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.