Film Opening Review

Film Opening

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T93SXBSsyd

Intro

The opening scene of ‘The Conjuring’ Is what I have chosen to review. The film has been rated 15 by the BBFC. This is because its a strong horror and the content is unacceptable for a younger audience. The target audience for this film is  15-24,i think they will find this film appealing because the excitement and Adrenalin of the film will keep them entertained, whereas an older audience might feel disturbed and frightened because they haven’t been surrounded by such content growing up as a 16 year old in the modern day may have.  In terms of technology the film has a lot of CGI and special effect makeup.

The first shot to be played in the first scene is a extreme close up of a scary dolls face; she has cuts on her face, looks like she has been  dropped and dragged through dirt and her eyes aren’t sweet and appealing. There is a voice over, telling a story about something or someone being dragged around. The voice is a female , shallow and wispy sound. In my opinion I think this is a stereotypical start to a horror film. the involvement of the issue is usually shown at the beginning of the film, maybe not showing there true character but an issue or death occurred for them.

Genre

The genre of the film, ‘The Conjuring’,  is a horror film about a family who are tormented in their farm-house by the ghosts of its former inhabitants. The generic representation of horror has been portrayed through what I’ve watched so far of the scene. Half way through the opening scene, there is 3 characters shown sat in an isolated room, the lighting is dark, dark shadowing al around the corners and the only light is on them, this generic convention is used to create mystery and scare. For a typical paranormal genre, something is usually lurking in the darkness. There is also a use of pathetic phallacy, the outside weather is crisp a wind and a voice over of someone scared talking sets the mood for the three characters sat on the bed with no where to go.  For audio diegetic sounds have also been dragged out, a high pitch sound track over the top off the doll when the film first comes on. For props, the doll at the beginning im assuming is going to be a big catalyst in the film for spooky things that will happen. the doll has been in other films such as ‘ Annabelle’ this suggests it could be a chained storyline or linking to the other films.

Representation

The characters which have been displayed in the first 5 minutes of ‘The Conjuring’. two are female and one is male, all very young maybe mid twenties/ late teens. One of the girls is blonde, who is a typical character for being killed first or usually the ‘dumb’ character which will be targeted through out the film. The other girl has dark hair, a kind of grudge, dark haired look, she looks like she way become possessed throughout later display’s of the film because dark haired characters are usually used as a possession of some sort because there dark complexion represents the dead.  the boy looks dorky, hangs around with the two girls a lot, possibly flat mates- he isn’t shown much throughout the opening, this suggests to me that he will be killed first. in horror films male characters aren’t used much- girls create a more guilt trip, you wouldn’t want them to  die,  represented as the weaker sex whereas males are the dominant character; usually the protagonist or priest which saves them. I think these characters have been portrayed in this way because they fit the expected conventions of a horror film and is pleasing to its viewers. Audiences which enjoy watching the genre; Horror, thriller will expect to see these typical traits or may face disappointment. Paranormal activity genre is usually corny, you can guess what’s going to happen next. Although its still very popular and liked by mostly younger audiences.

 

Narrative

The techniques which have been used throughout the first scene consist of a whole flashback within the first 10 minutes, this is because the three main characters are talking about a previous experience they had. The conjuring is a multi strand narrative so its been a follow up of a few different films with a consistent story-line. I think the film has been constructed with such narrative is to keep people interested and on suspense throughout all the films, this is a good way to keep the audience keen and wanting the follow up film to be purchased.

conclusion

Overall, I think from watching the opening scene of ‘The Conjuring’ that its going to be a good and horrific film to watch. Its main target audience and viewers from the last film will enjoy watching.

 

 

Racheal Leonard

 

 

Should Violent Films be Banned? BBFC

In this statement I am going to write to the BBFC on  why I think violent films should not be banned and discuss formally different aspects of theories and opinion based upon mine with valid evidence.

In my opinion, I do not think violent films should be banned. Violence is part of everyday life – from knife and gun crime to war which differs from small towns to big cities such as London. Violent films have set up classifications such as ’12’ or ’18’ so the viewers know what to expect within the film, for example if its a 12 violence will be minimal or not show so you know you can cope. Also they give the viewers an intake of the reality of what goes on in real life and stops people who may not be so fully involved with the news etc being naive. There are different genres of violent films, for example, fiction and non-fiction, violent documentaries like  ‘Amanda Knox’ expose and educate viewers on what goes on with murderers and violence in everyday life, based on a true story.

 

Audiences of violent films do not need protecting.  This is because when watching  death  and violence they are actively knowing its not real. Referencing from the Uses and Gratification theory i think the audience know its been edited and a lot of makeup and acting has gone into the end production, so the violence is being used to entertain but identify its not real. Second of  all, the audience knows what the age rating of the film is, however, they can refer to the appropriate content for the age, they are not made to watch. therefore, I feel they do not need protecting from violent films.

although the Uses and Gratification theory has some interesting perspectives, it also has some downfalls. For example the mass audiences do not believe or use this theory and from a personal survey only 5 out of 21 people knew what the theory was.

Catharsis is another example of what has big impacts on violent films. This is because whilst watching violent  films, it allows you to imagine you’re the character fighting and lets you release stress from whats on the screen. for example, playing video games, if you can watch it or play it in a video game you won’t actually feel the need to do it in real life, so whilst you watch violent films you can feel the hatred and then relax and not release negativity and violence to anyone in real life.

