Monday, 14 March 2011

Empire Article

Come Die with Me – Empire Article

You’ve seen their hilarious comedy’s, you’ve seen their imaginative adventures. Well now we take an in depth look at Primetime Productions grand spanking new horror ‘Come Die with me’. The story line consists of Oscar winning actress Adrianna Simms playing the part of the rich and bitchy female protagonist who falls in love with her total hunk of a teacher Mr Jackson who is played by Vardon a relatively new name on the scene, but his recent performances have seen a rapid rise to the top.

Primetime productions, Head Directors Shahid Mea and Mark Augustine along with the head Producers Amar Tateri and Hardeep Kooner. They have decided to head into a new direction for their latest British blockbuster. The so called “awesome foursome” have decided to move on from creating there usual action thrillers and enter the world of horror and have devised a movie filled with chilling edge of your seat scenes.

Whilst Tateri, Kooner and Augustine have began the plans for the premiere, we caught up with Shahid Mea at a recent Q&A panel and asked for the inside scoop of the film.

Empire: Hi Shahid, You've worked with a number of great directors and stars in your career to date, but is there anyone in particular you would love to work with?

Shahid: Well isn’t that a hard question to kick off the session (laughter), well I’m a massive Transformers fan and a massive fan of the Fast and furious series so Michael Bay and Vin Diesel would be my two that I’d love to work with.

Empire: So Shahid, about your latest creation “Come die with me”, what inspired you to create such a dramatic and thrilling storyline?

Shahid: Well me and the guys at Primetime sat down together a couple of months back with a couple of friends for a Thrill night where we watched the Saw trilogy, so then Mark and the guys suggested we make our own horror as we’re all big fans of horror and we thought we’d take a break from all the action. So yeah that’s where it all started, 4 guys one sofa watching TV (laughter).

Empire: Well what a way to come up with a pitch; let’s talk abit about Primetime productions. As you are an up and coming British Institution, how do you aim to break into the big time?

Shahid: Hmm, Good question. Well as always stepping into an industry is difficult let alone the film industry. So ideally, we just want to keep creating great films for our range of audiences because at the end of the day, they’re the people who pay to watch our films so I’d say keeping them entertained is our aim and any rewards we achieve along the way is just a bonus.

Empire: Well, Good luck with the movie and I’m eagerly anticipating the premiere of Come die with me. Nice speaking with you. Oh and one more thing, Mind asking Audrey on a date for me?

Shahid: (Laughs Hahhahaha) Nice speaking to you too, it’s been fun.

With its June 11th, 2011 release date, which is one of the earlier months to release a horror, Come die with me has only one shot to set a benchmark for the rest of the up and coming horror movies due to be released later this year and is due to be hit on the big screen.


Media Essay

"Audiences are no longer just consumers of texts, but producers too"
To what extent is this true of the media products in your case study?
Audiences are no longer just consumers of media texts but are producers too. To an extent I believe this is true and with the use of my primary texts which are the X factor, I’m A Celebrity and Britain’s got Talent I will prove my theory. I will also discuss how texts are no longer solely on one platform but are now spread along a various number of cross media platforms which consist of Print, Broadcast and also media. Furthermore, I will discuss how in this day and age audiences are responsible for creating new media texts.
The X Factor is Britain’s most watched reality TV show which is aired on ITV1 and involves audience interaction as it depends on viewers to vote on contestants and this promotes the audience theory that audiences effectively run the show as without viewers voting and sharing their opinions, then the x factor would not be as popular as it is today. This shows that audiences are becoming increasingly powerful in shaping the show. The hit TV show attracts on an average of 17.5 million viewers each series.

Furthermore, the audience is becoming increasingly powerful in shaping the show. As the X Factor website also allows the audience to interact with the show. One way it promotes interaction is by running voting polls and forums on the website which the audience can vote and have their say and see what other viewers think too. For example, on the X Factor forum, the shows producers are asking the public to “Pitch a new idea on ways to improve the show for a chance to win 2 tickets to next years final” This therefore gives the audience more power as they are being handed responsibility in producing new ideas for the show.              
The X Factor website allows the audience to interact with the show and also decide what the show produces. One way the show does this is by having a weekly poll on the website which the audience can vote and see  who other viewers like them are voting for and can also see the voting figures. For example the current question on the website is “Do you believe the X factor should be shown on weekdays?” The figures currently show Yes – 33.1% and No 67.9%.
The consumers of this text play a monumental part in how successful the show is and how successful it could become; this is because the viewers are the ones voting every week to keep in their favourite acts. This shows that the veiwers are the clear producers as they are ‘producing’ the success of the show and also produce the future success of their favourite act by voting to keep them in the audience are constructing the media text because they decide what happen in the TV program.

