Wednesday 14 June 2017

NCIS


The clip depicts the main storyline(story arch) as being widely based on the local high school since it is the first shot that is shown to us. Students are shown huddled together after a fire-alarm talking to each other until the arrival of the new student. The mood changes slightly which may highlight how a new storyline is going to be introduced.This new character seems to have a different overlook compared to the other students as she arrives in a Benz with a customised number plate. the fact that she is quite the opposite of the other students may foreshadow problems in the future. For example when she kissed one of the girl's boyfriend.  An immediate break-up may be expected.

The characters are the classic of a tv drama established around high school. There is the normal splitting up of students in particular groups. the cool kids on one side and the average on the other.When Gabriella is being introduced, her class is emphasised as she comes with her well-dressed parents and a Benz. Gabriella's personality is immediately shown as being arrogant as she does what her father wanted to her to do but she did so in an inappropriate way.

At first, you see how people are out in front of a school due to a fire alarm. Fire alarms are typically done in schools for reasons either an actual fire happened or a test drill. Students are wearing uniform and bags which is also stereotypically seen in local schools.

The overall setting as given as quite spread out which is not safe considering the fact a fire alarm just went off. Only the front of the school is shown since it should be obvious that it is a school.


Thursday 4 May 2017

The trailer uses narrative techniques which are commonly used in mature themed movies.According to Props theory, Precious is shown as the main protagonist as she has initial thought of positive things in the future. Precious is continuously shown in the trailer showing that she may be the leading character or even the hero.

The trailer does go through Todorov's theory of equilibrium. At the start of the trailer, there is positive scenery with lively music- this maybe the equilibrium of the trailer as it starts off positive. The disequilibrium appears as the mother of precious nearly hits her daughters head. From that scene on, the main people who surround Precious are seen in either a moody or aggressive state.The new equilibrium then takes place as the people surrounding Precious are happy and so is she. The new equilibrium is typically shown in movies based on depressing topics to show that all problems are resolved in some way.

Barthes action code is clearly shown as Precious' mother misses her hit towards Precious with a frying pan. She then looks at Precious with an aggressive look which is then cut off to another scene. This may intrigue a lot of people into thinking what could have happened, having a lot of thoughts. An enigma could be where Preciousheads towards a gate with a child in her arms. This may question the audience as to why she might be there when it is clearly locked for some reason.


Monday 1 May 2017

                                                    Evaluating my production work


1) What typical features (conventions) of a film poster have you used? How do they help to make the poster effective in attracting an audience? (Key conventions include title, release date, institutional information, reviews, a central image etc.)

The first main two conventions that I knew would attract my audience was the central image and the title. These are what communicates with a specific audience to see whether they actually some sort of interest for the hinted genre.The reviews may also intrigue an audience as it shows that people have actually taken their time to watch it and have some good interest in it. The audience would feel as if it would be worth their time. The same effect/feeling applies with the institutional logo. If the company had a history of successful films then people would be more likely to watch.

 2) What is the genre of your film? How would your target audience know this from the design of your poster? E.g. Colour scheme, font choice, mise-en-scene (props, costume, character, setting).

The genre, horror, is quite prominent in both the title and central image. The title is written in black capitals with the font looking like it was written out of black fluid which may refer to one of the sub-genres (gore).
In addition, the main protagonist/antagonist holds a knife which has clear connotations of violence. Slight horror may be seen to as she holding the knife with a big grin showing how psychopathic she is.

3) What institutional information have you used to try and sell the film and how does this appeal to the audience? E.g. 'From the Producers of...' / Star power / Directors / Reviews.

I have used the institutional logo below the billing block of the poster. I used "Lionsgate" specifically due to it being a very popular film studio and it had produced a series of horror movies which turned out to be successful "Saw". People who were fond of these movies and liked how the company had produced it may take interest in my movie. They may feel as if they would get the same effects and emotions as they had to Saw.

4) Where are there examples of synergy between your storyboard and film poster? (Synergy is the link or interaction between two different media texts).

The main link between the two is that they both contain the main protagonist/antagonist od the movie. She appears in both in the trailer and the poster as she plays an important role in the movie. The tagline in the poster is also used at the end of the trailer as the lines are constantly referred to in the story. The words coming soon and the age certification is also referred to in both so that specific audience is ready for the movie to come out. The fact that it's coming soon may cause it to become somewhat of a common conversation between film lovers.

5) What representations have you used in your film? E.g. gender / race / age / nationality / place)? Are these reinforcing or challenging stereotypes? 

I have intentionally used a young person as the role of the protagonist/antagonist which is portrayed in the film poster. commonly young people are seen as weak, immature and reckless. There is a clash of these stereotypes as yes the character is holding a knife and smiling as if she has no awareness of what she is doing but really she knows everything she is going despite her age. I wanted to be put across that age isn't what makes your more mature, it's mainly the amount of experience the person goes through. 

