Tuesday 16 December 2014


Sightseers Research Task

Create a blog post dedicate to the film Sightseers which covers the following key areas.


The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice

Production: 

StudioCanal
What was StudioCanal's original purpose? 
The original function was to focus on French and European productions, but later made strategic deals with American production companies. StudioCanal's most notable productions from its early years include Terminator 2: Judgment DayJFKBasic InstinctCliffhangerUnder SiegeFree Willy, and the original stargate movie. In those days, it was known as Le Studio Canal+.
Which big 6 company has connectios with StudioCanal?Studio canal is a spin of of canal+. Studio canal are very closely linked to one of the major 6 film companies, universal studios.
How large is StudioCanal's film library? studio canal have a small film library of 10 films having been founded in 1988


Rook Films

Distribution: 
StudioCanal
Optimum releasing 


Budget 

Monday 8 December 2014



Representation of waterloo road in TV drama


Within TV drama and modern society the generalised stereotype of teenagers  is that they are a disruptive menace to the community. They are also portrayed to be inconsiderate and selfish in there thoughts and actions. This is within heavy contrast to the elderly who are perceived as being grumpy old nags, stubborn, dressed in brown and unable to adapt to modern equipment we now live upon. During this extract within the waterloo road school I believe the stereotype of typical teenagers are maintained and the characters represented to fit this categorisation with the aid of mise en scene, sound, camera angles and editing. The first indication of age in the clip is with the mise en scene of the surroundings, clearly that of a school which is obviously a place associated with children, the bright yellow walls and busy displays connoting the bright youthful environment as opposed to a boring black and white office block for adults. A conformation of the children’s age is the fact they are dressed in school uniform with short ties and short skirts representing teenagers as being rebellious and disobedient. A typical action of the young desperate to stand out as individuals whilst breaking the rules, and contrasting with the appearance of the adults dressed smartly and boringly. For example Grantly in his tweed suit, an amplification of his old age through the stereotypical use of the dull colours and the symbolism that the too is now dull and stubborn and boring. In contrast one of the younger female teachers portray sher present youth with the contrast of smart formal trousers and then a vibrant pink top. Depicting her as an adult and professional, with the formal clothing, whilst still incorporating an essence of her younger age. In later a scene where the fat teacher decides to have a new image and dressed in trainers and wild top, his older age is emphasised by the fact he appears so out of place and ridiculous. He’s presented to the audience in a humorous manner and this represents the idea of  only the young being able to get away and fit with this ‘cool’ and casual image, also that adults just can’t wear this ‘ghetto’ style. Representing the old and young as divided in the fashion world.


In the opening of the next scene a establishing shotis used and is accompanied by a close up low shot of some brown shoes walking past chair legs. The zoomed in approach amplifies the significance of the feet and allows the audience to establish the accentuated slow and almost suspicious walk. The cut to a two shot of some teenage boys linksthe separate frames and connotes that these boys are being shifty and are up to no good, hence theaccentuated approach of the teacher. This represents teenagers as being trouble makers and likelyto ignore the rules and act inappropriately. The close up of student and teachers faces in two shot, emphasises the boy’s youthful appearance and uniform, and acts as a direct comparison to that of the teacher clearly far older and more wrinkled. The mid shot of all three characters together allowsthe audience to determine the body language between them and we can see the two boys appear tobe standing with their heads down avoiding eye contact, while the teacher has his hands casually inhis pockets and head tilted to them in an authoritative and almost patronising manner. From thisage is represented as the older population having authority and control over the younger characters,and that older people can enjoy the power they have and almost revel in it. The use of panning isused further in the clip when the fat teacher is trying out a new look and the camera pans from histrainers up to his head. This shot is used to create momentary confusion and suspense as to whose the shoes belong to and contradicts the audiences’ preconceptions of the expected character. The trainers and clothing are items associated with that of a young teenager however it is the teacherwearing them. The use of this shot highlights how out of place the teacher is in his outfit, simplybecause of his age, and suggest there are socially acceptable difference and norms between agegroups.The use of sound contributes to the representation of age with the use of dialogue. Within the first scene we are able to establish the relationship between students and teacher with the use of the term‘Sir’ indicating a level of respect between the older and younger characters and the authoritative role the adults play. Age is represented as a hierarchy, the adults having the most control and importance with the children and students least. The way in which Grantly uses the very direct order ‘Give it!’ also connotes his more powerful position because the students are forced to obey him. His subsequent tuts at the kids in a patronising way also connotes his demeaning behaviour and his lack of respect for the children, emphasised with him saying ‘Oh did he hold your hair?’ The older age group are represented at this point as being disrespectful to the young and can sometimes abuse their position as authoritative figures. The digetic noise in the corridor scene sets an environment of liveliness and busyness, reflecting the vibrant and energetic age group. There is also the introduction of non-digetic club like music in this scene, which is synchronous with the following fight that begins with two students. The upbeat and fast paced song is appropriate to the age of the characters as it is in a style associated with their age group and is also relevant to the building pace of the scene. The music also amplifies the significant of the fight and represents teenagers as being rowdy and aggressive. Slang is used by the student’s repeatedly throughout the clip and whilst reflecting background also relates to their youth and suggests that it is common place within a younger age group.


