Joe's Media blog
Monday, March 4, 2019
Green Street research
Green Street Research
Introduction
- The title of this film was 'Green Street'.
- It was released in 2005 and it was made by MVM Studios who used to be OddLot Entertainment.
- This film is set in East and Central London.
- The genre is crime and drama and it is focused solely on football firms and fan hooliganism.
Producer
- The two producers for Green Street were Donald Zuckerman and Deborah Del Prete.
- A producers role is to oversee the whole production process and they may be employed by the production company or they will work independently. They usually have the final say for the script that is going to be used. They will also coordinate the writing, directing and the editing.
- The producer would oversee all aspects of the film because they would be handling the financial side of it so it may be that they hold the rights over all of it.
- The research behind this concept to the film wouldn't have been to hard to gain because if you follow football enough, or even just a bit, you will know that West Ham and Millwall fans hate each other.
Target Audience
- The specific target audience audience for this film would be young and middle aged adults especially those who would declare themselves as football fans because they would want to see other perspectives on matchdays. You could even say Americans who aren't even that interested in football as they might want to see what certain English football fan culture is like.
- The audience were clearly targeted because it's about a stereotypical American who flies over to London and then he gets involved with the violence that can find you at a football match and the Londoners all use the word 'Yank' a lot which shows that an American being at the football isn't wrong but a bit of a joke for them and all of this is clearly shown in the trailers.
- The strategies that they used that were effective would've been the trailers mostly as they are a good way of advertising a new media product, then there would be the posters that would've been used but also football fans love seeing new films like 'Goal' and 'Football Factories' and I know this, speaking as a football fan, but also using quite a big London club like West Ham who are known for their rivalry with Millwall was clever as that would attract a lot of their fanbase to watch it.
Marketing Strategies
- I have seen just two different film trailers for Green Street.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENPMz4cY1nw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAe-1Lv1KYU
- There are also quite a few posters that were made for it too
- There was a big movie premiere for it on the 9th September 2005
Distribution
- The two distributors for Green Street were Universal UK (UK) which is a big company in the production industry and Freestyle Releasing (US) which I haven't heard of before.
- It made $4.33 million at the box office.
- The benefits of selecting the right distributers are that the film can be seen by the targeted primary audience and then the secondary audiences.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Group Video Proposal
GJG Productions
Post Malone - 'Over Now' GJG Production will produce a 4:20 minutes music video for Harry Dhami aimed at an audience aged between 13 - 24 who enjoy the concepts of travel via public transport, music, technology and cool locations. Their occupation would be a college/sixth form/university student. They would come across as comfortable and accustomed to the Croydon area of South London.
Music Genre
The music genre of this track is R&B and also pop. We know this because we have looked up what Post Malone's music genres and we get the sense that its R&B and pop because him music is meaningful and close to his heart and most of it relates to events throughout his life.
Style
We have chosen to produce a narrative and interpretative music video for 'Over Now' because when listening to it we both agreed that we could come up with a narrative and interpretative music video. We are going to use interpretative because his music has meaning and we want people to interpret it in various ways leaving it open for the audience. However it is a narrative because our character is going on a journey and exploring his lifestyle and interests.
Length
The track itself is 4:07 minutes long but because we are starting the video with our character putting earphones in and then 'Over Now' is going to start because one of the interest's of our teenage student is music and I think it's a cool way of starting the video.
Pace
The pace is going to be quite slow because the track is quite slow too but also it will fit the rhythm of the video as it's going to be a journey but we are going to edit it so most, if not all, of it will all be slow motion.
Meaning
The meaning in the video is gradually getting somewhere, starting from the bottom and getting to the top, its a journey that a 16 year old college student is making and we see that he is independent in what he is doing but is successful and get to where he wants to be in the end. A journey from where he has come from to where he is, looking over his journey and his success.
Imagery
The main imagery that we are going to include in our video will be our character on public transport. There's also going to be shots of the main character lip synching in front of a brick wall, for the chorus parts, to give an urban and South London vibe to it for a more cultured video. We are also going to be using a wood and a studio to film parts of it as well so it isn't all the same.
