Essay

"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area? 


I agree with this statement as cross media convergence is when film companies accidently use other forms of media to promote their film, such as when a film company use Twitter to promote a film by posting links to the film trailer and they can get Twitter to promote their film by putting a link to the film directly onto every Twitter account therefore giving the film more publicity as they do not have to follow the account to see the post.


Also YouTube is used as a convergence as film companies such as Paramount Pictures would have an account where they would post film trailers and behind the scenes interviews with the cast members this would help promote the film as it gives the audience the chance to see parts of the film before it comes out, the companies could then also use other forms of media to post their trailer too increase the amount of people that would watch the film. When watching a video on YouTube there is a recommended column this will allow people to find trailers for films that they have liked or previously watched therefore giving more of a chance to see the trailers.


Another form of cross media convergence is the use of Facebook by film companies, this is useful as the companies can create pages for each film such as Marvel Studios, they have created Facebook pages in which people can like and get notified when they post something new. Marvel Studios have created a page for the promotion of ‘The Avengers’ having a page for a film can help promote it as when people like the page they will be sent notifications about if the page has been updated which will help people keep up to date with everything that is happening with the film. They can also see other film pages that this company has created which will help promote other films that this company and others have created.



Synergy is used when films deliberately join with other companies to promote their film. Such as when magazines create a page or spread to promote a film, a good example of this is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, as this in newspapers such as The Telegraph, this had a seven page spread on reviews and behind the scenes of the film, this would have reached a national population in UK as it is a very popular, well known newspaper.


The Grand Budapest Hotel created a website that revealed secrets about the film before it had come out, this helped market the film to audiences as they could see parts of what the film had in it. Also Grand Budapest Hotel created a recipe for ‘Mendels’ which was the cake used in the film, they also posted a video on YouTube on how to make them, this went viral which means that more people would have seen it as it would have been shared around social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.


Lego is used a synergy company as it creates toys that promote films, such as Back to the Future, many Lego toys have been created to promote the film such as the Delorean which is the car used in the film, this has helped promote the film as children will by this as it is a toy and then wonder where it came from, therefore helping promote the film.

Essay

“Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices”.  To what extent would you agree with this statement, within the media area you have studied?


I would agree with this statement as in the film as in the film industry, without marketing and/or distribution films would not be able to reach their target audiences, whether it is regarded as a 'good film' by critics. For the majority of films, to make a lot of money, they will need to get their film distributed by a large distribution company, such as Paramount Pictures who are one of the biggest film distribution companies in the world. Paramount Pictures being a world wide distribution company means that the films reach all around the world meaning that more people will see the film, which results in the film making more money. Also being a world wide, respectable distribution company means that they have connections in different types of media such as, newspapers, social media, and others. This means that people can now find out about films easier, and they can share it over social networking sites.

However critics reviews play a  huge part in a films success, this is shown by the film Grand Budapest Hotel, this film was given a 92% from the film review website 'Rotten Tomatoes'. Films with good reviews spark audiences interests as people largely rely on reviews of films before seeing them, this way they can also know which bits are the best and worst as this is what sort of information is in critics reviews, this therefore impacts the film making money.

Although critics reviews can make a difference they also cannot, this is shown by The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1, this films got a 66% on 'Rotten Tomatoes, which is okay but not as good as the previous two, it had a budget of $125,000,000 and got a  gross of $225,693,000 despite getting average reviews, this shows that films coming from a film franchise such as The Hunger Games helps the film get money.

Grand Budapest Hotel used a lot of different ways to market the film such as, using a Prada store and decorating it in little pictures and props from the film, Wes Anderson, the director of Grand Budapest Hotel, also produced a video and recipe for creating the 'Mendels' cakes, the video for this went viral meaning that people who did not know about the film could find out about it. This means that more people would have heard about the film therefore more people would have seen the film when it came out meaning more money.

The Avengers did not need good critic reviews as it was a product of Marvel, who is a worldwide respected company with a large fan base of people that would watch this film. One of the places they announced that 'The Avengers' was coming to cinemas was at Comic-Con this is a convention were the majority of people will have a product or have seen or read something that Marvel had produced, this meant that Marvel's target audience was in one convention and with the right slot to release the film and some clips Marvel had already created hype about the film.

