Media Studies

Film

First we will look at film and the Film industry As always make notes and keep for revision and the final report.

Genre
Genre means type i.e a type of media text with certain characteristics or conventions Give some examples? Cross genre or hybrid genre means a mix of genres e.g Alien. What are the genres of the film Alien? Genres are constantly changing Give an example of a recent genre? Why are they important? Look at some film posters what genres are suggested?

Narrative
The narrative is basically the story.
There are theories that analyse narratives. Todorovs theory broke down film narratives into specific stages. Equilibrium. Disruption.. Recognition of disruption. Attempt to repair disruption. Reinstatement of equilibrium Another version of this is..

Narrative structure
Hero/herione
Disruption....Heros Quest..Return to normality

Agent of change Use this model to show an example of a movie Can you use it for a James Bond movie?

Representation
The way in which people places or events are re- presented to audiences. Many representations of people e.g women, teenagers ethnic groups etc. are often stereotypical. Stereotyping is labelling a group or person in a certain way usually unfairly (negative) Can you think of any positive stereotypes

Intertextuality
Is the link between two media texts. E.g when watching a Film or TV programme you recognise a reference to another film or programme. Can you think of any?

Look at Media Know all

Blockbusters
We will look at analysing a Film poster.

Facial expression -intense -serious -dangerous -means business

Dressed in stereotypical bond outfit

Loose tie - no longer playing by the rules

Setting International Glamorous Could be anywhere

Rule of thirds evident

indirect mode of address S Focused on his target Gun Macho, genre James Bonds trademark gun iconography

Colour grey signifies Dark, violent, action packed, serious

Shes not happy why ?

Body language signifies Moving towards his target & not to be messed with.

Producers Presents new Bond

Change of image and Much darker themes

James Bond iconography

Billing block S Barely legible - the film/007 brand sells itself. Actors not important

Not usual bond girl S Serious, not part of his plan S Looks like she is passive & not clear if she is a goodie or baddie S Romance/Love interest

Production company

007 most prominent part of text x3

Produced using GCI/Desktop publishing

Enigma = who is he after?

Release date

Target audience Poster targeted at men & women VERY sexy + Alpha male

Internet site

Rule of three still applies

What is the Enigma ?

Bow Tie done up Formal times

Sequel- next in series? Dinner suiticonic image Facial expression Slightly humourous, not serious Trademark gun Macho sexually explicitbut can get away with it because they are drawntoday would suggest adult themed film Poster drawn and painted (no computers)

International setting as usual action, thrills, genre

Clues to narrative

Less sophisticated than modern posterpainted & printed

A-List actor Marketing

Sexy, fun, suave. Glamorous, much less dangerous than Daniel Craig.

Landscape layout Direct mode of address appeals to audience which is male Surrounded by fantasy women hes in control Target audience = men much more sexually explicit USPnew technology at the time Uses Russian symbol Could symbolise blood, violence & the Red Army! Production company Red Russia Russia Books were famous & used as a marketing tool.

Billing block much less info Producers

Iconic symbol

Task 1
Copy out one of the posters and add to the annotation. Keep for your project. Find a poster of a similar genre and begin to annotate for your HW. Use the previous as a guide and look at the next slide for analytical terms.

Key Terms; use these in your Analysis where appropriate

Typical Codes and Conventions Signifies or Connotes Stereotypical Camera shots CU, VLS POV etc. Symbolic codes are hugely significant. You should identify the range of symbolic codes and explain why they have been used by the makers of the text. You should use the word SIGNIFY or CONNOTE when describing symbolic codes. Eg. The skull and cross bones symbol on the flag signifies pirates. Body language e.g his body language signifies he is scared. Gesture Dress Setting Composition: rule of thirds, perspective, Colour Typographic codes: fonts, plain, bold, italic, decorative, serif / sans serif Anchorage. How do the words used give the image meaning. Mise en scene, a useful word here which often describes many symbolic codes. Eg the mise-enscene shows an urban setting. Denotation and Connotation ( same as signify and signified)

Watch the video of the publicity and marketing of Judge Dred Take notes and make references to them in your report

Task
Film Poster Production
Theme: James Bond
Create a Poster campaign (Poster and teasers) for a new James Bond film called Devil may care this is the latest Bond book but written by Sebastian Faulks not Ian Fleming the original author. Or you have one HW only to come up with a title of your own but it must follow the James Bond themes. Write a synopsis (treatment) for your film, max two paragraphs What is the sub-genre of Film ? e.g. action comedy Who will be the target audience ? (Primary/Secondary) When will the final release date be? Explain why? Find out what other (real) films are to be released at the same time (competition). Annotated analysis of a film Poster with similar genre. Produce ideas for a new Poster campaign (design and produce a poster and teaser posters for your new film.) Annotated analysis of own Poster/s.

Use the link to the Media edu site for some detailed history and links for film.

Extension Task
Web page/ site design Create a front page (and pages if you have time) for your new film. You can produce this using a web design software like Dreamweaver or as a Powerpoint presentation. I will give brief instruction during a lesson but for detailed training you can attend a Masterclass after school or any after school session on a Tuesday 3.30-5.00 see me. It is of course possible to produce your whole project as a website. This can then be put on to the school site when finished.

Report
Finally a 400 -700 word report Your report should evaluate your task in relation to the aims of the project. Comment on ideas for promoting and distributing your film its audience. How will it attract that target audience? Does your poster show the genre/s of the film? What aspects work particularly well? Why? What else is there about the film that will attract the audience: Director, Stars, Soundtrack. etc.

Resources
Useful websites http://www.imdb.com/ Video in class Marketing Judge Dred GCSE Media studies text book School website - Media Studies. Look at previous years work on Posters page Mediaedu Site- mediastudies1, Password media1

Keywords
Genre, Cross genre Conventions Narrative Stereotype Representation Intertextuality