Locations
The locations that we are going to use in our video are the outside and maybe the inside of Coulsdon College, Coulsdon South Train Station, Southern rail trains, 60 bus, Croydon town centre, top of Centrale
- Coulsdon College
- Coulsdon South Train Station
- Southern rail trains
- 60 bus
- Croydon town centre
- Top of Centrale car park
- Georges house and garden
Props
- Speakers
- Laptop
- Mustang Car
- Phones
- Earphones
- Fashionable clothing and shoes
We have considered some of the legal and ethical issues that may be an issue during the process of making this music video and one of them might be that people may not want to be included on the video. We are going to keep the camera focused on the character in the video as much as we possibly can so that no one.
Programme/production planning will be completed by 4/2/19, This will be filmed/produced by 14/2/19, shooting will last for 3 college days and rough edit/first draft will be available by 16/2/19 for you to review. Final submission will be given as an MOV on premiere on 25/2/19.
Monday, January 28, 2019
Unit 26.2 - Old films to new
The Woman in Black (1989 and 2012 versions)
What type of genre are they?
Both of the two versions are horror, gothic literature and tragedy. It's horror because of the setting as Eel Marsh House is set on a remote island a little way off from the village of Crythin Gifford and there is a haunted spirit who's still there in the shadows and many, if not all, of the characters in the village are unwelcoming, conservative, and unclear in the answers that they give to Arthur. The idea of The Woman in Black was first made in to a book so it can also be thought as Gothic literature as the Woman in Black is (obviously) dressed all in black and wearing a veil which people consider as gothic. It's a tragedy also because there is a lot of death in the films because when The Woman in Black is seen a child from the village dies and in the first scene in the 2012 version; three children commit suicide by jumping out of a window at the same time. And in the 1989 one the ending scene is of Arthur and his family dying after being crushed by a tree caused to fall because of The Woman in Black.
Who produced and directed the two films?
1989
The director for the first version in 1989 was Herbert Wise, who has also directed the movies; 'Breaking the Code', Skokie and 'The Gathering Storm' and the producer was Chris Burt.
2012
For this 2012 contemporary version, the director was James Watkins who has directed 'Bastille Day' and most recently the TV series 'McMafia' and the producers were three men called Simon Oakes, Richard Jackson and Brian Oliver.
Do they have any stars?
1989
Adrian Rawlins, who also appeared in the 2015 sequel of the 2012 version, plays the lawyer called Arthur Kidd who is sent by his firm to go and settle the estate of a recently deceased woman called Alice Drablow to be able to move the house on to someone else. Bernard Hepton plays the local land owner, Sam Toovey who is pretty unwelcoming to Arthur because of the fact that he is the man who has to deal with the Drablow estate and Bernard Hepton has acted in 'Colditz' and 'Get Carter'. Pauline Moran is the actress who plays the Woman in Black, and she is the sister to the woman who owned the house and stole her son from her when she was deemed unfit to raise him, and she has also played characters in 'Byron' and a long running TV series called 'Poirot'.
2012
In this 2012 version Daniel Radcliffe plays the main character, Arthur Kipps, who is a lawyer sent to Eel Marsh house and Radcliffe is most famous for his leading role as Harry Potter. CiarĂ¡n Hinds plays Sam Daily, who is the wealthiest man in the village and helps Arthur out a lot during the film, has played characters in 'Harry Potter', 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', and 'Game of Thrones'. Janet McTeer plays Mrs Daily who, in the scenes that we see her in, often has what looks like a fit and it makes the film more horrific as she carves out images with knifes and rocks making foreshadowing predictions to the plot. Liz White is the actress who plays Jennet Humfrye, also known as The Woman in Black and she haunts the house and the village of Crythin Gifford and whenever somebody sees her, however briefly, the nearest child dies and Liz White has appeared in British TV series like 'Call the Midwife' and 'Ackley Bridge'.
What certificate did the film receive?
1989
This 1989 Woman in Black received an age rating of 15 because of all the haunting and the death that happens throughout the course of the film.
2012
The 2012 version received a 12A certificate because the BBFC decided that audiences who were aged 12 and above would find certain scenes thrilling but not off-putting enough whereas audiences who are under the age of 12 would probably find them disturbing and upsetting as there's a lot of death and some graphic scenes including a woman hanging herself and children committing suicide and children under the age of 12 are young and won't have experienced as much as adults would have done before seeing this film.
The budget assignment for the films and where did it come from?
1989
The budget for the 1989 version was unknown on Wikipedia and IMDB. It is unknown on Wikipedia and IMDB but because the production company was Granada televesion, which is what is now known as ITV, I think that it is fair to assume that the funding would have come from England.