Furthermore, a social networking site such as Facebook and Twitter allow audiences to shape and place their views across about the show and is the most popular form of UGC amongst audiences as it is a easy way to interact with one and other and share opinions through joining groups and supporting campaigns. This gives the audience power to produce media texts and feed their opinions across. However this could also be discouraging as the audience use their power to keep contestants in even though they are not good at singing (Wagner, john and Edward) which shows how powerful the audiences are becoming as they are changing and causing havoc with the show which could be seen as an injustice. This therefore shows how much power the audiences really do have as in this modern age they produce texts and not just consume them.



However, To disagree with the statement above, The X Factor judges have the final say on who they want to keep in and knock out of the competition. We the audience see this power as Wagner was finally booted out from the X factor after all four judges chose to keep the other contestant Mary in the competition. This therefore shows that although the audiences are beginning to become producers of texts they are ultimately consumers of media texts as institutions still have the major power.

My secondary text that I have chosen to for my case study is I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here which is also shown on ITV 1 and involves audience interaction as it is also similar to the x factor as it is a reality TV show which attracts a wide variety of viewers. I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here has a website for viewers to interact with the show which further engages viewers. The website has a range of activities and also includes live footage and highlights from the Jungle, and also has a blog on the website which allows the audience to share their opinions and views about the show. The audience is therefore hugely powerful in shaping the show as mainstreams audiences watch the show which is successful in using gratifications which keeps the audience entertained.

Similarly to the X factor, Audiences for I’m a Celeb have to vote on which contestants they want to keep in. However, the I’m a celebrity get me out of here audiences have much more power than the X factor audiences as they are the ones who chose which contestants take part in different tasks and challenges, Which therefore shows that they are the ones who are effectively ‘producing’ the show.

My third and final text that I have chosen for my case study is Britain’s Got Talent which is very similar to both of my other texts as they are all reality TV shows and are all aired on ITV1 and involves audience interaction as they all attract mainstream audiences.

Britain’s got talent attracts an audience of 6 million.  The show is very similar to the x factor and is in fact identical in the way they approach their audiences as the structure of both shows is the same. Furthermore, the BGT website includes competitions and news about the judges and also a feedback forum which allows the audience to shape the output of the media and become producers of the show too as by giving there opinions to the forum, they are

Furthermore, BGT operates on many social networking sites such as Face book and Twitter where it allows a lot of audience interaction. The show is mostly targeted at men and women aged from 16- 25 which is where most of them use such sites as a means of connecting with people and voice their opinions about the show. As there is a lot of popularity on the BGT pages, this allows the content to be user generated as the appearance of the pages as a whole is created by the consumers. This therefore shows the BGT relies on the interest of their consumers to create gossip and comment on which contestants they like and dislike which therefore makes the consumers the main producers.

In conclusion, I believe that reality TV shows such as, The X factor, Britain’s got talent and I’m a celebrity cannot become successful without the input and interest from audiences through their websites and social networking which therefore makes them the producers of the media. However, the final decisions comes from the institutions themselves where then the consumers ‘consume’ the material, post opinions and videos as a means of feedback for the artist. Therefore I believe that  Both consumers and producers are the main audience all tied into one as one and another need each other as without an audience there wouldn’t be a show, but on the other side of the argument, without a show there wouldn’t be any entertainment for the audiences.

Tuesday, 1 March 2011

Media Self Evaluation

  • Attainment = 2
I believe my so far since the start of media has been very good as I am currently exceeding my target grades by one grade above. However, although I am currently satisfied, I aim to exceed my target grade by two grades above and achieve my aspirational target grade which is an A.
  • Effort = 2
I believe my effort in class and home towards media is excellent as I try to produce work of my best ability for all work set.

  • Indicitative Grade = A (Hopefully)
    Three Targets (EBI's)
    • Try and be punctual to all my media lessons.
    • Try and contribute more to the class which would help myself and my peers.
    • I will also try and stay consistent regarding the quality of my homework.