 Throughout the extract the editing is used to perform cuts quickly from frame to frame, creating a fast-paced atmosphere reflecting that of school life. This coincides with the energy of the young students as well as the chaotic time that the teachers have at school. This emphasising the misbehavariol nature of young people and hints to the amount of discipline commonly used by the enforcing teachers.

Monday 1 December 2014



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

Marketing and distribution is a massive part in making whatever size film successful. I would even go as far as saying it is the most intregal aspect of a film being a gross success. Some films distribution is significantly larger than others as they are hoping to reach a mass market of people in a short space of time. For example the Grand Budapest Hotel was only originally released in 4 cinemas in new york meaning the craze was a slower build compared to say marvel who when releasing there films they distribute them to multiple cinemas globally at once. In terms of how these contrasting parent companies retrieve there profit from the cinema it is different. 20th century fox (Budapest) received huge amounts of money from the limited cinemas the film was originally released  wehereas Marvel gained there profits in small pieces from hundreds of cineamas globally.      

Films must be marketed into their genre well and major institutions usually have dominance over the film industry because they all generally like to make the most common type of film genre , e.g action/adventure, and as over 50% of people prefer this genre this is an instant way of marketing as its already in the public interest.There have even been many cases where blockbuster films have had terrible critical acclaim but have still made profits. This is due purely to the marketing and distribution of the film, other factors which could have lead to people seeing the films despite the poor to average reviews could be if the film attained any A list actors. By having A listers in the film itself this can be used as a way of marketing.


 Following on from my previous point of how films can be marketed from simply using a list actors i have selected the film   ‘world war z’ to represent my point. My average review of the film and a terrible collected opinion in the critics eyes left the film in pieces. However the marketing managed to cover this up so the film made huge profit, and furthermore with a key actor like Brad Pitt , that has already marketed well already . This proves that even if the production practices are poor the film can succeed with marketing and distribution. So therefore i would agree with the question and say especially with the hard pushing of the film the Marketing was a very key part of the films success in generating revenue.

However to offer a unbiased example in contrast to previous points  which received limited marketing in comparison to blockbusters whilst being a huge success would be the kings speech.  The kings speech, owned by the weinstein company, had a budget of a mediocre £8,000,000 and managed to generate a staggering $414,000,000.  This could be down to the nature of the film and the relevance within English heritage. Colin firth was the lead actor in the film, and prior to the 'kings speech' would arguably have not mean classed as A list although being a recognisable name. The film was so critically acclaimed that it won numerous awards, most notibly an oscar, and generated a box office revenue beyond director Tom Hoopers dreams. The reason i believe the Kings speech was so successful despite the lower scale marketing was due to them perfectly crafting it towards there market audience. I would depict that elderly people were the identified audience for the film with the topic being rather a mature and historical topic. One way in which  they marketed the film towards the older generation was through a use of promotional posters. The way they set up the poster was with the 3 main characters facing the camera whilst using a serious look. This immedietly shows people that the film is of a serious nature ands not set up for comical purposes. The use of gold writing of the "The Kings Speech" again emphasises the professional nature of the film. In fact the the layout of the words was in the same presentational layout as the "keep calm and carry on" reference. This is relavent as that phrase was frequently used on posters during the war and would catch the eye of older people immedietly who are viewing the poster. Cleverly they also created posters for the younger generation 