Wednesday 26 April 2017

                                                                Representation Analysis




Precious

In Precious, the family in particular denies the typical, welcoming American family as it is unbalanced without the father. The fact that they are an African american family without no father may interpret how they have lots of problems compared to the stereotypical white-american family.For example at the start of the trailer it shows how Precious as high hopes for being a professional singer however half way through the trailer she later on feels as if there is absolutely no hope in life. The mother of Precious is shown as being verbally and physically abusive. This may be taken as a common stereotype as people feel that black people are the ones that start violence.Obese people are represented as more likely to experience bullying and depression due to their physical appearance. However she escapes this feeling by dreaming about becoming her aspiring career, singer. Woman are represented in many ways. Precious' mother is constantly unaware of precious' emotions which makes her arrogant. Precious herself is unable to defend herself from the abuse therefore making her look weak which links in with the gender stereotype of women being weak. Disability is shown as being a way of defining people in a certain group in society. This is prominent as Precious names her daughter Mongo. The main reason for this name is because she has down syndrome. In the past, people with down syndrome were referred to as Mongolians due to the way their eyes were shaped which was an offensive stereotype.

Wednesday 8 February 2017

Precious film poster analysis


Image result for precious poster

The title precious is written in white, big and bold letters which makes it stand out more than any other conventions. The main stars are also written in white capitals at the top of the poster. These may be well-known people in the industry, therefore, it may gain the mass amount of attention from the audience.

The central image is very significant in the poster as it gives a sense of what the background story of the main protagonist is. The hand may represent how her virginity was taken from her and how it shattered her life.

Three awards the movie gained are listed at the top with the stars too. The fact that the movie has gained this much awards certainly shows how good the movie must be, allowing a lot of people to be interested in it.

The billing block is placed at the bottom of the poster, mentioning all the other important members of the cast. The institutional logo os Lionsgate and other companies are mentioned along with the billing block too. The words " coming soon" is written boldly giving that it may go viral as it would be talked about a lot.

The color orange has connotations of happiness, determination, and success which may foreshadow events that would occur in the film.

in addition, the film is based off a book which already gets a lot of attention as most successful movies come from good books.

Film trailer analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urFY3jp759c&t=7s

At the start, a green screen is shown certifying that all audiences may watch the following preview. this is highly common in trailers. This is then followed by the Lionsgate logo. People who are familiar with its works would instantly know that what they are going to watch is worth watching. An introduction of the main character is given as she talks about her intentions in the future. Nice, however, everyday life music is put into the background. however, this is shortly abrupted by a metal sound banging against something. The fact that this sourcery completly blew the image of good intentins shows that this is the reason why precious' life is mourning. This sound is then shown coming from the antagonist. After the following event, the trailer then goes on with sad music.

Wednesday 1 February 2017

PRECIOUS

I chose this movie in particular due to its serious context and touching story line. 

Institutional background

The film studio behind the movie is Lions gate. The company is mostly known for producing controversial movies such as Saw, Dirty Grandpa, Rambo, Kick-Ass etc.

The film was distributed by Icon productions.


No brand loyalty

Precious mostly fits into the Drama genre and is also supposedly known as being in the "indie" genre.

From the trailer, I could tell that the drama genre fit in  due to the dramatisation of the scenes, especially the parts where the main character is being abused by her mother.This also fits in with the indie genre as it does look like a low budget, independent movie due to the location and life style of the main character.

Oprah Winfrey is known for having a harsh childhood which relates to the context of the movie. this allows the audience to know that the movie is going to be somewhat as serious compared to the life of Oprah's. 

its a matter of timing 

UK release date:October 23rd 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urFY3jp759c   - This was uploaded on 20 may 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsTJqwlWkus  - an interview with the main star and another person from the cast. This was uploaded on the 16th of speptember 2009 before the UK release date. 

the ratio of people who have given fresh tomatoes to rotten tomatoes is 203:19.
This prominently indicates that a lot people took interest in the film and loved it more than the small amount of people who didn't.  

Risky business

The  original budget for the film was $10,000,000. 
The film made $1,872,458 in the opening week.
As a whole, the movie had a sum of $47,536,959.

judging the from the budget and the gross, it is clear that the movie was a success as its gross is way more than two and a half times of the budget.

Stars in their eyes

The films the director produced previously were well known are the paper boy, empire and the butler.

The movies he'd produced all seem to fit into to the drama genre.

The main star is Gabourey Sidibe who plays the role of precious in the movie.She hasn't seemed to have acted in a movie before precious as they may have been the start of her career.

In the trailer, the director is first mentioned which is then followed by Oprah and Tyler's names as they promote the film.



Thursday 19 January 2017

DON'T BREATHE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76yBTNDB6v


genre: crime film/ thriller


Narrative

The story line is evident as a family move into a home and see a blind man. They think he is totally harmless but their thoughts were wrong as they encounter the same man in their house but acting in a violent manner. The reason to why the man is behaving like this isn't confirmed which may make specific audiences curious to find out why.

Character

The main character seems to be an adult woman who seems to not be hurt by the blind man until the very end which is found in most thriller horror movies. She is shown as that typical person to stand and watch as the man comes towards her which most thriller movies do to make the scene more dramatic looking.

Iconography

The trailer has blatant connotations of a thriller movie: gun shots, violence, some blood, a safe looking place etc. The characters emotion of being scared and anxious at what they witness may be a key link to specific thriller movies.

Setting

The movie is set in a house which may seem to be a safe area for most people as it keeps them away from danger. however in this case it seems to create more danger than there actually is. There are not many places to hide as it clearly shown as the blind man corners the character to attack. It is also set in the middle of the night maybe as they struggle to see where they are going at the end of the trailer coincidentally just like the blind man himself.