Lionsgate UK CEO Zygi Kamasa, has stated that he thinks cinema tickets in the UK should be cheaper, "A blockbuster can cost $250m and a UK independent film can cost $4m but it’s £10 or more to see both. I think we should see UK films priced at £4 and US films at £10. A trip to the cinema isn’t cheap anymore.” He believes that because the prices for tickets for a Hollywood film and an independent British made film are the same this means that less people are going to see the independent film as they do not want to waste money on something thta they do not recognise.

More films becoming available on DVD or online means that film companies can have their films watched easier this therefore means that more people will watch films creating more money going to the company that made the film. Also films now are coming in high definition and ultra high definition this will encourage more people to spend more money  on the better quality film as this will make for a more enjoyable watch.

In conclusion, I believe that the distribution and marketing of a film is more important than if critics thought that it was a good film or not, as if a film did not get distributed or marketed then almost all of the people would not hear about films being released and if this happened then it would not matter how critics rated it as they would not be able to create a gross profit just from critics seeing their films.

Grand Budapest Hotel Task 3

Marketing:


5 secrets to the film's success.

1. The UK Secret Cinema did a performance of Grand Budapest Hotel called 'Budapest' this is different as normally this group perform classic films and Fox SearchLight toured a small scale of the hotel form theatres from Hollywood to Berlin.
2. Some of the props used, such as the moustache wax and bow ties, and the books called the 'The Society of the Crossed Keys' are being sold.
3. They put out recipes to create the cakes in the film 'Mendels', the video of this went viral and people were sending in their creations of this.
4. Due to the success of 'Moonrise Kingdom' on 2012 Anderson has now got fans that are significantly younger than his intended audience.
5. The film got a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this was only beaten by 'Moonrise Kindom' and 'Fantastic Mr Fox' and critics say "We don't see the ceiling yet".

How did Anderson use the QE2 to market the film?
Anderson used the QE2 to show a special screening of the film to guests who were on the cruise ship from New York to London.
What connects Prada to the marketing of this film?
A Prada store in Berlin collaborated with Anderson for the opening of the film Grand Budapest Hotel by decorating their store with little pictures or props from the film which created a 1920's/30's look.


How the plot was revealed:
Through this website small hints are given away to what happens in the film, such as the travel visa that Zero has as he is traveling on the train, there are many more throughout the website.

Grand Budapest Hotel Task 2

The Story





Cast:
Zero - Anthony Quinonez
M. Gustave - Ralph Fiennes
Dmitri - Adrien Brody
M. Chuck - Owen Wilson
Agatha - Saorise Ronan
Kovacs - Jeff Goldblum
Madame D - Tilda Swinton
Jopling - Willem Dafoe
Serge X - Mathieu Amalric
Henckels - Edward Norton
M.Ivan - Bill Murray
M. Jean - Jason Schwartzman
Young Writer - Jude Law
Mr Moustafa - F. Murray Abraham
Ludwig - Harvey Keitel


Building A Hotel:




Where did scouting for a hotel take place?
Central Europe
Which location did the production team eventually use?
A department store in Goerlitz, East Germany
Did they film on location or on a sound stage?
They filmed on location
Where were the production offices located?
On the top floor of the hotel
How did they film the 60's and 30's hotel?
They created the 60's hotel and filmed those parts and then tore that down and created the 30's hotel which they then filmed on.
Where did inspiration for the hotel's interior come from?
Took ideas from when the production team went around Europe to find a hotel to film at.
How many extras did it take to fill the lobby?
150 extras.