Saturday, 12 February 2011

Media - Hyundai Advertisement

Hyundai Advertisement

Media Forms:
Which advertising techniques being used?
Within the advert, a range of advertising techniques are used to engage the audience and also promote the product. Firstly surrealism is used throughout the narrative of the advert, this is shown as some babies can barely walk let alone escape from their cots and go drive a car.
Furthermore, the advert uses humour and fantasy really well to advertise their product along with the ideologies of an American dream alongside it. Also, the use of sweet and cheerful music could connote to the audience that the product is fun and exciting and encourages the audience to have a feel good factor surrounding the product and shows that the male genders in the advertisement are the more dominant gender whereas females are mostly objectified with the advert.

Media Representation:
How is gender represented in this advertisement?
In the advertisement, the male characters are shown to be the more dominant gender as the protagonist within the advert is a male character. This is shown throughout the advert as the protagonist is a male who is driving the car, surfing, escaping out of his cot and more importantly picking up the girl, which therefore shows that female characters are shown to be objects which satisfy the male characters and therefore represents a patriarchy society and also signals to the audience that the product is targeted at males rather than females.
The narrative within the advertisement also suggests that the products target audience is young males as the narration throughout the advert is of a male voice which further suggests male dominance until the very end of the advert where a female narration takes place and suggests that females are the alternative gender and are not the target audience for the product.

Media Institution:
What is communicated about the Hyundai brand and the experience it offers?
Within the advert we see the product being very comfy as well as clean which suggests to the audience that this is parallel to the company who produces the product, Hyundai. This can also connote to the audience that the company are extravagant, innovative and simplistic due to the structure of the advert. As the advert consists of an adventurous baby who escapes from a day to day routine of playing in his cot and decides to be extravagant and decides to follow the “wayward wind” as suggested by the music in the advert.

I believe the advert is very successful due to the use of a fantasy storyline of a “Baby’s day out” which connotes freedom and I believe is simultaneous to the message Hyundai are trying to send out to their target audience which is that if you own this car, it will give you freedom and happiness without a care for the world and is shown with the use of a open road.

Media Audience:
Who is target audience and how does the advert attempt to persuade this audience to buy the product?
From the advert, we can conclude from the advert that the primary audience of the product are young males. This is shown to the audience with the use of a young male protagonist within the advertisement and is further supported by the clear narrative which says “Designed for the next generation of drivers”.
Furthermore, I believe that with the use of a big car that the secondary target audience for the product are Family’s. This is because big cars fit big families and are usually associated with being a family car. This theory is further supported as the home shown at the very beginning of the advert seemed like a family home due to the wallpaper, colour of the carpet and other various iconographic furniture. The psychographics within the advert of being egoistic, escapism, and having a good lifestyle states to the audience that the product is mainly targeted at the 21-35 year old age group as the narrative refers to the product being for the “New generation” and the use of a baby as a main character further suggests that this product is not for old people aged 40-50 but for young adventurous drivers who want to live the American dream aged 21-35.

By Shahid Mea

Sunday, 30 January 2011

Media Exam Question - Ms. Wigley

Audiences are becoming increasingly powerful in shaping media output. With reference to you case study, how far is this true?
Introduction
I believe that in this day and age, audiences are becoming increasingly powerful in shaping media output. I will show this by referring to My three primary texts which are reality TV shows, The X Factor (ITV1), Britain’s got Talent (ITV1) and I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here (ITV1). One of many similarities between the three shows is that they are all from the same genre and also they all run on the same channel which suggests ITV are a monopoly within the reality TV market. Also, they all run on three different platforms, which are print, E-media, and Broadcast. By running on 3 different platforms the shows attract a wide range of audiences and promote audience interaction which helps shape media output.

The X Factor is Britain’s most watched reality TV show which is aired on ITV1 and involves audience interaction as it depends on viewers to vote on contestants and this promotes the audience theory that audiences effectively run the show as without viewers voting and sharing their opinions, then the x factor would not be as popular as it is today. This shows that audiences are becoming increasingly powerful in shaping the show. The hit TV show attracts on an average of 17.5 million viewers each series.

Furthermore, The X Factor website also allows the audience to interact with the show. One way it promotes interaction is by running voting polls and forums on the website which the audience can vote and have their say and see what other viewers think too. For example, the current question on the x factor website is “Do you think Matt Cardle was a worthy winner?”

This therefore, shows us that the audiences are becoming increasingly powerful on what media institutions plan and put in the show. Also the website allows viewers to share their views and opinions through the X Factor blog and forum and also read the gossip on what goes on behind the scenes through The Sun which runs on the print platform.

