Moral Panic

Daniel Shields

Resources, homework and revision for Mr Shields English and Media classes. Cover photo Kristina Alexanderson / CC BY-NC-SA

Showing all posts tagged "A Level"

Yorkie Advert analysis



Discuss how codes and conventions are used within the text?

How is gender represented within the text?

Star Wars Rebels Extended Trailer Essay





How is the trailer constructed to appeal to a wider audience than Disney XD's target audience. What do Disney hope to achieve through the release of this trailer?

Consider the following:

Mise en scene A French phrase meaning ‘putting on the stage’. This term is used to mean ‘everything in the scene’. This includes the sets, location, costume, props and the period of the piece as well as shot size and the lighting and camera work.

Diegetic Sound

Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film:

  • voices of characters
  • sounds made by objects in the story
  • music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music)

Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the film's world

Diegetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame.)

Non-diegetic sound

Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action:

  • narrator's commentary
  • sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
  • mood music

Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the a source outside story space.

The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening. We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are represented as coming from outside the space of the story events. A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy).

Enigma

A question that is not immediately answered and thus draws an audience into a text


MEST 1 Section A: Star Wars Rebels



You are about to see a video clip that reveals a character for Star Wars Rebels an upcoming CGI animated series produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation.

The series is scheduled to premiere on Disney XD this October in the UK with a one-hour special.

Disney XD is an international digital cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit of Disney-ABC Television Group, part of the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at male pre-teens and teenagers 6-14 years of age, its programming consists of original first-run television series, current and former original series and made-for-cable films from sister network Disney Channel, theatrically-released movies, and live-action and animated programs from other distributors.

Lucasfilm Limited is an American film and television production company. The studio is best known for its films, such as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as its leadership in developing special effects, sound and computer animation for film. The Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm in 2012 at a valuation of $4.06 billion. Disney bought out Lucasfilm with the intention of creating a new trilogy of films. The first of which will be released in 2015.

Media Institution

What is Disney hoping to achieve by revealing this behind the scenes footage? (12 Marks)

Media Form

How is the video constructed to engage the audience? (12 Marks)

Media Representation

How is rebelliousness represented in the clip? (12 Marks)

Media Audience

How does the Disney Corporation appeal to a wide audience with this clip? (12 Marks)


BBC Three to premiere entire series of Chris Lilley's Jonah From Tonga on BBC iPlayer

Quite an interesting decision but this perhaps reflects the new direction Auntie is taking with BBC 3.

Here’s the article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/jonah-from-tonga.html

and he’s not impressed:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/27189577

EDIT:

Well this is a clear example of the BBC trying to generate some controversy were none exists. Lilley seems to more puzzled by their actions rather than angered. We can presume that thee Beeb is simply trying to generate supporting evidence for their planned move of BBC 3 content on-line. If the programme is seen to be primarily consumed on demand they can say that this proves that the target audience prefer digital content. A cynical move that will be used to justify a cost cutting exercise as simply meeting the needs of their target demographic.

MEST 1 Section A Under The Skin Trailer

Under The Skin (2013) certificate 15

Under the skin is a film in which Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble (2010), Her(2013)) stars as an alien seductress who preys upon hitch-hikers in Glasgow. The men lured into the van by Scarlett Johansson's character were not actors. Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast (2000) Birth (2003) had hidden cameras installed in the van and only informed the men afterwards that they were in a film. This was a relatively low budget Independent British Film that has had critical success but with a modest box office: Opening Weekend $133,154 (USA) (4 Screens) Gross $1,086,000 (USA) (6 April 2014).


USA

29 August 2013

(Telluride Film Festival)

UK

13 October 2013

(London Film Festival)

UK

2 March 2014

(Glasgow Film Festival)

UK

14 March 2014



Production Companies

Distributors



This the Official Trailer.



Media Institution
What are the producers hoping to achieve by casting an A list Hollywood Actress? (12marks)
Media Forms
How does the trailer construct enigma? (12 marks)

Media Representation
How does the trailer represent Glasgow? (12 marks)
Media Audience
How does the film trailer appeal to Avid cinema-goers? (12 marks)












USA

29 August 2013

(Telluride Film Festival)

UK

13 October 2013

(London Film Festival)

UK

2 March 2014

(Glasgow Film Festival)

UK

14 March 2014


MEST 1 Section A Institution

HBO – Voyeur Project.

Check out this informative article about HBO attempting to appeal to Superfans.



MEST 1 Section B: Unusual distribution models

Drafthouse partnered with BitTorrent to release a BitTorrent Bundle that shows the making of The Act of Killing. Featuring interviews, stills, essays and coverage of the film’s ongoing impact in Indonesia, the Bundle has three times the number of downloads as the number of YouTube hits. For more information see this article in Filmmaker magazine.

My Reincarnation by Jennifer Fox was only brought to the screen thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Mest 1 Section A Halo Official Trailer



Halo is a commercially successful, science fiction FPS game that was first developed in November 2001 for Microsoft X Box. Versions were developed for Windows and MAC OS X but fundamentally it now remains exclusive to the X Box 360, the second console developed by Microsoft and as such, has received critical success for being one of the best first person shooters on a video game console. Some gamers prefer the format and mode to the successful COD (Call of Duty), also a FPS and similar in terms of high production values, suggesting the game has a more balanced environment.

The game was developed by Bungie in 2001 but is now managed by 343 Industries and owned and published by the global conglomerate Microsoft. Bungie sold Halo to concentrate on other games but like Blizzard with World of Warcraft are solely associated with the development of the project. Bungie now (January 2013) work under the Activision Blizzard banner. Bungie flirted with both Microsoft and Apple when they first announced the game in 1999 to the point that it was one of the key releases at Macworld Expo that same year. Microsoft brought Bungie in 2000 however with the sole objective of developing Halo for their new X Box console.

The first Halo, Halo: Combat Evolved sold an impressive 6.5 million copies and was so well received that two sequels were announced by Bungie, Halo 2 in 2004 which made $124 m on release day surpassed by Halo 3 in 2007 which made $170 m in the same 24 hour cycle. Once Halo 4 was released in November 2012, this figure set further records by making a stunning $220 m in just one day.

Media Forms

How does the trailer use the conventions of a typical Film extra?

Media Representation

How does the trailer represent violence?

Media Audience

What pleasures does the advertisement offer its audience?

Media Institution

What is Microsoft trying to achieve by using behind the scenes footage?