Institutions

Stereotypical interpretations.

In the beginning of the clip two things are being represented; the 'engagement hype' and 'bridezilla syndrome'. This is being represented by the girls screaming frantically hugging, planning their big day together as best friends. This is very stereotypical of getting married- money has suddenly appeared- this is so unrealistic most couples unless in a very fortune situation have so save up for years for their perfect wedding while in film they have cash instantly. Another example of Barthes theory of media being fluffy is the perfect wedding with your child hood best friend, its so very unlikely that two girls remain friends from young childhood to adulthood. 

'Legally Blonde' BARTHES theory analysis.

Right at the beginning of the clip you are shown blond hair and a woman's nails that are perfectly manicured, this shows that its easy to get the perfect hair and nails, showing Barthes theory of films becoming lovey dovey in the perfect world.
As you see the boys fighting, they are young, fit and good looking, this shows another stereotypical part of films; all boys should be young and fit, again supporting Barthes theory of films being romanticised. As the girl cycles past and the boys shout and whoop at her, this suggests that all boys find young thin girls attractive, this is stereotypical of films they do not have someone of average looks or size because this would sell.
The shot where she is painting her nails surrounded by make up brushes and pink fluffy things again shows the stereotypical view of girls, or the 'perfect' girl so to speak, the flowers also suggests this.
  The shot in the gym again shows that girls should work out to be perfect and that it is a necessity of life, the woman holding the small weights shows that girls cant hold/handle the larger weights this again is a very good example of Bathes theory showing that girls are fragile beings and shouldn't be given harder objects/tasks.
On the girls desk you notice blond hair dye on her desk, this again shows how girls fantasise about being blonds and will go to dye their hair to get the desired 'look'. Another great example of Bathes theory of films.
  Notice how most girls are wearing a shade of pink or hearts this again is a stereotypical look on a girl-fluffy headed that loves pink, another example is the girls in the bathroom in their underwear, it is very common in films for girls  to be applying make up or doing their hair in their underwear because is suggests their vulnerability, they are also wearing matching sets, showing they are organised and make a conscious effect into their underwear another representation of the 'perfect' girl.
Also notice how the song through out is very girly and stereotypical of a 'slumber party'.

Production Company Poster

Angel Wings Production

Applying Dyer's Theory

Dyer's theory- "How we are seen determines how we are treated, and how treat others depends on how we see them'
Task- List 3 groups of people who you think you could apply DYER'S theory to (IE - that we treat them according to the way the media teaches us to see them.

OAPs  

The media perceives OAPs as well respected  citizens of the community who sit at home and knit. We therefor perceive the older generation as not a treat, we treat them with respect and offer to help them when we can. A good example of this is grandparents, we respect our grandparents sometimes more than we do our parents because of what they have seen/done in their lifetime, we perceive them as fragile. However 260 over-65s were arrested for serious crimes in 2009. This statics show that we sometimes look at older people as harmless when in fact they still commit crimes!

Pop Stars

The media portraits pop stars in two different ways; either as incredibly talented who should be admired by everyone or as a drug taking crack head who is causing trouble.

The talented portrayed, when a new music sensation comes out the media are one of the first to do some digging and in most cases the same story comes out, 'hard life' 'fighting for the dream' 'family tradgedy' All of these titles have come out of the media when talking about a new music star. They talk about how hard their life has been and the struggle they had reaching their dreams. With these stories the public automatically feel a connection and look up to these stars who have proved that 'anything is possible'. For example teen sensation One Direction although their life has not been hard they were formed on Xfactor and it was apparent fate that made them click. With their squeaky clean image the boy band are a world wide hit, young girls look up to them as their idols, someone who they want to marry etc. But if the media did not portray them as that , then would we still think of them in such a way? For example Brittany Spears, who was a pop sensation turned drug addict, the media turned on her on an instant and because of this so did the public. Disregarding hits and charity work they trashed her image and although due to her own admission was 'not in the right frame of mind' the media added fuel to the fire by publicly embarrassing her whenever they had the chance. Now Brittany is back they again praise her for her struggle and so the public forgive and forget the drug abuse, the shaving of her hair, all because the media now say she is OK.