2012
The budget that was granted to the filmmakers was $15 million US dollars so the funding must of come from the United States.
Which production company/ies made the film?
1989
In The Woman in Black, 1989 version, the production company who made the film was 'Granada Television', which is now know as ITV, and they have made films such as 'Bloody Sunday' and 'My Left Foot'.
2012
The production companies that made the Woman in Black, 2012 version, were Alliance Films who have made films like 'Insidious' and 'Sinister' and then also Hammer Films who have made 'Let me in' and 'The Quiet Ones'.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Music Video individual proposal
PROPOSAL
TITLE: 'Under and Out'
CLIENT: Harry Dhami
WRITER(S): Joe Goodburn and George Gillard
CREW / CAST: Joe and George
DATE: 24/1/19
GG Productions will produce a 2:55 minutes on the theme of a music video for Harry Dhami aimed at an audience aged between 13-24 odd who would also like other media products such as other music videos and potentially radio programmes have hobbies such as maybe making their own music Occupation would be a student at school, college or university. They would live in an urban, suburban area (stereotypically in an area in South London) but not necessarily like a council estate. They would need to prior knowledge of issues relating to modern age era, technology and transport.
Programme/production planning will be completed by 4/2/19. This will be filmed/produced by 14/2/19, shooting will last for 3 college days and rough edit/first draft will be available by 16/2/19 for you to review. Final submission will be submitted as a MOV on premiere on 25/2/19.
The programme will be shot/produced by using coulsdon college media equipment or just by using our iPhones. Electronic back-up copy will be in USB file format. Specialist equipment and resources required to complete this production are Joe and George as cast, fashionable clothing and phones. For locations; Coulsdon South station (and just outside going in to it), on a train and bus and then central Croydon and then on the top of Centrale. For Transport we will use the bus and the train.
According to our findings, we are going to base our on a narrative music video style scenario involving one main character which i think is going to be me and it's going to be a narrative because when i visualise the music in my head in the track suits the idea of someone on a journey. Aged between 16 - 18 as we are going from college. This person enjoys things that a stereotypical teenager would like such as music, technology, fashion and travel/transport. The main story is about a college student travelling back home from college. Similar products that have influenced the approach are Drake’s ‘One Dance’ ,which I saw on YouTube, and this because of the way that he’s walking and the way he’s positioned and when I thought of the idea in my head for my music video it reminded me of parts of his music video. Our USP is that it is going to be relatable to teenage and maybe even young adults and this is because we would make it obvious that it is a college student so they would know the sort of age the person is and also we are going to go to the top of a building in Croydon so that we can get a cool rooftop ending.
We have considered the legal and ethical issues for this product they are …. (INCLUDE THE ACTIONS TAKEN). Main contingencies include …. (MAIN CONSIDERATIONS FOR EACH STAGE - PRE, PRO AND POST)
The programme/product budget will be approximately £……… (see breakdown budget with local rates.)
Proposal Checklist:
- Concise statement – indicate what you hope to say
- Background and need (Purpose & Objectives)
- Your approach, structure and style
- Preliminary budget
- Shooting Schedule (brief account)
- Equipment List
- Summary of credits, experiences (key roles)
*** Further Guidance (delete this) ***
Include findings from INITIAL AIMS and GROUP RESEARCH. Images will help to break up the text and make it more appealing. You can summarise this information for a PITCH, if required.
Friday, December 7, 2018
My radio advert
New music app
Name: Resonate
Type: This is going to be a legal music app with every song and remix ever that can be streamed and downloaded so that you can listen to your favourite music wherever and whenever you like.
Essential information: This is going to be an app where people are going to have to pay for it unless they don't mind not being able to pick the order that the songs come. It has every single song ever made all on there so there is something for everyone to listen to if they like music. If they want to use the full and easy access version then they will have to pay a price of £7.99 but there will be a 10% discount for students on an app called Unidays.
USP: Every single song ever made but when you are listening to the song there will be an option to select the official music channel. Also on iPhones it has voice recognition on the siri feature so you don't have to always pick up your phone to select a new song. One small feature we allow is when you make a fresh account you can customise the format of how you want your app to look like the colour theme for the background and where you want your playlists to be and where you want the search part to be. Free month trial.