Representation of Sexuality Prezi

https://prezi.com/cfpetn4hvhsy/representation-of-sexuality/

Grand Budapest Hotel Task 1

Grand Budapest Hotel

What is Indian Paintbrush and who owns it?
Indian Paintbrush is a small film production company, that have produced films such as Fantastic Mr Fox, Grand Budapest Hotel, and The Darjeeling Limited. The company is owned by Steve M. Rales in 2007.
Which company is Fox Searchlight a subsiduary of?
20th Century Fox
Which type of films do Fox Searchlight distribute?
Fox Searchlight specialise in the US distribution of independent and British films, drama and horror, as well as non-English language films.
Which two countries financed the film?
England and Germany
What did Anderson use instead of CGI (computer generated imagery)?
Instead of using CGI, Anderson used paintings for the background and he filmed inside hotels.
Where did the inspiration for the Hotel come from?
Palace Bristol Hotel in Karlovy Vary
Which film festival opened with The Grand Budapest Hotel?
64th Berlin International Film Festival
Alexanre Desplat wrote the score, which major Hollywood films has he worked on?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Imitation Game, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Kings Speech, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Godzilla, and The Golden Compass
How many awards has the film won?
Berlin International Film Festival - Jury Grand Prix
David Di Donatello Awards - Best Foreign Film
Golden Trailer Awards - Best Graphics in a TV Spot
Nastro d'Argento - Best Costume Design
World Soundtrack Awards - Best Original Score of the Year
Gotham Awards - Best Feature
Initially how many cinemas did the film open on in the US?
4 Screens
How much did it average per cinema?
$202,791.5 per screen
The film was released on Ultraviolet BluRay, what does this enable consumers to do?
This allows people that buy this sort of BluRay to burn a copy onto a disk without breaking any copyright laws.
Which companies do not support Ultraviolet?
Walt Disney and ITunes
What complaints did Ultraviolet encounter when it launched?

Representation of disability in TV drama

Mise en scene:
Alex's clothes are brown and he is wearing jeans, the store he is in is bright colours that have connotations for Christmas, this could be to show that Alex's disability makes him different from the rest of society.

Editing:


Camera:
At the beginning of the scene Alex is shown to be looked down by the camera by the use a high angle shot, as this presents him as being smaller and insignificant. When Alex is talking to the lady in the shop the camera is looking up at the lady from Alex's point of view, this could suggest that the lady is above Alex as he is disabled and his brother is shown at the same angle as the lady, this is to show that they have more power than Alex. When Alex and his brother are shown in the mirror, his brother is shown in the centre of the shot with Alex on the edge, this could suggest that Alex is less important which links to the stereotype of people with disabilities being marginalised.

Sound:
The Christmas music is diegetic sound, it could be there to show contrast to Alex's bad mood.

Regional Identity

Scottish

• Accents - The Scottish seem to have a very strong accent making them hard to understand.
• Location/ setting - When Scotland is shown on TV or films it will be shown in the run down parts where a lot of vandalism and attack happen, in Edinburgh or Glasgow showing all of the architecture and the civilised places or the country side will be shown as it is tranquil.
• Slang - Bonnie means beautiful, wee is small, tatties is potatoes
• Clothes - The Scottish wear kilts, tartan, tam hats, and glengarry hats
• Pastimes - Alcoholics, farmers
• Attitudes/ behaviour - Violent
• Stereotypes - All Scottish play the bagpipes, wear kilts, eat haggis, are alcoholics, are red heads, and wear tartan.
• Reality - Most Scottish people do not have a very strong accent as it quite easy to understand, most of Scotland is tranquil and calming although some of it is run down, not all Scottish people wear tartan kilts or are red heads, also they are not all violent alcoholics.

Liverpool

• Accents - Very strong accents making it hard to understand them
• Location/ setting - Council streets, littered, unclean, gloomy
• Slang - Bins - spectacles or sunglasses, down the banks - give grief, and jarg - fake
• Clothes - Tracksuit, skimpy outfits
• Pastimes - Miners
• Attitudes/ behaviour - Angry, alcoholics,
• Stereotypes - All the people from Liverpool are violent people that wear tracksuits and are living on council streets.
• Reality - The accents can be quite difficult to understand although not everyone's is, there are some parts of Liverpool that are nice and clean, and not everyone wears tracksuits or are angry, violent alcoholics.

