Hopefully it’s beaten YouTube’s copyright system!
Monthly Archives: June 2013
LO4
Relationship between audiences and films
Most films will often have a relationship between a film and a viewer or audience. Here we go the several different ways in which a film will attempt to create a relationship between itself and its audience
Active Spectatorship- is the audience of your genre active/passive?
What is the relationship between film and audience?
how active/involved are the audience?
Animation- The Younger audience is incredibly involved/active by buying the merchandise (toys, Dvd’s costumes, etc.) and quoting the film and also possibly by adults who passively accept the film.
Pleasure-how does the audience gain pleasure from the film?
Animation- There is escapism for adults who have the hustle and bustle of daily lives and need to ‘get away’ and relax, Surrealism could be there for an older viewer as they see things that may not be possible in real life (Toy Story) seeing characters/worlds come to life is exciting for young children, as it creates a fantasy world that inspires their imaginations and gives them inspiration.
Frameworks of interpretation-how are genres are interpreted in different ways by audiences?
Example- UP has multiple interpretations, for younger children it is a adventure story, but for an older audience is a love story about an older man fulfilling his wife’s dreams
Media literacy – level of competency/ability to recognise and analyse, evaluate and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres and forms
animation films are often aimed at kids so they may not be as media literate, but multi target audience films such as Simpsons movie/south park movie are slightly more media literate
Intertextuality – other modes of media referenced in a movie
Animation films generally don’t tend to be intertextual with the exception of animations for the older audience (south park,simpsons,Beavis and Butt head in particular) for example simpsons references harry potter and spider-man
Preferred readings – Animations – Negotiated (for adults) Preferred (for younger audiences) this is because children will inevitably ‘get it’ but adults will apply stronger meaning where it may not be needed
Effects- are there any visual effects/improvement of visual effects over time?
Animation is virtually all visual effects, Toy Story (1995) became the first fully animated CGI film and paved the way for animation which is majority CGI(UP, Monsters Inc. Despicable me etc.)
Fandom – This is where people become so involved in a franchise/film/show etc. that it is almost a way of life and there is an extreme relationship with them.
interactivity – how do fans interact with the genre?
Animation doesn’t interact so much with younger fans, maybe only in terms of purchasing merchandise, but older fans of film for broader audiences (again simpsons,south park) will quote frequently
Social Networking- how does your genre tend to use social media to connect with fans?
For older fans again, characters from the films will have legit/false twitter/Facebook/tumblr accounts in which they regularly interact with fans and keep an active spectatorship
Pre and post viewing experiences- do they engage with the films before they come out in any way?
Animation has fan art, forums, comic strips/short stories, join/start fandom, buy merchandise, quote it or see it multiple times, again keeping spectatorship active even after the film has been released
Does where the viewer sees the film change their experience?
Watching a film in the Cinema is a great experience, as you are seeing the film for the first time with others, and everybody is enjoying the plot/gags etc. together and interacting over content
DVD/Blu Ray is also a good experience as there potential to understand the plot of the film better by watching in a more relaxed environment
Online film viewing allows a more pick up experience and can be a better viewing experience as you can enjoy films you may have not previously be interested in and be interested in the franchise/ fandom
Those are the ways in which a film will try and engage and have a relationship with its viewer. By drawing in an audience with a range of different techniques it becomes more of an art form and religion than a movie.
LO3-film studies
When releasing an upcoming film it is vital that you use the correct advertising into the genre and promotional techniques relevant to said genre, hype the film appropriately and make sure they are attracting the right audience. I will be going through a series of methods that film makers use in order to make sure that their film achieves all that they want it to with reference to an example of an upcoming movie.
film coming soon-Alan Partridge-alpha papa
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=37810
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469021/
Advertising- How has your film advertised itself?
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa has a teaser trailer, extended trailer and a poster that has been placed in different locations in the UK, where it is to be released.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ed2pifRpc0-extended trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBpyU2fXm_4-teaser trailer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2013/may/09/alan-partridge-alpha-papa-movie-poster-poster
Judging by the way it has promoted (or not promoted itself) It seems as if they are targeting the current Partridge fanatics and fandom as advertising has not been mainstream(with exception of poster) and they are not really trying to introduce new fans to the franchise as it seems like unless you specifically go looking for the Partridge film, you won’t see much promotional material.
Reviews- does it aim for critical acclaim?
Alpha Papa has not been reviewed as of yet but 94% of people said they are pumped for it on rotten tomatoes. However some critics have questioned the relevance of the Partridge character and have suggested it is ‘no longer the same’ and has been ruined by the extreme plot.
interviews-Are stars/writers appearing on chat shows?
AP:AP
Steve Coogan appeared on Jonathan Ross as himself to not only promote himself and his other film The look of love, but to also promote Alpha Papa and generate hype for that film too.
Product tie ins- N/a, potential re-release of series/book and repeats of shows on TV
Alan Partridge merchandise may be mass re-realised (i.e. DVD box sets, his autobiography etc.) and also re-repeats of Steve Coogan and specifically, Alan Partridge, in order to try and attract new fans but also build hype amongst existing fans for the release.
Premiere- where/when is it premiering?
Alpha Papa is due for an August 7th release across cinemas up and down the UK
awards- is the film aiming for awards? why does this appeal to the audience ?
AP:AP has yet to be nominated for any awards, nor has it been mentioned in the same breath as british comedy greats.