Similar services: Spotify, Deezer, SoundCloud, Apple music, YouTube music app
Target Audience: Anyone with an interest in music. Mainly teenagers as they use their phones as much as they can and will usually have earphones on them too.
Style: There's going to be music playing that is popular at the time of making the advert because it will probably attract more people and make them want to listen. There will be the chorus of three songs to make people stay and listen and then there will be a voiceover.
Setting: There isn't really a setting for this as the main sounds will be the songs being played.
Slogan: Resonate, bringing music to you
Script
1st informal idea:
*Advert begins with the first song's chorus
*Pause in the change of song
*Then 2nd song's chorus plays
*Second pause
*3rd song's chorus plays and voiceover starts playing
Voiceover: Like any of these absolute bangers? Listen to loads more on our new app Resonate starting at just £7.99 for full access but remember, if you're a student to use our 10% discount on Unidays. Resonate, bringing music to you.
2nd informal idea:
So guys are you looking for a new music app. Well ladies and gentlemen, why don't you just use our amazing new app, Resonate. We have loads of tunes and a sick set up. Even a voice recognition so that you can just say what song you wanna listen to. Believe me everyone this is the best music app that's out there right now. Come on you know you wanna use it. Resonate, bringing music to you.
1st formal idea: Hello, do you like music? Well on Resonate you can now listen to every single song, remix or medley ever made. Have you never heard of Resonate? Well that's because we've just released our app on google play and the apple store. Do you like to set up your music hub the way you want to or even play a song without lifting a finger? Well on Resonate you can because we have implemented a voice recognition system with Apple and Samsung products and you can now set up your format and colour theme for your account. Resonate, bringing music to you.
2nd formal idea:
Good morning, do you have an interest in music? Well if you are interested and you use apps like Spotify and Deezer then come and use ours, Resonate. Come and listen to all your favourite artists and bands and I emphasise the word all because we have every single song, remix and medley ever made. The price for our application is £7.99 for the full access version. We will offer a free month trial and then there is a 10% discount you can use if you are a student. Resonate, bringing music to you
New Taxi Service
Name: Taxi2you.
Type: Our Taxi service is going to be operating around central and greater London.
Essential information: Only in London, the price will vary depending on how far the customer is going, our friendly drivers will have their own quality, comfortable taxis that can hold up to 7 spaces for passengers. You can book Taxi's way in advance online on our website and through the app you can download off the app store on your phones.
USP: The first two rides will be free for any customers who book it for an 'as soon as possible' ride as long as they redeem their codes that they will be emailed when they make an account to sign up to our services. And if they need to make any stops during their journey they can have an unlimited amount of stops.
Similar services: Uber, London black cab taxis, MyTaxi, Gett and Addison Lee
Target audience: The target audience will be from teenagers upwards to adults (15/16 - 50 years old)
Style: The style will be informal when the voiceover acting part is playing but when the company is talking it will be formal as they will be explaining what the service does and what the USP is.
Setting: Going to be three different scenes to relate to three different age groups. One will be for ages around 16 which is going to be outside Thorpe Park as thats inside the M25 which is where this service is going to operate in. The next will be an young adult at the age of about 18-24 years old and they will call for a taxi back home from a night club. Then the adult will be around the age of 40 getting back home from work in central London.
Slogan: Taxi to youuuu (elongated) to make it memorable like most adverts these days.
Scripts
1st script:
1st person (teenager outside Thorpe Park): Hi I'm outside Thorpe Park can someone take me back to Kingston, please?
2nd person (young adult outside a night club: Hiya can I get a taxi from Club 49 Soho to Camden please?
3rd person (adult getting back from work): Hello I've just finished work, can I get a ride back to Croydon please, I'm just outside the Shard.
Company voiceover: Here at Taxi2You we offer a 24 hour service operating inside London with great Taxi's and friendly drivers. We are available to book via our new app or just call us by our phone number which is 02085641701.
2nd idea:
Company representative: Hey, do you ever need a lift home from work, or a night out or even back from a football match. Well if you live in central or greater London you are in luck because you can now book taxis to you, 24/7 via our recently launched taxi service Taxi2You. Book us through our website or app or just call us through our number 02085641701. Taxi to youuuu.