                      

Thursday 20 November 2014

Representation of sexuality



Homosexuality

Homosexuality is a sexual orientation. A homosexual person is romantically or sexually attracted to people of their own gender. Men who are romantically or sexually attracted to other men are called gay. Women who are romantically or sexually attracted to other women can be called gay as well, but are usually called lesbians. An example of a homosexual character would be Maxxie from skins. Maxxie is shown as being promiscuous throughout the series and is notably proud of being gay and feels no embarrassment or confuse meant towards his sexuality.


Heterosexual

this is simply opposite genders having a sexual attraction towards one or another. This orientation can then go on to represent there behaviours and how they fit in and are approached by within there community. An example of a heterosexual character would be cook from skins. Cook is renowned throughout the show as being very attracted and overly flirtatious towards many women and has numerous sexual encounters with females. Cook also uses homophobic language at points throughout the series indicating he is firmly heterosexual.


Bisexual

Bisexuality is when someone has sexual attractions to both men and women. This orientation can be reflected by both men and women and is becoming more common within todays society. And example of a bisexual character in tv drama would be piper from Orange is the new black. She has sexual encounters with both sexes during the series and is arguably confused about where she stands in terms of her sexual orientation.


Asexual

Asexual orientation is where the person has no sexual feelings towards either gender. This meaning they do not desire any romantic relationships. An example of this would be dexter him self in the program about him 'dexter'. He is a serial killer who shows little remorse or emotion through his executions which can be similarily linked to his lack of sexual emotion towards any other humans.




Tuesday 18 November 2014

The Grand Budapest hotel fact file

what is indian paintbrush and who owns it? Mr steven M rales is the owner of indian paintbrush and is a american chairman of danaher corporation.tRales owns a production company Indian Paintbrush,[which has funded The Darjeeling Limite(2007), and Fantastic (2009). The company was also involved in Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), Labor Day (2013) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).Indian Paintbrush and who owns it?


Which company is Fox Searchlight a subsiduary of? It is owned by news corporation aswell as part owned by 20th century fox.


Which type of films do Fox Searchlight distribute?  They are independant british films. They specialize in US distribution of independent and British films, alongside dramedy and horror as well as non-English-language films, and is sometimes also involved in the financing of these films.

Which two countries financed the film? Germany and England 50/50 split.


What did Anderson use instead of CGI (computer generated imagery)? stop start modelling rather than cgi.


Where did the inspiration for the Hotel come from? inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig

Which film festival opened with The Grand Budapest Hotel? Berlin film festival


Alexanre Desplat wrote the score, which major Hollywood films has he worked on?  The QueenThe Golden CompassThe Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonThe Twilight Saga: New MoonFantastic Mr. FoxHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2The Grand Budapest HotelThe King's SpeechArgo,Zero Dark Thirty and Godzilla.

How many awards has the film won? 5 whilst 1 is still pending
Initially how many cinemas did the film open on in the US? 4 cinemas


How much did it average per cinema? $200,000


The film was released on Ultraviolet BluRay, what does this enable consumers to do?you can watch them on multiple platforms.

Which companies do not support Ultraviolet? Disney do not support them due to them having a rival product, others trying to offer the same service also refuse to to support in worry of ultraviolet dominating the market.


What complaints did Ultraviolet encounter when it launched? Due to apple not supporting it many customers where unhappy as they couldnt watch it on there iPads/ iPhones.

TASK 2:


Task 1

Edward Norton (Henckles)
Owen Wilson (M.Chuck)
Ralph Feinnes (M. Gustav H)
Tony Revolori (Zero)
Jeff Goldblum (Deputy Kovacs)
Tilda Swinton (Madame D)
Adrien Brody (Dimitri)
Saoirse Ronan (Agatha)
Jason Schwartzman (M.Jean)
Willam Dafoe (Jopling)
Harvey Keitel (Ludwig)
Bill Murray (M.Ivan)
Mathieu Amalric (Serge X)
F. Murray Abraham (Mr. Moustafa)
Lea Seydoux (Clotilde)
Tom Wilkinson (Author)
Bob Balaban (M.Martin)


The Scouting for the Grand Budapest  took place in Central Europe.
Görlitz in Germany was the final location. 
They Filmed on Location.
The production offices were located on the top floor of the hotel.
They built the 60's set first then peeled that away then revealed the 30's set.
The inspiration for the hotel's interior came from from 
There were over 150 extras.