Whilst exploring into different film responses i came across an older example of a violent film which is 1980 ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ the film received just about the highest form of praise such a shocking film could. it was also banned in the UK. Now, the film is celebrated for its horrific, terrifying realism of what actually goes on around the world and can relate to such horror, therefore thats one example of a violent film not being so bad. Besides the title ‘ Cannibal Holocaust’ the film wasn’t going to be below an age rating of 18.  in my own experience, as a media student most the time i can put the gruesome activities behind me and not stress too much about the blood and disturbing angles because i know how its edited and the blood is just makeup but before studying this subject i was very naive about films and would of been bothered by it. A slightly more recent film which i recently watched was 1994 ‘Fight Club’ the film had cuts made by the BBFC but was clearly stated a violent film, it had controversial views. Usually, i read the back of film covers to get an idea of the story-line, just in case i wont like it.

Overall, i do not think violent films should be banned because of all the reasons i have stated above. The Catharis statement is very true and anger should be taken out through the games and films therefore no harm will be contributed into society. Second of all, The Uses and Gratification theory stated that violent films are mainly makeup and very high paid actresses. Therefore, they should not be banned and continues in be played. A study i read stated that violent films only make people lash out if they were aggressive and angry to start of with, therefore the angry audience viewers wont be tamed and they should not stop violent films,

Bauer Company & Research process

Magazine Audiences

Unit 6 – Critical Approaches to Creative Media Production

Introduction

The two magazines which I am going to be analysing are ‘GRAZIA’ which is a fashion magazine with a female based audience of 25-55. Grazia is a weekly magazine that was created in Italy, Milan with international issues printed in  Australia, Bulgaria, China and France , which the magazine I will be analysing is located.

My second magazine is ‘DevonLife’ which is a unisex magazine with a much older audience. Having chosen these magazines  I will  analyse them to explore how the magazine publishers have constructed them to appeal to their target audience. My magazine choices are totally different and I think they will contrast and be perfect to compare and analyse.

Analysis

My two Analyses of GRAZIA and DevonLife:

Comparison

The target audiences for my two magazines are very different. The GRAZIA magazine is aimed at women, this particular magazine has a French twist theme, the medium close up shot of the model ‘Amanda Seyfried’ portrays this. The producer has constructed the magazine in this way to capture the eye of its audience by comprehensively using exotic colours such as reds,pinks and oranges to do this. The producer knows this colour will automatically attract its female audience. In comparison to the DevonLive cover, the colours and fonts they’ve used are completely different to GRAZIA. This is because the devonLive cover is aimed at more males and an audience more interested in gardening,traveling and loves nature walks. The blues and green shades reflect nature and the readers automatically will know what they are looking for. The image the producers have used is a very nice close up shot of a green and seaside, this will indulge the audience to read the magazine because they may think they will be able to visit this place. The titles of the magazines are both at the centre top of the page, in bold serif font so it will be easily read. Although, the GRAZIA magazine’s font logo is slightly hidden, this could be because they are slightly more known or popular than the DevonLiFe because its more of a local, non mainstream magazine.

The producer of the DevonLife magazine isn’t materialistic at all, its aimed at laid back people who enjoy nature and don’t want to spend a lot of money, no stereotypes involved. Whereas GRAZIA has a young pretty model on the front which is promoting fashion, makeup and the producer knows you want to be like her. The two audiences are aimed at completely different age groups, for example elderly people will be more interested in gardening and wont need to see a pretty girl on the front to purchase the magazine.

 

Overall I think the magazines are very different but effective in their own ways and will be very  attractive to their audiences.

By Racheal Leonard

 

 

 

 

Risk Assesment Animation

Risk	Why it’s a risk	Resolution
Weather	This is a risk because the weather could ruin my animation. For example, the camera lenses and equipment will get distorted from the rain or dark skies etc.	Checking the weather beforehand and planning for a day when the weather will be clear.
Earth	The floor or earth may become sloppy or wet due to the bad weather, whilst I am recording with kids it won’t be ideal for them. As they may easily fall or my images will look messy.	Going out on a particular dry day.
Falling of an object; Such as a slide or swing	A Risk for my Characters might be them falling of the equipment, which could leave them in quite a bit of damage, if they fell on their head.	Being supervised at all times, all staying together.
Uneven surfaces or mud	Uneven surfaces could lead to falling over or tripping- bruises and tears.	Avoiding it. Watching where you walk .
General Public	A risk will be watching out for the general public, I want to make sure I have clear shots, so no other people in my view other than my character.	Being friendly if spoken too or keeping all together don’t approach anyone.
Park animals	Park animals might be dangerous and its best just to leave them alone, they might feel threatened or at harm.	Staying out of their way and not annoying them.
River or water features	In my location there is a few rivers, so it’s best to stay away in case someone falls in.	My animation isn’t water based so we won’t be going near the river anyway.
Becoming lost	Another risk could be losing one of the team or wondering of.	We could all wear jackets or text each other if we worry.

Risk assessment

Audio PowerPoint

Conventions in Audio Production and Post Production

Updated River Dart Video

Stop Motion Animation

Client and Peer feedback

Feedback:

Chloe–

good to watch-  was very intriguing to watch , transitions were smooth included a lot of different shots which was versatile.

Chloe W– Said its calm and keeps a steady interest, she likd the go pros shots the most.

Emily– its really good to warch and keeps a steady flow.  I should of added a few contact details at the end.

 Giselle–  i had good music , good pace, interview matched the clips which looked really good. Bad-   some of the clips were to fast such as the , fortress. People wouldnt of got what it was.

Corey-  Overall nice to watch,it looked full of adventure and looked fun to record. Add more deails or writing so people know exactly whats what.

Tarrin and Becky-  They both thought the opening was good and how ive overlapped the music, to go with the pace of the video.

George-  He enjoyed watching it. Wouldnt be somethig he watched because it as so fast.

Updated Understanding the media

media good one xx

cover letter

Curriculum vitae