Monday, November 26, 2018
Media film studies assignment - Auteur and Feminism
Auteur and Feminism film theories
Auteur
Charlie and the Chocolate factory - Tim Burton
Firstly, if a director is thought of as an auteur director then it means that they are like the author of the film and when they do this they manage to implement their own creative ideas and concepts into the film. Tim Burton mostly makes dark, gothic fantasy and horror films has directed various films but there are many themes and ideas that can be spotted in the films that he has made and auteur directors all have their own way of directing and visioning their films and they will often use similar looking shots, lighting and sound and actors they've worked with previously in other films and his methods are different to lots of other directors films as he has complete control over the production of them.
Casting
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tim Burton brought in Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka), Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs Bucket) and Christopher Lee (Willy Wonka's father) to play quite key roles in the storyline and these actors have been in about seven other films he has made. Johnny Depp has played a lead role in this Burton film and Willy Wonka is an eccentric, quirky and outgoing sort of man who is childlike and doesn't seem to like the idea of behaving like a grown up. They also brought in Freddie Highmore to play Charlie Bucket and they got the casting right for this part because he had to be a skinny boy as his family are poor and with there being 7 family members, he's not going to be able to eat as much as an ordinary boy might do. Highmore also comes across as polite, caring and brought up well considering his families background.
Techniques
For colour and lighting, the only times really in the film that colour is used is when the children and adults are allowed in the factory or when there is a scene involving Wonka chocolate bars or the golden tickets. A good example of this is when they enter the room Wonka calls 'The Chocolate Room' but before they go in to the factory, from the outside it is a cold, overcast looking day and the factory itself is grey and dull looking with smoke pouring out of it adding more to the cloud. But when they go in to that room there is just like an explosion of colour. When they enter a room in his factory they will normally start the scene with a wide expansive shot showing the whole room to let the audience see what the room is like and then it would switch back to a shot of the group to take in Wonka's pride in what he has created and then a reaction of the party with him. They use special effects when Mike Teevee is shrunk into a mini version and then at the end of the factory tour after he is stretched in to a tall and literally flat size we see him walking out. They use music at the beginning with the opening credits and then when the Oompa Loompas break into a song when one of the children end up leaving the tour and the Oompa Loompas making songs and dancing shows how mischievious they are and how they entertain themselves.
Creative Influences
One thing that really stands out to me is the make up that Willy Wonka has on his face as he is pale because he's in his factory basically all the time and he has shadows around his eyes, his lips are purple and he has strange feminine type of hair. Burton seems to like to use this pale look for characters in his fantasy films. Willy Wonka is also a character who is unusual and weird throughout the film but not creepy like some of the major characters that are in Burton's other films. Tim Burton normally starts his films with maybe 2 or 3 minutes scene of opening credits with pictures (probably if it's an older film) or if it's more of a recently made film like this one then it will be a few minutes of shots of key things from the film (like the Wonka bars being shipped out of the factory) and then maybe a narration after it to open the film.
Genre Analysis
In terms of the genre of this film, just like nearly every other Tim Burton film this is a fantasy and a humour film. Reasons why this is a fantasy genre film is because Willy Wonka is called a genius as he can consistently make the best chocolate bars in the world and then also sweets that in real life might sound impossible to make to us. Also there are the Oompa Loompas who are from a far away land which is conveniently called Oompa Loompa land and they are like little tribal people but it is unclear whether they are human or just some sort of magical little people who can talk. It is also a comedy film because Willy Wonka is an adult with a childish perspective on things which makes him come out with funny comments and remarks particularly about the children who found the golden tickets to get into his factory.
Narrative analysis
For narrative, in this the poor and respectful people (like Charlie's family) end up as the happy ones at the end of the film but the richer and disrespectful children end up finishing their tour early and not getting the ultimate prize which Charlie won and that was Wonka's factory. The narrative has a fantasy concept because Charlie always liked Willy Wonka's chocolate and was very interested in his factory as he made a model of it at the start of the film and then at the end the factory is offered to him to run it as Wonka realises when he dies someone needs to take over. However he's told that he couldn't see his family again so he turns the offer down but when Charlie makes Wonka realise family is important, at the end of the film we see that his families house is moved in to the factory so the two main characters end up happy.