Also because X Factor is a popular TV show viewers can catch up via the ITVPlayer. Furthermore, a social networking site such as Facebook and Twitter allow audiences to shape and place their views across, and is a place where audiences interact with one and other and share opinions through joining groups and supporting campaigns. Audience feedback and opinions have been successful, this is shown as the X Factor and Apple have joint together in a bid to react to the change in technology by releasing x factor apps.

My secondary text that I have chosen to for my case study is I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here which is also shown on ITV 1 and involves audience interaction as it is also similar to the x factor as it is a reality TV show which attracts a wide variety of viewers. I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here has a website for viewers to interact with the show which further engages viewers. The website has a range of activities and also includes live footage and highlights from the Jungle, and also has a blog on the website which allows the audience to share their opinions and views about the show. The audience is therefore hugely powerful in shaping the show as mainstreams audiences watch the show which is successful in using gratifications which keeps the audience entertained.

My third and final text that I have chosen for my case study is Britain’s Got Talent which is very similar to both of my other texts as they are all reality TV shows and are all aired on ITV1 and involves audience interaction as they all attract mainstream audiences. Britain’s got talent attracts an audience of 6 million.  The show is very similar to the x factor and is in fact identical in the way they approach their audiences as the structure of both shows is the same. Furthermore, The BGT website includes competitions and news about the judges and also a feedback forum which allows the audience shape the output of the media.

In Conclusion, Audiences are becoming increasingly hugely powerful in shaping the media outputs of the three shows over the three platforms. As audiences are influential in what is going to happen in with the use of blogs, social networks, print and most obviously broadcast.

Monday, 24 January 2011

Progress Report - 24/01/11

This past week as a group we have developed our ideas further and together we have come up with a Very good name for our production as well as developing our storyboards and working together to make sure that our production is a success. Also, as a group we have looked at trailers and took some good ideas that we can use for our production.

Action Plan - Finish off our storyboards.

Ms. Wigley - Homework

Do the texts enable different types of audience activity and/or interaction?
The x factor have made the broadcasting available over two days Saturday and Sunday, as people felt it was to short they have done this to keep audiences interested as results are announced on the Sunday it allows people to reflect on performers performances.

X factor have got a number of stars performers to perform and this will make it more interesting for more audiences as they are more engaged. Rihanna, Katy Perry both performed and this engaged more people to watch the x factor because of these iconic singers.

Broadcasting this allows the audience to interact by pressing the red button allowing them to navigate to a different page. This allows the audience to vote for the act they like furthermore they can also ring as well to register their vote. Moreover the audience can play quizzes via broadcasting and this makes the audience feel involved.

Are audiences able to play a role in the construction of media texts? (UGC)
In the x factor the audience play a considerable amount of involvement in constructing the media text. The audience have control and power to who will win and who will be voted on the reality TV show.  So the audience are constructing the media text because they decide what happen in the TV program.

This is discouraging as the audience use their power to keep contestants in even though they are not good at singing.

The audience also construct the text via social networking sites allowing them to talk to other people about the performances and the judges’ views and feedback.

Are there differences in the audience gratifications offered across the three platforms?

The audience are able to cast a vote which gives them power and pleasure. Furthermore they are able to interact with games and competitions.
The audience gain entertainment from the x factor over the three platforms. As x factor have a website people are able to link it their social networks therefore giving the audience social interaction.

Change in technology
The changing technology allows the x factor to appeal to more audiences, the internet has become more common in people’s lives and the x factor has used to internet to create their own website and allow people to express their opinion via blogs and social networking sites.

A change in technology allows apps to be made for phones and people can interact from wherever they are. As x factor are common In newspapers, Steve jobs and Rupert Murdoch have created an app allowing people to access news and this shows the technology changing as people are able to get info wherever they are

Wednesday, 22 December 2010

Research for Ms.Wigley - Case Study

Here is the following research I did for my primary text which is the X Factor,


Media Language


In 2009, for the first time, the televised audition 
stage of the programme was held before a live 
audience. This meant that the ‘look’ of the early 
stages of the programme altered from the logo 
bedecked audition rooms of the previous series 
to the warmer and more ‘show-biz’ location of a 
live theatre (already a successful presentational 
format for  Britain’s Got Talent).



The addition of a live audience creates a dynamism and excitement as they become excited by the auditions and respond to the performances before them. Better auditions tend to be presented to television audiences using a wide variety of camera angles and editing techniques which again give a more professional appearance.