 

Teenagers

Teenagers are portrayed in the media as hooded hooligans who lie, take drugs, drink and are a burden on the local communities. So with the media portraying them as that they are treated with suspicions. For example, in most small convince stores they have a ' no more than two' policy. Although a small majority of teenagers are 'hulgans' most are members of the community who are happy to help, they go to school, respect their elders (and don't rob them like the media say) they help around the house and are in at a reasonable time. The only time you ever seen teens is when they are being bashed by the media, never are they commend for their grades or success in politics or the work place. People seen teens as a  nuisance because that is how they are portrayed.

Narrative

Enigma

Who does the house belong too?

Who do the toys belong to?

Where are they?

Who is the horse and carriage?

Why is it misty?

Who is the family in the picture?

What have the 3 girls have to do with they film?

What are the three girls looking at?

Why are the eyes scratched out in the picture? 

Who is the woman in the window?

Who is the man(Daniel Radcliffe)? 

Why is he there?
Why is the woman crying?

Why is the name in the house?

Who is the woman in the black?

Why is the boy coming out of the marsh? 

Who died in the marsh?

Who could save who?

What is he (Daniel Radcliffe) running from?

Why is there a fire?

Cultural 

1900s

Lower Class people 

Music

Action

Musical toy monkey 

Running 

Girls jumping 

Horse trotting 

Toy bending its back all the way

Moving Car 

Screaming woman 

Ripping of the wallpaper

Running

Slamming of door. 

Identify key characters and think about what they represent in the opening

Daniel Radcliffe is an obvious main character because most camera shots are of him doing/looking at something, you can also tell that the house is a main part of the film although not person it features a lot in the camera shots of the trailer, then the women in black that is always in the background is obliviously the thriller part of the film.

Preferred and oppositional reading.

Preferred reading

The preferred reading of this poster is comic, showing the 'M'nM' as a war leader with his followers beneath him with 'vote Red' at the bottom, and the MnM logo at the bottom all suggest that this is a comic poster.

Oppositional Reading

The oppositional reading to this poster is someone making a joke out of the sacrifice that people made for the freedom of others, this poster, if not shown in the correct context, could easily upset someone for example a war veteran. It may also suggest war as the block colour is red, suggesting blood or violence, the way the MnM has its hand forward it resembles Nazi party posters.

Poster Analysis

Jennifer's Body Poster Analysis.

By just looking at the poster we can assume that the film will be in a school setting due to the blackboard behind Megan Fox along with the desk she is sitting at and text books. We can also tell by the way she is position they she will be the main character, from her position we can assume that the character she is playing is a 'popluar' girl for a few reasons; the heels,mini skirt and low top suggest that she is no virgin Mary, although we can only make assumptions she does not look academically smart.most likely caring about her looks more than her academic subjects. We know Megan Fox is am attractive person so she fits well with the character.

We can also tell the film is going to be a thriller/horror. We can see (denotations) a discoloured arm with blood around it, so we assume (connotation) that this person has been murdered. Megan Fox has blood tripping from her mouth so we can assume from this she is either a vampire.

Also the fact that the title of the film is in red suggests to us that death is a big part in this film,certainly blood anyway. The way the bottom of the 'y' drags down on the picture and a drop of red is on the blackboard edge again suggests dripping blood, we instantly connect blood with a murder so the assumption is that Megan Fox's character is a teen murder.

Megan Fox is also in red in black. Red again suggests blood or anger where death suggests death. The annotations to this poster all go in the same direction. We assume that the film is about a teenage vampire.

Picture Analysis

As a starter in class we were given a genre and a target audience, we were then asked to go and create an image that represents this.
We were given the genre of romantic comedy and the target audience of teenage girls. We decided to take this shot because with the school block on the foreground you can automatically tell that it is set in a school. We then chose to have the photo to be taken on the playground because this is when most communication happens, 'playground gossip' would play a massive part in this film.
By having a an arm round his waist and onto  his shoulder you are able to tell that the girl in the red and the boy in the blue are in a relationship. However the boy and the the girl in the blue are holding hands suggesting they are also in a relationship. This is linked into the genre, the romantic comedy will be the boy having a relationship with two people and trying to keep them both a secret from one and other.
We decided to keep the picture in full colour because it shows that this film is full of different personalities and different twist and turns.