Symbolism
In Wonka's factory, nearly every individual room has a main colour. In the first room, 'The Chocolate Room', it's mainly green, red, pink and brown but then in otherwhich sort of sets the tone for what the rest of the factory tour will be like as it almost reinforces Wonka's imagination. For actors, there is symbolism in Johnny Depp playing a lead role like Wonka in a Burton film as he is is very eccentric and not the usual type of adult man. A good example of symbolism for a character is the shirt that Mike Teevee is wearing throughout the tour and it has a skull on it and this is symbolic because he is a pretty violent and rude person and the first scene we see of him he's playing a violent video game and is shouting at the screen saying "DIE, DIE, DIE" and also when left on his own in the factory the first thing he does is obliterate a pumpkin and the skull T-shirt has connotations of violence and terror.
Technical Codes
For technical codes, I'm looking at the scene where Violet Beauregard turns into a blueberry. Firstly, when she gets bigger and bigger the camera rises up with her and also when everyone else backs away from her that angle is almost like saying she is helpless at that point and everyones backing away in case something bad happens. For the audio, when she starts turning blue some daunting screechy violin music starts playing quietly and then when it gets seriously bad and she turns into a massive blueberry it is really loud. The editing is spaced out so that each reaction of everyone else is seen clearly when she swells up.
Written and spoken language
In this film, most of the written text that we see is in posters or newspapers and when this happens it basically always has something to do with Willy Wonka and his golden tickets and the children who had found them in the chocolate bars. These are important parts in the plot of the film because one of the first examples is a notice on a lamppost announcing that five children will get the chance of getting a tour of the factory if they find one of the golden tickets. For the other times, it announces who the children are and this also introduces new characters to the film making it important overall. For spoken language, most of the characters, apart from Willy Wonka, are quite serious. But Willy Wonka will say some things that adults will find quite funny like when Augustus Gloop comes up to Wonka and says "I really love your chocolate" and then Wonka says "I can see that" which i found quite funny.
Feminism
Divergent - Neil Burger
Feminism theory is a theory that filmmakers follow that leans towards the importance and viewpoints of women whereas stereotypically men are normally the main characters, for example something like Harry Potter whereas with feminism Tris in Divergent or Katniss in The Hunger Games. Neil Burger directed Divergent and the reason that this would be considered a feminism style film is because the Divergent series's main protagonist is a young woman who's called Tris. The film is set in Chicago but way in the future when society seems to have collapsed and everyone is like some of the last remaining humans. As the main character is a woman, it means that the plot revolves around her and she will have important traits and reasons (being Divergent) which is why she's going to be so crucial in the plot of the film. It is also a feminism style because in the film the people have to choose to enter a faction group which means that when they turn 16 they have to join a certain group out of five which suits their characteristics. But she chooses to join Dauntless which is the one that has the most brave, fearless and combative people in which is showing how woman can be what men are stereotypically thought as.
Casting
For casting Burger brought in Shailene Woodley to play the lead role as Tris and she plays it well as a girl who looks quite shy and wary at first but comes out of her shell when plot moves on as being in the Dauntless faction makes her stronger, confident and more daring and then she learns that she is divergent and she realises her qualities and potential. Kate Winslet plays Jeanine who is the main antagonist in the film and she is the leader of the faction called Erudite which is the faction who wants to take charge and this is also another example of feminism from Burger as another very major character is a female. Her mum is portrayed as brave and fearless as she rescues Tris from being executed when the Erudite faction attack Abnnegation and then she dies saving her for it. Also the woman who Tris goes to for her faction test is Tori, played by Maggie Q, and she reveals to Tris that she is what people call Divergent and is therefore important to the story.
Techniques
In Divergent, Neil Burger uses a range of techniques but I did notice that at the start of the film there are lots of aerial and establishing shots on the city and there is a use of colour to suit the mood in the scenes in Divergent and it has that golden sun colour shining on the city as it's a completely new world to us and those colours remind people of new life but it's a common theme and a shot that is used throughout the film. Another example is the people from Dauntless wearing black clothes because compared to the rest of the city these are the most different as they are fearless and daring and wearing the colour black means their mysterious and protective. Burger makes lots of use of music and it is normally used when the story has progressed onwards or if there is a very beautiful and scenic shot or scene then there will be music used. Music is used when Tris has chosen her faction and they all leave the massive room, music starts playing and it's 'Run boy run' by Woodkid and it's the sort of music that would remind you of action and the Dauntless lot are all running and climbing and chasing after trains so the music suits the scene well. There is also a lot of use of green screen that they use for the background of shots, for example like when Tris and Four are taking a practise aptitude test halfway through the film and they are on a beemline really high up in-between two buildings. Special effects are used when Tris takes her real aptitude test and a fire rises from the ground very quickly and that is definitely CGI.