Newcastle

• Accents - String accents making it hard to understand them
• Location/ setting - Council areas, littered, unclean, tranquil, clean, breath-taking scenery
• Slang - Howay man is exhortation or encouragement can be positive or negative, wey-aye, man means yes
• Clothes- Skimpy outfits on the 18-25 year old women, vests
• Pastimes - Violent, angry
• Attitudes/ behaviour Violent, angry
• Stereotypes - Strong accents, living on benefits on a council estate, wearing inappropriate clothing that are violent.
• Reality - The accent is strong and is sometimes difficult to understand, there are nice clean places to visit, only in some parts of Newcastle are there inappropriate clothes being worn, they aren't all violent and angry

Yorkshire

• Accents - Strong, not difficult to understand
• Location/ setting - Country side, farming
• Slang - Gaffer - boss, courin' - going out with, 'ow do? - how do you do?
• Clothes - Flat caps, wellingtons, plaid shirts, jeans
• Pastimes - Farmers, family people
• Attitudes/ behaviour - Kind although can be quite harsh if people go on their land.
• Stereotypes - They all sound like farmers and are farmers, it is all country side, everyone wears the same just in different colours, they are all family and are very nice unless you get on the wrong side of them.
• Reality - The accent is not very difficult to understand, there is a lot of country side but there are towns and cities, they are not all farmers and therefore do not dress like farmers, some are very family based as it is important.

Exam questions

• The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (how does who owns a media company influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?) An example of a big company that make one genre of film is Marvel, they only make films of superheroes as this is what they have done from the start of Marvel being created. Big films companies do make big films which bring in lots of money, although some films will not do very well, such as Universal Pictures created the film 'Howard the Duck' which brought in less 50% of their budget for the film. Also an example of a small film company that made a big film is See-Saw Films and Bedlam Productions who both co-produced the film The King's Speech, which had a small budget yet had a huge gross profit.
• The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; (how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)
• The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; (how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blue Ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?) It has changed the way film companies make films as digital film, 3D, and Blue Ray have allowed films to be made in better quality so that people who watch the film have a good experience whilst watching. Internet streaming, downloadable content, and home cinema have allowed film companies to have their films watched easier as it is all available on the internet, these allow the viewer to watch films in the comfort of their own home instead of going to a cinema to watch them. Due to all of the above people can now buy and rent films form their houses, as they can have them delivered or have them straight onto their TV.
• The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; (how and why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's, consoles etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the cinema to watch a film) Film companies have made it easier to view films on phones, PS's, consoles etc as these are the devices that are easily accessible for a lot of people, this means no trips to the cinema which in the end reduces the carbon footprint as less cars are travelling there. Now that films are accessible on multiple types of devices it makes it easier to pick them up or turn them on and play a film, as they do not have to travel to a cinema to see a film. 
• The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; (can you think of examples of how different technologies have come together to help the film industry?) New cameras have made the quality of the films better as they are becoming more accessible to smaller film companies, the use of surround sound is used in every cinema as it creates a better viewing experience for the audience.
• The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; (how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?) Film companies will release a trailer of a film to try and get people interested in the film, this will happen as the companies will show some of the best looking or funniest bits of the film to show people what is in the rest of the film. Marvel for example announce a film during Comic-con as the majority of people there are into comics so it appeals to Marvels target audience.
• The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (what is your opinion on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?) I believe that the developments in technology is a good thing at then it gives the film companies that might not have as big of a budget a chance to create a good quality film, also the fact that you can get films on many different devices has had a huge impact on the amount of films watched as they are available by the press of a button. It is also good that smaller companies can join together or join with a bigger company to create a film as this means that the smaller companies have the chance to create a film that could get a large gross profit.

Spooks Ethnicity

Danny: Does not conform with the black stereotypical, as he speaks the Queen's English.
He is less powerful than the terrorist as he is tied to a chair, does not agree the black stereotype of being intimidating.
Danny is not scared of the terrorist as he stands up for what is right, this shows he is brave which does agree with the black stereotype.
Spy/Agent/Police
He links himself to the aggressor.
He's the better man as he distracts the gun man by getting his attention away from the woman, makes himself the focus,


Mise en scene:
Dark room with nothing in, only light is coming from through the windows, has a very tense atmosphere.
Gun mans associate in the background dressed stereotypically to a hit man as he is dressed in all black wearing a ski mask.
The lady looks like she is dirty which suggests that she has been captured by the gun man for a period of time which agrees with a terrorist stereotype.


