Film Homework: Due before Thurs Nov 11 (VAN)

Part A:

·         What film genres are the most popular at present? Why do you think this is? (Consider technology, social & economic context)

The most popular genre for films at the moment is family films. I think this is because they appeal to a much larger target audience than any other genre, therefore more people will go to see it any the company makes more profit.

Another reason for this is a lot of family films are animated which means they make huge saving by not needing to fire actors, lighting equipment etc. An advantage of not hiring an actor means that they make a character which could become very popular and make them a lot of money in the form of merchandise; an example of this is Shrek.

Other popular genre include: horror, comedy and action. These genres are targeted at young people, between the ages of 10-25. This is because the majority of cinema users are young people. This could be due to them having more time as they don’t tend to have children and full time jobs and things they need to spend their money on like bills etc. So if movies are targeted at young people more people are likely to go see it and therefore it will be more successful.    

·         What genres do you think were popular back in the 1930’s and 1940’s?

      I think genres such as action, comedy and romance were popular in the 1930s and 40s. I think this because they are targeted at all ages and genders and back in the 1930s and 40s people of all ages and genders went to the cinema as a form of entertainment and socialising. 

kicks trailer- monday cover work

Shot type
The trailer consists mostly of close-ups and medium shots focusing on particular thing on the screen and even when there is a long shot a tends to be a close up after the long shot to emphasise what is shown in the long shot, for example when she shot her friend immediately after it shows her hands shaking as she drops the gun. This is effective as it makes us focus on a specific thing for each shot.

Camera angle

The majority of the time the camera is straight on which makes it easy to see what is going on. There is a high angle shot when they are sitting by the fire which shows them to be strong and unified.

Camera movement

There is not much camera movement in the trailer because the different clips are so short in the trailer that there is not much time for the camera to move enough to cause an effect.

Mise-en-scene - all that is in the frame - this includes: colour, lighting, costume, actors and their body language, props.

Sound

Diegetic sound -They use the sounds of what is happening on the screen to emphasise it and make sure the reader understand what is happening. For example when Nicole smashes the glass bottle and when she fires the gun the loud noise involved with the action emphasise the action itself further.

Non-diegetic sound -Music is used to change the mood and pace of the trailer. For example when she meets Jasmine there is a happier music which shows them to be friends and happy, and when the happy music stops, music with a much faster pace and with a quick beat plays when they are partying and dancing.

Editing

There is a techniques used where a words comes up on the screen and then there is a clip showing that word. For example obsession comes on the screen, which is followed by her cutting a heart with the footballers name in it into her arm. Also the editing makes the clips that are shown very short this keeps the viewer interested and shows lots of different parts in the movie, which give the viewer a bigger view of what happens and therefore makes them want to go watch the movie. Another use of editing is, on the same shot the camera angle will keep switching depending on who is talking and what actions are happening, when they are in the car under the bridge is an example of this.

Genre

There is a violent iconography present in the trailer.

Narrative -Is it linear or non-linear?

The narrative follows Todorov’s theory as there is a equilibrium at the beginning were she loves the footballer Lee Cassidy, then there is a disequilibrium were the footballer moves from Liverpool to Madrid which cause a lot of problems were she tries to make him stay, that end up with her shooting her friend.

Reebok advert featuring 50 Cent

1.      How does the ad glamorise violence? (Consider mise-en-scene, shot type, camera angle, use of sound, editing)

There are many techniques used in the 50 Cent video to glamorise violence. It start by showing a some shops on a main road and then all off a sudden a train goes past in the middle of the street very quickly, which is followed by an image of 50 cents face and then a back to the street this a flashing red tint and a girl screaming; this series of images and sounds are almost a reconstruction of 50 cent getting shot which is mentioned later on, the train connotes a vehicle 50 cents face connotes criminals and or “gangstas” and the flashing red screen and the girl screaming shows him being shot, just after the girls scream there is a news reporters voice saying “rapper 50 cent has just gone down in Jamaica queens”, which tells the reader that the previous events connote his attack . The fact that they used someone as well-known as 50 cent showing him getting shot glamorises being shot and shooting people and viewers who aspire to be like 5 cent may be encouraged to behave like him and do the same things as him. Later in the video it shows him sitting in on a box it a dark room wearing g-unit (gang) clothing counting from 1-9 (the amount of times the got shot). At the same time as him counting up there is news reports playing in the background talking about his attack one saying he is in hospital in a critical condition and another saying he was signed to shady aftermath (record company) which makes the viewer think that was why he was attacked which would have been from a gang. The last voice says “50 cent still has the game on smash, tell me who are you gonna massacre next” the reply which 50 cent gives is him laughing then a beat is played and the reebok logo comes on the screen. 50 cents reply connotes that he thinks of killing as a joke and funny.