On-Line presence- what on-line presence has the film got?
AP:AP has a few trailers on YouTube as well as plenty of coverage from the press, each loaded with partridge quotes (Jurassic park), a Facebook page and Twitter accounts with quotes from show, which promotes interactivity and active spectatorship, and promotion of film trailers.
audience research-how has producer made the film suit target audience?
producer response to research- what do they do with research?
feedback for film- test screening,social media etc.
The research that likely went into AP:AP included checking TV viewing figures for recent showings of Alan Partridge based shows and other TV appearances(Jonathan Ross) in order to make sure the Partridge brand is still relevant. They would have also approached television research boards in order to get exact figures.
audience targeting-where did the producers target their audience after gathering their research?
The producers and advertisers behind the Partridge film have mostly used web advertising due to the fact that the original franchise kicked off in ’94 and younger fans will be catching up on YouTube and Online(hence the amount of quotes in comments section)It has also been advertised on boards outside bus stations/cinema’s etc. to draw in neutrals(very cryptic poster)and remind older fans that Norfolk’s prodigal son is making an appearance on the big screen, again igniting or re-igniting interest in the partridge fan base/fandom
distribution-Where is film being shown?
AP:AP is due for a UK mainstream release in cinemas such as vue/odeon etc. on August 7th
That concludes this little look into the genre audiences and how they attract fans. It is key they advertise and display a knowledge of the viewer as it will help create a better product and ultimately draw in new fans.
LO2 part 2 film production factor
The Godfather (1972)
Snatch (2000)
Film production factors
The Product
Need to compare the two movies from different production contexts.
where/when a film is made changes the film it is
technology changes; more tech would have been available for snatch than for The Godfather
culture changes
The Godfather set in 1940’s New York, released in a time of rebellion and disorganisation, well reflected throughout
Snatch- 90’s
audience changes
Financial determinants (how much money was available)
The Godfather
culture and politics of country production
culture=behaviour and beliefs on a certain group
politics= science of governing people
Trainspotting- set in 90’s britain
technologies of production
– how has it changed? is equipment cheaper/more accessible? can anyone now make a film
Distribution and exhibition
consider how your films were distributed and exhibited to audiences
distribution is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place
industry trends
what trends are prevalent in the industry? did they influence your examples
Trainspotting (96) large trend in the 90’s of gang/drug/lad culture
Genres at time of production
-what genres were popular at time of production
current trends
superhero movies
3d action movies
ensemble comedies
apocalypse movies
genre popular at time- did it influence final product
how does it resonate with audience
star power and representation
what kind of power did the stars in my films have?
what did they represent to their audience
did they reflect their time?
what do they tell you about the time the film was made?
social issues at time of production
do my films address any of the social issues taking place at time of production?
Regulatory issues
-censorship, have laws changed? what could they get away with? are films more lenient with content(sex violence gore etc.)
Trainspotting- careful depiction of drug use
synergies between films
sequels, prequels, reboots, re-makes, adaption etc.
Nature/ structure of industry
vertical integration- 3 process of film making
production-distribution-exhibition
vertical integration has been a main focus of policy makers because of the possibility of anti competitive behaviours
Production contexts LO2
Hollywood – Has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century 4 main periods; silent, classic hollywood, new hollywood and the contemporary era most hollywood films are aimed at people from different backgrounds and are often produced with major film stars and large production budgets, for example the star wars franchise featured such stars as Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Samuel L. Jackson amongst others.
Bollywood – term used to describe any type of film launching from the hindi language film industry based in mumbai (bombay) india etc. – Bollywood films tend to have a large production budget – most Bollywood films will feature a heavy preference towards musical numbers and audience demand their’s money’s worth, so plots are often very melodramatic
British – British film industry has had a significant film industry for over a century – while film production reached an all time high in 1936 – Submarine is a great example of a british film as it shows the rights of passage of being a teen in the UK and is incredibly relatable to us brits
Developing countries – a developing country or less development country is a nation with a low living standard. they need to accurately portray and please their audience and often address key issues -due to their current state, developing countries may only produced 1-2 films a year and because of this will need to make sure that they are shrewd with production, as a successful film could help ease them out of problems as a nations
international co-productions -are becoming more popular (Amelie is a good example, french actors, yet some parts shot in germany as well as france ) -is where several different countries collaborate to produce a movie – hotel rwanda is a good example of a co-production, it is produced by americans, features american actors and is shot in rwanda and south africa
independent – film that is mostly produced outside of the main movie industry -due to current technoligy and availability of equipment, more indie films are being produced – some indie films are distributed by subsidaires of bigger, main production companies, and most of the times indie films will be working on a smaller budget than other films
Psycho shower scene parody
Link to video:
reception theory
reception theory-media constructs reality
stuart hall argued that any form of media is not passively accepted by the audience and that people will interpret with their own knowledge/experiences etc.
the meaning of the media is based on the relationship between media and viewer
3 ways to view media according to hall
preferred/dominant reading
the reading media producers hope we will take from the text
dominant reading
the reader agrees fully with the media
oppositional reading
audiences from outside the target audience may oppose or reject the preferred reading receiving their own message
reader thinks opposite to what the producers wants them to think
negotiated reading
the third way is one in which audience acknowledge the preferred reading, but modify it to suit their own values and beliefs
mediawork1666 