Sound:
Islamic call to prayer - eerie
Tense - Black vs Arab (Ideological differences)
Spanish guitar suggests otherness - not British


Editing:
Lots of cuts - editing highlights the bravery of Danny (shows he is strong willed) and the evil of the gun man (untrustworthy/evil)
Crying white man on the phone gets some screen time as it shows binary opposites.


Camera:
Shaky - nervous effect
Low angle - looks up at the gun man sows he has the power.
Close-ups - Danny shows the determination and the emotion on his face.
Close-up - Gun man's gun shows that he is nervous as it is shaking.

Infogram

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Gender Stereotypes

Gender Stereotypes


Male stereotypes:
Men are obsessed with sex.
Men are seen to be physically fit.


Stereotypes of men in the media:
The Joker who is someone that will be able to make a group of people laugh with ease, could be seen as a mask of masculinity.
The Jock is a man that is very athletic, physically fit and is popular, they are seen to show no emotion and is the person men want to be and women want to be with.
The Strong Silent Type is seen  to be in charge of everything, is decisive, and that talking about their emotions is a sign of weakness.
The Big Shot is shown by his personal status, owning items that society thinks are valuable, has got a job that pays well, encouraging the stereotype of men being economically and socially successful.
The Action Hero is known to be strong and gets what he wants, often is found to be angry and seems  to show no emotion, suggests that he is brave and not scared of anything.

The Buffoon is seen to try and do the correct thing but might mess up, commonly seen as a father figure, has good intentions and is light hearted.

Representation of Disablilty

Disability - Stereotypes

Vulnerable - Can't defend themselves as easily

Incapable - Can't work

Unintelligent - Disability holds them back

Unattractive - Not seen as normal humans

Lonely - People don't like what they see

Marginalised - Seen as less of a human, insignificant

Disability in TV Drama

Walt Jr - Breaking Bad - Cerebral Palsy

Artie - Glee - Wheelchair

Layla - Tracy Beaker - Cerebral Palsy

JJ - Skins - Autism and Panic Attacks

Becky - Glee - Down Syndrome

Tony - Skins - Brain Damage

Disability in Film

Forrest Gump

My Name id Sam

My Left Foot

The Ringer

Sky Kids

Daredevil
Of Mice and Men
Rain Man
Born on the 4th July
The Green Mile
My Sister's Keeper
Fight Club
Donnie Darko
The Kings Speech

The Gaze

Throughout the music video it shows multiple times women in bikinis performing moves associated with orgasms and intimacy. The woman that is shown the most throughout the music video, is not there because she is a singer, she is there because the artists or the person that chose what goes in the scene has chosen her as she is attractive and because she will be seen as a sexual object by the audience watching this video.


After seconds the audience is shown a glimpse of a woman in a bikini showing her body whilst looking through a jungle like set, this is who the video is mainly shot about as she is what most men are attracted to. By this woman not wearing much clothing, the audience are supposed to look at her as an object instead of a person, as this then has the male audience intrigued.


At 1 minute 10 seconds the woman is shown to be looking back at the camera down the lens, this suggest that she could be looking at the audience enticing them or creating a relationship between the audience and her. As she looks back, background seems to be romantic as there are candles on the wall and it seems to be dark, which creates a sexual atmosphere between the audience and her.



In these scenes the woman in the green is shown placed on her own whilst dancing seductively to get the audience to concentrate on her as the song plays, this suggests that she is only supposed to be there because she is attractive as she plays no part in the story of the song. In the scene where the two women are showing up against a pole wearing clothes that are revealing and seem to be performing a sort of seductive pole dance. One of the dancers pulls her swimsuit out but then lets it go, this suggests that she is teasing the audience


 In these scenes the woman that was previously dressed in green is now shown to be in a princess Jasmine from Aladdin, it shows her in the minimum amount of clothing that would be allowed. In the scenes in the bedroom it is showing multiple women in their lingerie, and two women go into the bedroom with a man. The lighting in this scene suggests some sort of sensual mood lighting as they are in the bedroom and it is quite dark.