Genre and Opening sequence

Snow White & The Huntsman opening sequence analysis. 

The first shot of the opening sequence is of a dark sky following a crow that comes into centre focus of the camera with an intense swooping sound from the crows wings suggesting that the crow is an important part in the film, as the crow squawks in dissipates into thousands that fly into a dimly lit castle suggesting that the film is based on/in a kingdom. The narration from the woman starts early, as we can not see her nor do we know who she is we assume she is a main character in the film.As the women narrates over the scene hooves hit the floor suggesting that a battle is about to commence and amour hitting amour, the slow motion fight gives the viewer time to digest what the narrator is saying.

Intense music accompanies the blackout, as the music gets more intense the camera moves closer to both women there is thump of bass, the woman in gold wears a crown, suggesting she is hierarchy/the Queen of the kingdom, her action of holding the young girl by the throat also suggests she is a harsh ruler. Two more base thumps as the young girl ages due to the Queen sucking out, what we assume is her soul. The music reaches its pivotal point when the Queen raises her head,this shot shows the audience that she holds all the power, the removal of the girls souls shows that there is magic in the film it also shows that the Queen is an evil character.
The narration shows how 'she' is feeling, at this point we still do not know who she is, however we assume she is the Queen to do the references she uses.
 The next shot of the Queen on top of on someone suggests that was she may have used foul play to secure her position of Queen.The sound of the sword being pulled out of its cover is exaggerated to increase suspense and show the Queens power. As the sword descends the shot is taken into an explosion, this creates an enigma because we do not know if the Queen did in fact kill that person.
The strong image of the Queen coming out of the white liquid wearing the crown with her hands over her breast show that she is protecting her weakness, the Queen narrates 'beauty is my power' suggesting that she uses her looks to do her bidding. The white also links to 'Snow White' this could show that the Queen tries to become Snow White herself.
When the mirror comes to life if shows that the film has a mystical genre to it, the liquid gold again shows the power/money the queen has, it however may suggest that the Queen is a 'witch' and shows that the film is set in a time where witchery was known and feared, explain why she is in power.
As another character is introduced the word 'fairest' is matched with her along with her walking into the light with a purple mystical sparkle around her, we automatically think that she is a good character due to the lighting and sounds at her entrance.
The next shot is her on top of a hill wearing full amour,clutching a sword while looking down at the castle this suggests that a rebellion is about to take place or a pivotal point in the girls journey.
As the Queen narrators 'find me someone who doesn't fear the dark forest' the huntsman comes into view yielding axes showing this as a strong character  in the film.
The shattering of the glass in front of the Queen suggests that she looses some power and becomes weaker during the film.
Quoting the original film snow white shows that this film is loosely based around it, the crows becoming the woman also show the crows are linked to her, the crows are also associated to death suggesting that as we suspected the Queen is evil and causes death in her kingdom.
There are many themes from this trailer for example; the liquid mirror shows that witchcraft and magic will take a roll in the play, the kiss between Snow White and another show there will also be love in the film.
The trailer creates an enigma for the audience so they are intrigued and more likely to see the film. 

Pitch Presentation

The Only Lifeline by Joe and Rebecca

Genre: War

Target Audience: Teen girls

Notes On different Genres

In class we have been looking at different types of Genres we came up with an extensive list;
-SCI-FI 
-Action
-Gangster
-Action
-Teen
-Comedy
-Family
-War
-Animation
-Chick Flick
-Romance
-Horror 
-Historical
-Disaster 
-Romantic comedy 
-Fantasy 
-Documentary 
-Hybrid (more than genre)

By identify the different genres we were able to understand more clearly the wide range of genres we also talked about 'Genre Conventions' we created an acronym to 'Distinct' to hep us remember;
Describe
In detail 
Settings (for example-at sixth form in classroom which is indoors in Essex it is the afternoon and raining)
Themes (for example-tragedy,love,survival, justice, friendship ect)
I cons (for example-gas masks,books,watch. Something is pivotal or important)
Characters 
Textual analysis (for example-Camera, editing, sound)