Narrative



A range of complex narratives are created by 
the show.
The series creates a general narrative based on 
the competition itself. It uses the now familiar 
elimination technique throughout which can be 
related to the repetition (and further 
complication) of the problem of the narrative. 
Each stage develops the problem. At auditions, 
the main question raised is – ‘will there be any 
good contestants who can go on to boot camp?

Wednesday, 15 December 2010

Media Self Evaluation

  • Attainment = 2
I believe my so far since the start of media has been very good as I am currently exceeding my target grades by one grade above. However, although I am currently satisfied, I aim to exceed my target grade by two grades above and achieve my aspirational target grade which is an A.
  • Effort = 1
I believe my effort in class and home towards media is excellent as I try to produce work of my best ability for all work set.
  • Punctuality = 3
I believe my punctuality this term has been average as I have been missing from class due to illness and other reasons.
  • Submission and quality of homework = 1
I believe the submission and quality of my homework throughout media has been excellent as I give time and care about the work I produce, therefore I believe I have achieved this.
  • Ability to work independently = 2
I believe that my ability to work independently is very good as I believe this is also one of my best personality traits.
  • Quality of writing = 1
I believe the quality of writing throughout my work in media has been excellent due to the time and effort I take as my I value my work highly.
  • Organisation of blog = 1
I believe the organisation of my blog is excellent as I have uploaded and clearly labelled all of my work and met all my deadlines.
  • Oral contributions in class = 2
I believe my oral contributions in class have been very good as I am not afraid to contribute and ask questions.



Three WWW's
  • I have grown in confidence in Media.
  • I have learnt various media techniques and terminology which will help me achieve a good grade.
  • I believe that the quality and understanding of my written work in media has improved a lot.
Three Targets (EBI's)
  • Try and be punctual to all my media lessons.
  • Try and contribute more to the class which would help myself and my peers.
  • I will also try and stay consistent regarding the quality of my homework.

Sunday, 12 December 2010

Mr Bush - Saw I Analysis - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq7FVtth39s


For my analysis of a Film I have chosen “Saw I”. I have chosen this film because of the various twists and equilibriums which gives the film a very interesting climax which makes the film so powerful. The film is about an old man punishing people for the bad things that they have done by using people that they love as a scapegoat. The main protagonist within the film is an old man called Tom, he is the controller of the game and he conveys different messages across to his clients for their sins to be paid. 

Furthermore, I believe this film is specifically aimed for and older generation target audience roughly ages between 19 to 40 years of age due to the brutal plot of this story. The genre of this film is horror and has a lot of bloody scenes which shows the audience that it is clearly targeted at an older audience who I believe are primarily males as I believe they would be mostly attracted to the genre of this film.

However; females may also be interested in watching this film for required reasons. Therefore, I believe that the films primary audience is males aged from 18-30 and the films secondary audience being females aged from 18-25.  

The language used within the film is very informal and contains a lot of swearing when a crowd of people are trying to save their own lives. This is very effective as it creates a lot of tension to the audience whilst creating a lot of suspense and encouraging the audience to identify with the terrified people. 

The film also has a lot of enigma codes for example, when the old man, as we do not who his identity, where he lives, or his name till the very end. The film also foreshadows a lot of these factors about Tom but does not give away the story in order to keep suspense. Saw also has action codes for example, when the girl puts the knife up into the air to stab her boyfriend in order to prevent her jaw from snapping in half.
Furthermore, the story develops into a linear pattern. As The scenes are not all mixed up, and an advantage of this is that the story then has a set rhythm and flow to it which creates an intense atmosphere between audiences. 

The equilibrium within the film is when the girl sits on the chair with the mask on her face. This creates a terrifying opening to the film and the props that are used to connote death and violence due to their nature and looks. 

Furthermore, the disequilibrium in the film is when the girl finds her boyfriend lying on the ground with the key in his intestines. However, the new equilibrium occurs when she unlocks herself from the death mask and she waits their on the floor terrified of what might happen next. This is another enigma code in the film as she then sees a shadow of something and is very petrified of what that might be. This further creates a lot of suspense for the audience.

Ms.Wigley - New Moon analysis

What techniques does this trailer used to persuade an audience to see the film?

The Twilight: New moon trailer uses various camera techniques and angles to help us the audience, to engage with the characters in the trailer. We see this with the use of high angle of shots of the female protagonist Bella. These shots connote to us that she is less superior than others and is vulnerable after Edward has left her.