Throughout the final scenes, at the party there does not seem to be many men there, mainly women, this suggests that song is directed at the male population. Also within the video there does not seem to be any men in it except for the artists, this suggests that the artists wanted women to be there for the purpose of being attractive and to be seen as objects instead of people. When in the room smoking there are woman in not much clothing suggesting that they are objects, also  they seem to be surrounding one man.

World War Z

 

Pre Production
- is the film an original idea, a remake, a sequal or an adaptation (or a combination)?

World War Z is an original film
who is the director?  
Marc Forster, he has directed film such as 'Machine Gun Preacher' this is not the same as World War Z as it did not have a large budget or the correct qualities to be counted as a blockbuster.
which studio(s) are making the film? 
Paramount Pictures are one of the companies that produced The Avengers, they were founded in 1912 under the name Famous Players Film Company but then in 1914 they changed to Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures is owned by Viacom (Video & Audio Communications) which is an American global mass media company. Skydance Productions also produced this film. Skydance is a film and television production company inside of Paramount Pictures therefore is owned by Paramount Pictures. Skydance was founded in 2010 by David Ellison.
- what size budget did it have? 
The budget was $190,000,000, although when the film was green lit the budget was $150,000,000 until the producers realised that it would not cover. 
- which 'stars' signed up to be in the film?
Brad Pitt is the only actor that is classed as an 'a-list' celebrity, this is why the film is classed as a blockbuster.
- how long did it take from 'green light' to filming commencing
20th June 2011 - 4th November 2011

Production
- where was it 'filmed'
UK England Scotland Wales, Malta, Hungary, USA
- how was it filmed (3D, 2D, CGI)?
2D and some CGI was used
- any problems it faced
The film producers did not notify Hungarian authorities that they were shipping guns there, the charges were dropped on 10th February 2012.




Post Production
- does it rely on special effects?
World War Z does not rely on special effects although it does use it, as the zombies need make-up to look realistic, the costumes for everyone involved, and some of the sets will have used CGI and set designers.
- what sort of special effects are used?
Computer Generated Imaging, make-up, costumes, set design
- was 3D added AFTER filming?

- did it require any RE SHOOTS
October 2012 - 3 December 2012

Dredd Essay

This essay is about the film Dredd and why it was not success at the box office.

Pre-Production

Pre-production is a huge part of making a film such as the script will be written and changed multiple times and the locations, props, cast members, costumes, special effects and visual effects are all decided. The film's producers were Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald, and Allon Reich. Dredd was distributed by Entertainment Films Distributors and Lionsgate. Entertainment Films are a British distributor of independent films, founded in 1978 by Michael L Green, they have also done films such as The Inbetweeners, Scream 4 and many others. Lionsgate are a Canadian/American entertainment company that was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 1997, the company was founded by Frank Giustra. Lionsgate have distributed films such as the Hunger Games series, Expendables 1-3 and many more. The writer was Alex Garland who has also written films such as Never Let Me Go and Halo. IM global are the biggest film financing, sales and distribution companies in the world, the company was founded in Los Angeles, California in 2007 by Stuart Ford. DNA films are one of the co-producers of Dredd, they are a British film production company founded by Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew Macdonald, they have also produced films such as Love Actually, Never Let Me Go and many others. DNA Films partnered with IM Global, Lionsgate, Reliance BIG Pictures, IMAX and Entertainment Film Distributors to create Dredd. The majority of the film was filmed in Johannesburg South Africa because it lowered the cost of employing cast and crew in place such as Europe, it was also filmed briefly in North London England. Lionsgate announced their three picture deal with IM Global on the 2nd November 2010, this meant that Lionsgate had the agreement to produce three action films. The films distributors had to pay $30 million to show the rights to show the film in the UK, this helped as then it could reach more of an audience. Dredd made $30,000,000 from just pre sales which are companies buying the right to show this film. When Karl Urban announced that he was playing the role of Dredd at Comic-Con 2010, the film makers knew this would be an ideal place to announce this as Dredd was created from an old comic book.