Creative influences
Neil Burger has said that when he was visualising Divergent in his head, when he was thinking about his approach on it, that he wanted to stay faithful to the book as he spoke to the author of the book, who is Veronica Roth, before he started on it. He also says that he has watched many movies set in the future, such as Blade Runner, and he said he could imagine a CGI city but he wanted to make it all feel real by implementing human nature and things that as the audience we could relate to. Burgersaid in an interview that "the essence of the story's message can resonate with any age" because he thought of the questions "Where do I fit into the world? Who am I? Am I different, and if I'm different, do I hide it?" and these are the sorts of things that a teenagers will have thought of at some point as they mature into adults and then adults can remember thinking about that.
Genre Analysis
For Divergent, the genre is mystery and Sci-Fi. The mystery comes in various ways as there a quite a lot of questions that the audience will have but then as the protagonist, Tris, gets further into the plot she is going to have questions answered and then find more questions. One thing that is mysterious is why is Jeanine and the Erudite faction so interested in Marcus Eaton and rounding up as many Divergent's that they can find. It is a Sci-Fi film as there is so much futuristic iconography and elements that make us think of science and unrealistic technology that we wouldn't have in our time right now and there is also a story of why their society is like it is at the start.
Narrative analysis
The narrative of Divergent is about a sixteen year old girl, called Beatrice Prior, who lives in a futuristic version of Chicago where they seem to be the last remaining humans across the United States. Every year, the sixteen year olds all have to select a faction to be in and Tris, who was in Abnegation with her family, ends up in Dauntless after taking an aptitude test to see which one she should choose and being told that she is Divergent which means that she's not suited to any of them. She joins Dauntless and then realises that she's one of the worst in there and has to train really hard to be able to stay on the program otherwise she will be faction less, meaning that she won't belong to anything and effectively homeless. The faction called Erudite, led by the antagonist Jeanine, wants to take over Abnegation and run the government of Chicago and at the end joins up with the Dauntless leaders to force the Dauntless soldiers to start killing Abnegation, through some sort of mind control, so that they can control the city. However Tris with the help of her mother and father, who both die in the process, stop the mind control on the Dauntless soldiers and then she escapes on a train with Four and his dad, Caleb who is her brother and Peter who was in her Dauntless initiates group.
Symbolism
Neil Burger uses symbolism in Divergent and the most obvious use is for the symbol of each of the city's factions. For Dauntless, there is fire which can have connotations and meanings of danger, will and determination. Abnegation's is an image of two people holding hands which is like offering help to somebody and Abnegation is for the kind and helpful one. Candor's symbol is an image of scales which is symbolic for deciding what is the truth in court and Candor's faction is all about Honesty. Amity's is a picture of a tree and Amity is all about peace and trees can remind people of the countryside and often in films when someone is looking to escape they dream of a place in nature. Finally for Erudite's faction, it is an image of an eye and that can have meanings of focus, vision and observation and in Erudite they are the most intelligent people living in Chicago.
Technical Codes
For technical codes, I'm looking at the scene when they are on the train on the way to Dauntless and then they start jumping off the train on to the roof of the building. For camerawork, for one shot, as Tris and her new friend Cristina jump off it cuts to a birds eye view of the jump, making me think that Burger wanted to show the gap between the roof and the train and how high up they are. For another shot it shows the speed the train is going and this makes it seem more intense and the jump even more daring and dangerous. That same shot also shows how many more people have already jumped and that they are the only two who haven't jumped yet. For audio they use a soundtrack that has intensity and it uses the sound of the train and the tracks and also the sound of drums to make it more dramatic.
Written and spoken language
In Divergent, not much is actually written down, everything is normally just symbolised like the faction symbols and even when someone is reading something aloud they are reading off of some futuristic iPad that isn't visible to the audience. When people are talking to Tris, she is often being told what to do like when she goes into Dauntless and is then told to jump off the roof and then she undergoes all of her training. It depends which group of people that Tris is talking to in Divergent as Dauntless come across as confrontational and blunt, for example Eric, Abnegation seem kind and caring, for example her parents and Erudite is where Jeanine is and she comes across as authoritative and knowledgeable.
Friday, November 9, 2018
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