This persuades the audience to see the film as we are interested and worried about the protagonist characters. Also the continuous editing connotes the narrative of the film and movement of the characters allow the audience to understand what is happening. This again allows the audience to relate to the characters. Also the use of the shot-reverse-shot persuades the audience to watch the film as we can see what the characters are feeling.

Furthermore, we see different medium shots of Bella when she is in contact with other characters which connotes that she is controlled by others in the film and gives us an insight to the main character and how she is feeling. We identify with Bella by the different camera angles and engage with her character which connotes to the audience how she is feeling. The crane shot of Bella on the mountains by herself connote to the audience that there is some kind of danger present in the second film in the Twilight Saga.

Also, The use of dark colours reflects sadness and creates mystery and suspense which again persuades an audience to see the film. The Digetic sound in the background, fast and harsh creates tension that something is going to happen. The false ending leaves the trailer in a cliff hanger as the silence engages the audience as we are not sure what has happened, as we are ambiguous. Also the genre of the film persuades the audience to watch the film as it is a hybrid-genre of fantasy and drama.  

How is the gender represented in this trailer?
In the trailer of Twilight: New moon, the Male characters are shown to be the more dominant gender whereas the Female characters are shown to the audience of being the more reckless and weak gender. This is shown throughout the trailer as Bella the main character within the film is always spoken at and always looking for advice which shows the audience that she is emotionally unstable and weak.
Also, the male protagonists within the trailer are stereotypically shown to be the big hero’s who save the women characters as if they were a “Damsel in Distress”.

Furthermore, in the trailer, the woman characters are shown to the audience of having to look up to the male characters and are ultimately powerless when compared to the male dominance. Also, the female characters in the trailer are shown in higher camera angle which outlines the fact that they are weak as the camera looks down upon them. However, the male characters are shown to the audience in Lower angle shots which I believe is parallel to the power between the two genders. 

This is shown in a particular scene where the female character Bella is rescued by one of the trailers leading male protagonist Jacob who is shown in a low angle shot which makes the audience look up to the character and in turn shows the audience that males are more dominant than females.

What Hollywood values are used in the trailer?

Twilight: New moon consists of a hybrid genre which allows the film to attract a host of different audiences. We know that the film is a hybrid as there are two sets of genres in the film which are action and romance which makes this film to appeal to both males and females.

Furthermore, the film is of Hollywood valued identity as it was produced in Hollywood and the values of the film are associated with Hollywood. Firstly the characters are the ones who sell the film as they are known celebrities, which create a brand for the film.

Also, twilight has created its brand through the popular twilight books as Hollywood only make best blockbuster films. This is why Hollywood producers decided to create a film based upon the book, as the book was very influential on people it allows Hollywood to target this film at their mainstream audience and know that people would love this film

The film is extremely professional suggesting the best producers were used and special effects were also used reiterating the high quality and high costing of twilight new moon. Furthermore, The film promotes a dominant ideology of Americans being rich and this is conveyed by the student’s cars in the film which also suggests they are rich. Also, as the film builds suspense between Bella saving Edward from killing himself and this is linked with Hollywood as suspense pleases their target audience and this engages there audience to stay loyal to watching films from Hollywood. The films portrays a love film and it is consistent in Hollywood films that there is a good ending which pleases the audience and this touches all people creates a positive universal theme. There are many additional casts involved in this film which expresses the films high budget in contrast to a low budget film there would be a use of minimum casts.

What target audience would be attracted to this film?

I believe the target audience of this film is directed at females from the ages of 16-14. This is because I believe that with the use of a love triangle and this creates entertainment amongst females who are engaged by love films and this allows the females to relate their feelings to Bella who is in love with a vampire and cannot be with him this allows females to become Bella and feel similar emotions and feelings. The primary gender includes woman as they are aware of the twilight books and as they are very popular the majority of gender that will see this film is females as they prefer reading rather than males.

I believe that the Females are the primary audience for this film as the males within the film will be seen as a sex object which will appeal to females as they may like the cast therefore they will watch the film because of the cast and that is what sells the film furthermore they could appeal to male because of their body therefore showing that people will like you if you have that body therefore it motivates people to become stronger.

However, as the secondary audience, I believe young males would be attracted to this film, because of the violence and the protagonist Bella. I also believe that the social class related to this film would be in the C2DE category as the film will appeals to teenagers who are in school and are unemployed.