Production

Production is the process in which the film is created. The filming for Dredd took from the 12th November 2010 to early February 2011. Dredd was primarily filmed in 3D using the Red One MX, Phantom Flex, and Silicon Imaging SI-2K, some 2D elements were were concerted to 3D in post production. The camera lenses that was used was the Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses. Dredd used the same 'slo-mo' as the film 'Never Let Me Go' which Alex Garland was the writer for. The opinion of the film makers that Dredd would be a 18 certificate, they did not mind as they knew that with the amount of gore and drug usage would have made it an 18, although making it an 18 does mean that the film will lose a lot of younger audiences, this could be a reason why it didn't do as well as people thought

Post Production

Post production is the final step of making a film and has the task of editing the entire film, colour correction and adding music. Whilst editing Dredd there was a disagreement between Pete Travis the director and the producers and executives, therefore Travis was not allowed to help the in editing process.

Distribution and Marketing

At the box office Dredd grossed $13,401,683 this is not what he film makers expected. The way the film distributors got people to watch Dredd in 3D was that they only released it in 3D in cinemas. This was a bad step as 4% of audiences physically cannot see 3D imaging, also when a film is created in 3D 30% of the light is lost when watching therefore making it harder to see clearer images. Dredd was unfortunately released after Gareth Evans' film 'The Raid' who's plots are very similar.

 

The Avengers

Pre-Production

The Avengers was produced by Kevin Feige who has also produced films such as Guardian of the Galaxy, Iron Man 1-3 and Captain America 1 and 2. The Avengers is not different to the film Kevin Feige usually produces. The Avengers was distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, who have also produced films such as all Disney films and Marvel films, there is no shock that this film did so well in the box office. Having a budget of $220,000,000 meant that they could hire the best actors and film in more expensive locations. This film was announced at Comic-Con this meant that the film would have made an impact as Marvel are one of the biggest comic book companies in the world.

 

Production

The Avengers took from 25th April 2011 to 4th September 2011 which is understandable as long film. The cameras used to film The Avengers were Arri Alexa, Panavision Primo, PCZ and Frazier Lenses, Arriflex 435, Panavision Primo Lenses, Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EOS 7D, and Canon Lenses all of these are high quality cameras as they could afford to get the best with such a large budget. Marvel try to make all of their films 12A, PG13 or lower as then their films can reach a wider audience.

 

Post Production

With the developments in CGI this means films such as The Avengers are becoming easier and less expensive to produce. The Avengers grossed $623,279,547 which is almost triple the budget which was expected as Marvel has a very large audience. Unlike Dredd, The Avengers is a one of a kind film as all superheroes have not been in the same film.

The British Film Industry

The British Film Industry

Representation of Skins

Representation of characters:



Tony:
Tony represents the stereotypical rebellious teenager, this is shown by the way he disobeys his father although does overcome this stereotype by helping his sister get into the house, after a night out, without their parents noticing. The audience could think that he is narcissistic by the way he seems to be posing in the mirror after doing his workout. In the opening scene Tony is shown awake in his bed although it does not seem like he has been to sleep as the cover is neat and he is lying in the centre of the bed with his eyes wide open. The bed cover shows a naked man laying face down and a woman facing up, Tony is shown lying in between them, this could suggest that he is sexually confused, although this is cleared up by him gazing across the street at the naked woman, also a shadow is cast over half of Tony's face this could suggest that Tony is lonely. When Tony wakes up and gets the clothes out of his draw his clothes are very neatly folded and some of his shirts are hanging up as of they were in a store, this could suggest that Tony has obsessive compulsive disorder. Tony is shown to be polite to his mother but then passive aggressive towards his father, this suggests that Tony is showing himself as the alpha male of the house. The posters around Tony's room are of old Italian films such as 'Blow Up' by Antonioni and '8 1/2' by Federico Fellini, these are not the types of films that a stereotypical teenager watches. When Tony is in the bathroom he is shown to be reading a book called Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre, this suggests that Tony is intelligent as it is not the stereotypical teenagers book.
The diegetic sound during the opening scenes is Tony and his family, this shows that his family are quite close although it does not look like  he has a good relationship with his father. The music Tony plays when his sister is trying to get into the house suggest that Tony likes the Heavy Metal/Rock music, this does not play a role in the stereotypical teenagers life and does  not match what Tony's room looks like, as his room is cream and it is shown to be neat.
The non-diegetic sounds are at the beginning before Tony turns on the stereo on, the music playing is R'N'B which shows that Tony is into the newer fashions.
In the later scenes when Tony rings up his friends, he is seen as the ring leader of the group as he is making the plans and gets everyone to join in. Tony's friends are introduced at the beginning of the first episode as they are a big part of Tony's life as they share the time on the screen, although Tony does get the majority of screen time as he is the main character. All of Tony's friends are from different social groups such as, Anwar is Muslim and Max is Gay, this suggests that Tony has a variety of friends and does not judge people on what religion or sexuality they are.

Camera Angles, movement and shots

500 Days of Summer

Camera Angles: 

High angle shot


Low angle shot


Over the shoulder shot


Camera Movement:

Tracking shot


Tilt shot


Zoom


Arc shot


Crane shot


Panning shot


Camera Shots:

Extreme long shot


Establishing shot


Long shot


Mid shot


Two shot


Close up


Extreme close up

American Beauty Representation

Representation about Lester Burnham

• He says he used to be happy this suggests that he is not content with how his life turned out.
• He dislikes his wife, we know this as he talks about her in a negative way.
• When sitting in the car he is slouched against the window falling asleep, this suggests that he has poor posture and does not get enough sleep.
• The stereotypical husband and wife roles have reversed we see this by the way his wife stands next to the car and that she is telling him to hurry up whereas stereotypical the wife is the one running late.
• The way he is spoke to by his family suggest that he is not very well respected.
• He masturbates in the shower and calls it the highlight of his day, which suggests that he does not have a very exciting life and that him and his wife do not have a very successful physical relationship. 

Sound:

Non-diegetic sound is used for the Narrator as we can not see him although we can hear his voice. The voice of the narrator is Lester Burnham giving his views on his life, his voice is very monotone which suggests that he is happy with his life. Another non-diegetic sound is the background music, the music in the background is contrasting the mood of Lester Burnham, as he is quite sad and the  music is up beat. The music is quite repetitive this suggests that Lester Burnham's life is also repetitive. The diegetic sound in the opening scene is giving the audience a feel for how Lester's home life is.

Camera Work:

The camera work is done in a specific way to show how Lester feels about his life, it is shown as if he is imprisoned or trapped in his life. This is shown when Lester is in the shower and the four walls surround him and only a crack of light is shown to be shining through the window. Also when Lester's wife is talking to their next door neighbor and it shows Lester in the window looking distanced from his family and friends. It is shown again when Lester is sitting at his desk at work, the camera is cleverly placed in a way which the numbers on the screen look like bars and the reflection of Lester is behind them suggesting that Lester is imprisoned in his boring job.

Mise en scene:

The colour scheme in this film are plain such as the inside of Lester's bedroom which is beige, this suggests that Lester life is dull and boring. Also Lester's office work space is shown to have a boring colour scheme, this suggest that he does not have a very exciting life. One of the big colour schemes is that the colours red, white, and blue are shown in almost every scene, such as his office having red signs, a white computer, and blue scissors, which are the colours of the United States flag. The rose is significant to this as  it is shown on the daughters jumper and Lester's wife is shown picking them.

7 Key Areas of Representation

The 7 Key Areas of Representation

Textual Analysis

The 4 Key Areas of Textual Analysis

Institution

Institution

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement

Representation of Myself

Media Representation of Myself

Media Representation

Media Representation

Media Blog 5x5