast which contrasts with her body language and the sound in the scene. The editing, towards the end of the scene also reveals the drama within the scene as the camera is moving really quick from shots of close ups to her face to her body which creates an aggressive and exaggerated  tone in the scene.

The next film I am going to look at and analyse is Tombstone 1993 - I decided to do a slightly older movie as when it comes to creating my coursework I may want it to be old fashioned. 

The film clip - http://youtu.be/WMgp97cODCA

Sound - In the beginning (the first 60 seconds of this extract) there are two different types of non diagetic sound which has been added in for two different effects. Firstly, there is a man talking, much like a narrator describing things to the audience. The second type of non diagetic sound was soothing music quietly playing in the background of the man talking. Both of these non diagetic sounds help make the beginning very calm as each of the different types of sound are very slow. However, the second half of the extract juxtaposes with this. Foley sound then comes into the scene as a gun shot is shown which helps make the scene become dramatic faster. After this, the non diagetic sound continues but is much faster, louder and has a more sharp edge to it. The music is very parallel as it fits in with the mood and tone as the scene is too dramatic and chaotic. It is important that they use the music to reinforce the tone in the scene as it helps make the scene more effective. The sound then suddenly stops which exaggerates what is happening in the scene as a sudden cut and contrast is made. The music then carries on, repeating the breathtaking tone which has already been created. Contrapuntal sound is then shown as in the scene a couple is getting married but the non diagetic sound is very ominous connoting something bad may happen in the scene very soon. 

Editing - The editing of this is very significant but because I am still not familiar with all the editing terms I cannot go into full detail. Firstly, the editing between the shots in the first 90 seconds are very fast as each shot last around 2 seconds. Even though this normally makes a scene dramatic and chaotic, in this it has actually helped make the scene soothing and peaceful as each of the shots are in slow motion. It then goes onto a scene with people eating but suddenly cuts to a close up of a horse running. This editing style is important because it creates a very sinister effect on the scene because it goes from normal to dramatic so suddenly connoting something negative may happen as ominous signs start to appear. There is also a shot reverse shot which again, helps out with the exaggerated effect in the scene. The shot reverse shot is of people looking worried which also reinforces the danger which may occur. 

Overall, I think by analysing and looking closely at these two very different extracts I have added to my knowledge on sound and editing,  Before doing this I had a brief understanding of what sound and editing did within a scene and what effect it had. However, I now have memorised some definitions which will help me in my exam and coursework. I still think I have a lot of progress to make as in these two technical terms as I have not gone into full detail as there is still definitions and meanings I have to learn. 

The 'Grammar' of Television and Film..

I have decided to build on my knowledge of the technical terms in Media. I have decided to start of with looking at Manipulating time as I am not familiar with this term and I thought it would be a good idea to try and make sure I have brief understanding so that I can then progress into further learning of what it is. Below I have listed definitions and examples of each type.

Long take: The long take, or long shot, is when a long sequence of film is made without stopping the camera. The effect can be used to evoke a huge array of emotions. This clever tool in the filmmakers toolbox has actually been used for quite a number of years, but it was so revolutionary at the outset that it took some getting used to before it really took off in the mainstream. .

Slow motion: Action which takes place on the screen at a slower rate than the rate at which the action took place before the camera. This is used: a) to make a fast action visible; b) to make a familiar action strange; c) to emphasise a dramatic moment. It can have a lyric and romantic quality or it can amplify violence. From experience I have found out that slow motion shots are used a lot in films as it helps create a dramatic effect resulting in the audience engaging into what they are watching. I think it may be a good idea to use a slow motion effect if I decide to add any kind of drama into my coursework piece as I think in every extract I have looked at it has been used successfully.

Freeze-frame: This gives the image the appearance of a still photograph. Clearly not a naturalistic device. Below is an example of what freeze frame looks like when it is shot. Again, this may be good to use in my coursework piece as it is very interesting and weird which engages the reader.

Flashback: A break in the chronology of a narrative in which events from the past are disclosed to the viewer. Formerly indicated conventionally with refocus or ripple dissolves. Below is an example of a flash back from the Lion King which is a cartoon film. Even though the film has been animated it creates the same effect.

Overall, by looking at different types of Manipulating time it has helped me notice and understand why film makers decide to use these kind of effects. Even though I have not into too much detail on each one and I still have more to look at I feel that I have built on my knowledge as I did not know what any of this was before. This will help me and my group when we come to making our coursework because we can decide if we would like to choose to do any of these editing styles to create an effect on our piece. It will also help me in the exam as I can now identify why the film maker has decided to use this and what effect is may have on the atmosphere in a film. I feel that I have completed this well as my knowledge has now expanded slightly. 

Initial Brainstorm

 We listed thriller sub-genres, and hybrids on the right, and themes and ideas on the left

The two ideas which me and my group thought would be good idea to do are Bollywood and the theme of obsession. Each of these stood out to us in the brainstorm. If we decided to do a theme of obsession we thought that we might make our coursework have a sub-genre of psychological thriller as it would fit in. The reason why we were fond of these ideas is because they are both original and we thought it might give our coursework an interesting twist. Although, If we then decide to choose both of these ideas, as a group we would need to make sure that in our piece there was enough familiarity for the audience so that our coursework would not become to unlikable.  Doing this task helps me and my group pick out specific ideas helping us decide on what we should do. I think me and my group have completed the brainstorm well as we have thought up a lot of good ideas which we will benefit from when picking what we are going to make.