2.      Why would a global company like Reebok glamorise violence in this way? What do you think is their intention?

I think that reebok is not trying to glamorise violence at all I think it is trying to show the effects of violence in the form of talking about 50 cents near death experience and is trying to show that are involved in serious gangs can and will be involved in serious attacks such as shootings and people who think violence is funny and do it because they are involved in gangs will get hurt and possibly killed.

3.      Who is the target audience and how do you think they would be affected by the ideology of the ad?

The target of the advert is young people as they are main group of people that are involved in gang crime and general violence like knife and gang crime and I think they intend on showing the target audience they dangers of the activities they are involved in and show they want the consciences can be and how serious something they find funny are.   

4.      In your opinion, should the ad have been banned? Why/Why not?

I do not think it should be banned because of how it shows the consequences of being in a gang and being part of a gang that is involved in violent activity. One the other hand I understand that some people watching the advert will think that 50 cent is cool for surviving and some kind of icon that the viewer should try and be like him and also another view could be that it shows that violence doesn’t have serious consequences and you will not die which is not a real representation of real life. So in conclusion I don’t agree with it being banned but understand the reason why it was.

      Waqas Zar 

Campaigns that caused controversy

Volkswagen small but tough advert:

This is where a terrorist gets into the car and pull up in a busy area and blows himself up, but nothing happened to the car, then ton screen it says “polo. Small but tough”. This is controversial as the “terrorist” in the ad is shown wearing a scarf that is worn mostly by people in the middle east and Muslims which is indirectly showing Muslims as terrorists .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-nh_9alaco&feature=player_embedded#!

Ford Ka's 'Evil twin' advert:

This advert, for the Ford Ka's 'Evil twin' featured a pigeon-bashing four wheeler that brought the wrath of animal rights activists across the country, meaning the advert never even made it to air in the UK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4_SNdsGcTA&feature=player_embedded

Zazoo Condoms advert:

This commercial was too much for some, with its fairly obvious message that sex without condoms can lead to bratty little children screaming in supermarkets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nojWJ6-XmeQ&feature=player_embedded

2 contrasting movie covers

The images on the front cover attract the male target audience, the main image is a topless girl in front of a sports car, this attracts the audience as they may be interested in sports cars or racing and may find the girl on the cover attractive. The pictures on the left side of the page are of sports and parts for those car and has “TWIN-TURBO 350Z WIDEBODY” written above them, this attracts the audience as they may want tips on how to customise their car or may have a general interest in modifying cars. The skyline on the page read “INSIDE: 2007 TUNE SAVING GUIDE-SAVE THOUSANDS TODAY!” this attracts the audience as they may want to modify their car but may not be able to afford it or may just want to save money while modifying their car.

This magazine cover attracts a female audience by:

-The main image, the main image is of Jennifer Aniston this attracts the audience as she is a good looking successful women who the target audience aspire to be like, she is wearing a red dress and people who read the magazine may think that by reading the magazine they will learn to be like and look like her.

-the cover lines: One of which says “”what Angelina did was very uncool”” this attracts the reader as they may want to know what she did as they may be interested in gossip or maybe just don’t want to be uncool. Another says “EXCEPTIONAL GIFTS FROM $5 TO $500” this attracts the reader as it will shows tell them about gifts in a large price range so they can find one to meet their needs. “HOLIDAY ROMANCE” attracts the audience as the target audience may be in relationships and want to have a romantic holiday and may want tips and advice on how to do that.

3 posters analysis

Shrek 3

This movie is targeted at a young audience of both males and females between the ages of 1-10. The social economic group is E as the target audience isn’t old enough to work and therefor doesn’t not earn money. This movie doesn’t target any particular ethnicity. The poster attracts the target audience by the use of bright colours and animated characters and well known character from Shrek 1 and 2.

Day of the Dead

The genre of this movie is horror. The movie is targeted at adults between the ages of 18-30.it is target at the c2de socio-economic group. The poster uses dark colours on the character on the poster to make character seem scary, and the use of blood on the background and masthead connotes that it contains a lot of violence and killing; the blood also connotes that it is a horror movie which attracts people who enjoy horror movies.

Wall Street

This movie is targeted at succeeders (young and rubican psychographic). It is targeted at the ABC1 socio economic group. It is targeted at people between the ages of 30-65. It is mainly targeted at males as the protagonists are males. It is targeted at white males as they are the people who are at the same status as the main characters in the movie and may be successful just like the main characters in the movie. The masthead is in a serif font which makes the movie seem more serious and this may attract the target audience. The character on the right of the poster only has light on the left side of his body and the other side does not have light on it, this connotes that he has something to hide or is not who he seems.