1) The first out of the 5 reasons why the grand budapest hotel was a success was down to the directors attention to small pacific detail. This aswell as selling memorabilia in order to promote the film. This ranges from bow ties and moustache wax to promotional materials from the pic. Some are selling out, including copies of “The Society of the Crossed Keys,” Anderson’s book of selections from the writings of Stefan Zweig, which inspired the film.
2) The second secret to the   Grand Budapests hotel  is the mobility of there props. There large cut out picture of the hotel has been widely used in theatres globally and has been highly praised.
3) The 3rd reason was due to foxlight releasing  video tutorials on how to recreate the mendl cakes fluently featured throughout the film
4) Due to the success of wes andersons previous fim 'moonrise kingdom' in 2012 younger audiences have been attracted to his movies. This has had a bounce on affect and meant the grand budapest hotel has benefited from the new audiences
5)The film was accessible which meant many audiences globally could access the film and see it themselves. This massively boosted viewing figures for the film.

How did Anderson use the QE2 to market the film?
On the QE2 with fellow cast members Anderson held a q&a session with the crew about the film helping influence ideas.
What connects Prada to the marketing of the film? 

prada created the luggage bags in the film 

Visit this viral website and identify how the films plot is revealed

Monday 10 November 2014

Inbetweeners frisby clip

Why is the clip funny?
This clip is funny due to the sheer awkwardness of when the Frisbee hits the disabled women. This is because usually in general society disabled people are more respected and people make an extra effort to be kind to them, so in this clip when  the women is hit by the Frisbee, its just the pure unluckiness that makes it funny to the audience.
How is the disabled girl being represented?

She is being represented as an innocent victim caught up in Will McKenzie's efforts to involve some girls in his game. She is represented as harmless as by doing this it makes Will look a lot worse for his actions. The effectiveness of representing the disabled person as an innocent victim in this scene really amplifies how we are supposed to feel for her and how bad Will's actions are seen as.
Are we meant to laugh at the disabled person?
I don't think we are meant to laugh at the disabled person, I think we are supposed to laugh at the scenario and at Will's character. If the audience have watched episodes before they would know that Will's character means well and is usually well-behaved, the socially awkward situations he creates is what his medic character is all about.
Are they the 'butt' of the joke?
Yeah they are  as its the situation they have created with their actions that has caused the awkwardness and just how the characters react is funny. Also when Will tries to get his Frisbee back then gets chased shows the true nature of his character, means well but always gets caught on the wrong side of the line.
How do you think disabled people respond to this?
I don't think disabled people would be at all offended by this as the joke is on Will not the disabled lady, she only plays a part in the scene to make Will look worse and to amplify the awkwardness of the situation. Also the disabled lady is treated with respect as the other teenagers playing football on the field think Will is stealing her Frisbee so they try and help her out.
Are we as a society cultivated to think we should pity the disabled?
I don't think we are cultivated to pity the disabled but as a society there is a duty to look out for the disabled and to take extra care when dealing with situations involving them. This is demonstrated in the clip when the teens playing football try and help the lady out, this also shows the lady's vulnerability.