Sunday, 5 December 2010

Media Analysis - Mr Bush




Firstly, the piece of media that I have chosen to analyse is Batman: The Dark Knight. We know the film is a hybrid as its film genre is action/thriller. This is connoted to us due to the fast paced editing and camera movement within the opening scenes of the media. Also, the Non-Digetic sound effects used in the sequence also connote that more intense, fast paced action is yet to come. This is shown when the narrator at the beginning of the scene says “where do we begin?” this connotes ambiguity and is a very effective technique as it catches the attention of the reader just as they are whisked away by the action packed scenes in the media.

In this particular piece of media, the main protagonist in the film “The Batman” is shown to be a very mysterious character. This is shown in the first 10 seconds within the opening scene when a dark shadowy figure is seen to jump of a building wearing dark, black clothing. The building itself is made to seem mysterious as it is set in the night time with low-key lighting surrounding the building. This further shows the batman to be a very precarious character to whom the audience is encouraged to identify with. As we first see the camera pan over to the Batman, the camera then shows a high angle shot where the audience are seeing a birds-eye view of what the Batman is seeing. This further encourages the audience to engage with the Batman as he is the one character that we are seeing the most of onscreen and also the one character that we are learning about the most.

This technique is very useful as it places the audience in the characters shoes and makes the audience think “why is he jumping of a building?” and it also creates suspense and makes the audience want to watch on further.

Most Of the shots used in the opening scene was the long shot, the long shot is a very effective technique as from this the audience can understand and acknowledge the setting of the scene in which the protagonist is placed in. It also makes the audience more aware of the mood in general which is shown to be intense and gloomy, due to the mise-en-scene being very dark and intense Non-Digetic sounds being used.

Furthermore, later on in the piece of media, we are introduced to another protagonist “The Joker”. The character wears dark clothes and looks suspicious which connotes to us that he is the villain within the storyline. However, he arouses the audience by being extravagant with his costume, hair and make up and also by using weird facial expressions which almost makes him a funny and crazy character.

This thought quickly changes when we hear and see The Joker uttering the words “Kill the batman” which immediately confirms that he is the Villain and that he is in fact a very twisted character. The audience are then again alerted to the mischievous and twisted mind of the joker when he fires a bullet in a crowded city centre. This causes panic and chaos for the people. However, the Joker loves to feed off others pain and unhappiness which is shown when he laughs like a little child at the people trying to scatter away from the trouble. This further confirms that he is in fact a very twisted character and also foreshadows the trouble ahead.

More Over, towards the end of the piece of media, we are introduced to another important character, Harvey Dent who is the chief police inspector. During a tracking shot when we fisrt learn about Harveys character, we hear Harvey say You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. “ When we first hear him say this, we don’t really take notice. However this one quote is very effective as it foreshadows the rest of the storyline as further on in the film Harvey loses the love of his life and decided to ditch trying to become a hero and live the rest of his life as a villain.
Furthermore, I believe that the use of the dark colours and effects used in each mise-en-scene is parallel to the broken society of Gotham City which is why it is up to the Batman to stop the demise and evil ruling over Gotham.

In conclusion, I believe that the techniques used by the directors while creating this 2 minute sequence have been very effective in promoting the film as the use of Digetic and non-Digetic sound along with the use of rapid camera movement and angles such as the long shot, Pan and close up. It has managed to create suspense and leaves the audience on the edge of their seats which in turn leaves viewers wanting to watch on.

Monday, 29 November 2010

Mr Bush - Cinematography


Tilt has been used most of the time within this extract to identify the character status and class such as the working class people the camera shows them from top to toe and goes up higher to show they have not the power other people are above them however as they show scenes of the wealthier and formal people there is a tilt movement but it stops going higher above them to show they have the highest status and all the power. Also long shots have been used to show the setting and what’s in the surroundings that fit in with the character. Another camera shot that has been used a lot is medium shot to show the characters facial expressions and what their reaction is.


 The camera angle represented here is a long shot, not only does it show characters, it also allows the audience to create a feel for the setting, which in this scene is the dessert, which allows the audience to sympathise with the heat etc. Also, this long shot creates the emphasis of the distance of the dessert, furthermore the audience are engaged with suspense of not knowing who or what the characters are doing, which allows them to ask questions, and really think about the scene.


Wednesday, 24 November 2010

Mr Bush - Extention Task

When motion pictures were first introduced, there were three major problems with producing movies with synchronized sound. Those problems were synchronization, playback volume, and sound fidelity. As Technology for producing moving pictures has progressed much faster than technology for reproducing sound. It soon became possible for the technology to produce sound that could be heard by large audiences.


This technology was held in the grip of RCA and Western Electric, which, in 1926, cross-licensed each other’s amplification patents. Using state-of-the-art vacuum tube amplifiers, movie sound, whether recorded on disc or film, could boom into the auditorium.


By the early 1930s, the talkies were a global phenomenon. In the United States, they helped secure Hollywood's position as one of the world's most powerful cultural/commercial systems. In Europe the new development was treated with suspicion by many filmmakers and critics, who worried that a focus on dialogue would subvert the unique aesthetic virtues of soundless cinema.
Some of the films of early 1929 were substandard movies to meet the unexpectedly strong demand for talkies. 

Sunday, 21 November 2010

Films Homework


What is the Process In Making a Film?
  1. Writer has an idea
  2. He creates an outline and use it to promote interest in the idea
  3. A studio or independent investor decides to purchase rights over the film
  4. People brought together to make the film (screen, writer, producer, director, cast, crew)
  5. Film made sent to studio
  6. The studio makes a licencing agreement with a distribution company
  7. The distribution company determines how many copies print of the film to make
  8. Distribution company shows the movie (screening) to prospective buying representatives the theatres
  9. Buyers negotiate with distribution company on which movie they wish to lease  and terms of lease agreement
  10. Prints sent to theatres few days before opening day
  11. Theatre shows movie for specific number of weeks
  12. Buy ticket watch film
  13. End of engagement theatre sends print back to distribution company and makes payment on lease agreement
What is Film Distribution?
The distribution of a film or movie is the process through which a movie is made available to watch for an audience. This task may be accomplished in a variety of ways, for example, with a theatrical release, a home entertainment release in which the movie is made available on DVD-video or Blu-Ray disc or as a TV broadcast. The distribution company makes a legal agreement with the creator(s) of film or movie enabling them full rights to the film ideas which lets them use the movie in anyway they wish.

The distribution company also brokers the deal with cinemas to make the number of copies of the film that the theatres need. This agreement  also includes the payment that the cinemas owe the distribution company for the possession of the film.

What is Horizontal & Vertical Integration?
Horizontal integration indicates the acquisition of competitors in the same section of an industry.
Vertical integration indicates the control of three main areas of production, distribution and exhibition. Such as the, Time warner and AOL merge.
What was the Hollywood 'studio system' like in the 1930's and 40's? 
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the 1950s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios. The first thing people think of is producers and how these people shaped Hollywood. The Studio System during the 1930s strangled independent cinema and took such great liberties to turn a profit that creativity was severely compromised. The Studio System was run by the producer's that worked within it, and the films that they produced were under their total control.

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Film Noir

1) In the 1940s and 50s, a film style called film noir filled the cineam screens in America. Film Noir movies often portrayed the dark side of American life, full of urban crime. Film noir also had a distinctive style, with shadow-filled low-key lighting. As the Night ruled in film noir, the shadow was more important than the light.


The low-key lighting used in many classic film noirs are associated with light and dark contrasts and dramatic shadow patterning a style known as chiaroscuro (a style associated to art). Film noir is also known for its use of low-angle, wide-angle shots.


2) This image from a piece of Film Noir  text consists of Back lighting and this is why it is an image of Low-Key lighting. Back lighting is used in this image to create suspense around a character as you cannot see their face but you can definitely see a siloheutte through the light. 


The camera angle within the image is wide-angle shot which looks directly at the character. Also as you cannot see the characters face this immideatley connotes that evil is associated to the character as dark colours usually denote trouble. Furthermore, the characters body language and pose suggest he is agitated and seeking or creating trouble.


3)
In this short film extract from a piece of Film Noir is used to show the huge contrast in the colours used as this shows Low-Key lighting. The shadow sorrounding the main character suggests that he has a split personality as the lighting in the film extract draws attention upon the gun and other weapons such as knifes held by the characters. Most of the male characters facial expressions within the film extract are intense.


Whereas, the female characters within the extract do not have intense facial expressions but instead are made to look sexy under the lighting and this is shown within the film extract as we only see the colour red within the extract when love and romance is being connoted. This is shown when we see a dead woman lying down on a bright red heart shaped bed to show the links between the one of the main characters and the woman lying on top of the bed.