How ethnicity is represented in spooks

In this clip, the representation of ethinicty is constructed in different ways. The main character of this clip, Danny, is a black MI5 agent who's been captured by a terrorist along with a white woman. In terms of stereotypes its unusual for a black man to have such a high and powerful job as they are usually seen lower in society, however, all the other characters are white, and appear to have higher jobs than Danny. All the white characters are safe, apart from the kidnapped woman who has blood on her face, which can show how black people are 'victimised' by the media. The terrorist appears to be an Arab, which also fits with the stereotype set by the media as people know that some Arabic people's religion leads them to believe by doing these sort of things, they will go to heaven and live in paradise . To backup this idea of the terrorist being Arab, the music played in the background sounds like the Call to Prayer (Mvezzin).The whale song is also played until the very end of this short clip, this holds emotion between all the characters as there are short shots showing each persons' reaction. This music also makes it seem more like that Danny pray's before speaking to the terrorist, as well as during, showing him to be a religious man.Danny is presented as being very wise and insightful; his dialogue says as much, as he speaks down to the terrorist and of how he could have been in the same spot as him if he had been born somewhere different, which again links in with cultural and ethnic identity. Aswell as this the use of a lot of close-ups really allows the audience to have sympathy for the two hostages, Fiona and Danny. We are drawn into the action and feel closer to them, making the scene more intense. The camera movement also makes us more emotionally involved as we feel as though we are there, experiencing this with them.

In my opinion, the mise en scene foreshadows Danny's death in this scene. The scene is extremely dark, representing the death, but then there is some light showing through in a 'heavenly' manner. Also all the characters are dressed smartly, like people do when going to a funeral. And at the start of the clip, the music sounds like drums being hit, like when someone is about to be executed. The scene uses a lot of close up shots, which maintains the tension, keeping the heartbeat of the audience up and keeping them on the edge of they're seat.

Wednesday 5 November 2014


regional identity work



Liverpool

  irritating accent which is arguably screechy and difficult to understand

    town, known for being rough in areas. chavs/gangs are located in the area


     chavier clothing normally seen in the area, e.g tracksuits, football tops- informal clothing


    partying, passionate football fans 


·    Welcoming but also stubborn and agitating.


an example of a Liverpudlian on television would be John Bishop who is a comedian.

Newcastle

          Also difficult to understand, have alternative words for many.


                Town consisiting of man shops and clubs


               ‘Wheyy aye mann’ instead of hello


                dressed up girls


          nightlife, well dressed and vocal football fans


                   confident people, energetic and passionate
           
           cheyrl cole singer and X factor judge

Scottish



    mainly land, many hills and plenty of greenery


    ‘Wee' used as a alternative word to small e.g 'wee lad'
    
  tartan clothing, checkered cilts, carrying bagpipes
  
  playing the bagpipes, being patriotic and following all representing sport teams

    aggressive, very patriotic
   
   Andy murray- tennis player


       


Yorkshire
           farmers sort of accent, relatively strong sounding


                  countryside with many hills, pubs easy to find.


                   lazy with speaking, often cut there words of short e.g ' going 't' football


                   scruffy looking, humerous


                    drinking, being lairy, going on walks


                     Friendly, joking

Birmingham

                              stereotypically dumb, brummie accent which comes across kind of dopey and creates the dump persona. Quite unliked within other citys. Highrise buildings, huge city. Home to some large arenas/venues
                                    
                    tracksuits, hoodies, air max



                           clubs, huge shopping facilitys


·                           Aggressive, confrontational, rough


emma willis who is the current big brother tv presenter and has hosted other programs

Welsh

strongly pronounce words, seem relatively intelligent. Know for there farming of particularly sheep.


·        Countryside, many farms, hilly


·        ‘Jolch’ means thank-you


·        normally dressed, quite smart, farmer gear


·        going on walks, falming, fishing, playing rugby.
         
          friendly, enjoy a laugh, light hearted


 Rob brydon is an example of a welsh person in the media who is many programs e.g gavin and stacey

Irish

·        strong accent, known for speaking quickly and unclearly. stereotype of Ireland being the home of pikeys (travellers)


·        busy cities, multiple pubs, welcome tourism, a lot of the poorer people owning caravans.


·        ''tree' instead of '3'etc


·        normally dressed, where a fair bit of patriotic green.
·       known for there very heavy drinking and their love for guiness and murphys


·        confrontational, patriotic, jolly


London


well spoken, polite, organised


·        huge city, lots of ships, busy nightlife


·        general English slang e.g 'innit'


·        well dressed, smart, designer clothing


·        visiting the theatre, going shopping, visiting resteraunts.


·        Rushing everywhere, busy, approachable


An example would be Gary linekar who hosts match of the day. (smart, well spoken)