The Relationship Between Audiences and Films: The Hunger Games

In this blog post I will be discussing the relationship between the film The Hunger Games and audience. I will be including how pre-post viewing experiences, fandom, social media networking, effects, conditions of reception, pleasure, active spectatorship and the media literacy relate to me and the audience of The Hunger Games.

Pre-Post Viewing Experiences

Before I watched The Hunger Games I didn't think I was going to enjoy the film because I have never seen a trailer and I didn't know much about the film, therefore I didn't have many expectations.When I saw the front cover of The Hunger Games, the poster didn't appeal to me because there didn't look like much was going on. After I had watched the film my opinion of The Hunger Games changed and I enjoyed the film and thought it was really good. By watching this film I now want to see the second film. I think my opinion changed on this film because I didn't know what it was about, I also didn't know what was going to happen next, I liked the storyline and all different actions was happening at the same time between all the different characters.

The audiences that have read the books would know what was going to happen in the films but still would go and see them because they enjoyed reading the books. This would give them higher expectations of the film because they knew what was going to happen next but would make them see the film visually. After they have seen the film they may be disappointed because they had higher expectations as they have read the book and they also knew all the plot twists. Other people may have found the film a lot better than the books as they saw what they have read visually.

Fandom & Social Media Networking

Fans of The Hunger Games will buy merchandise such as; t-shirts, sound tracks, screensavers, bags, props used in the film, posters, survival bags and pens. They buy the merchandise because they love the film and characters in the film. Also the fans may have gone out and brought the next book 'The Hunger Games Catching Fire'. They would have brought the next book because they want to know what is going to happen next as the film was left on an openin ending. Hunger Games fans wouldn't be able to wait to see the next film. Most fans may have already read the books so they may know what is going to happen next. Some fans may just want to read the books while they are waiting for the next film to be released. The Hunger Games fans or audiences may review the film to let others know their opinions on the film. To do this they may write a written review on their blogs, fanpages or on review websites and some audiences may ceate a vlog and talk about their opinions. Fans may also join or create fan blogs to give other fans information and spoilers about the next film. They create fan blogs so they can connect and speak to other fans in the same fandom as you. Here is one of the most popular fansite for The Hunger Games: http://www.hungergamestrilogy.net/

Fans in The Hunger Games fandom will use many different social media networks such as; twitter, facebook, tumblr and myspace. Fans in this fandom will follow other fans, the cast, production company and the offical Hunger Games accounts. They do this so they speak to other fans as they may have a lot of things in common, makes new friends with the same interests and know what the cast is up too and events they will be attending. They will also have these social media networks to see where the production is up to in the filming and behind the scene pictures from the offical pages for this film.

Effects

I think that all the effects used in this film looked realistic, the special effects used in this film were; explosions of fire moving towards the main character Katniss Everdeen to try and kill her, fire on Katniss and Peeta clothing as they arrive in the parade and hologram when the people working with the games were adding different props into the arena. By having realistic affects makes the film look a lot better and it will appeal to more audiences and the fans because they want to see betetr effects to make that film stand out. Also by using these effects I listed above they fit with the genre action adventure of this film which will make these genre fans want to watch these films.

By having realistic effects improves the audiences opinions of this film because if the effects looks good they will tell their friends and make better reviews of the films, so other people that reads the reviews before the film will want to see it. Also if the special effects look realistic the audience will want to watch the next film because they know they won't be disappointed as they know it will be look visually good. I think the special effects used in this film was very good because they looked realistic and made the film look more effective.

Active Spectatorship

The Hunger Games genre would be known as action and adventure because there are many sound effects, storyline and special effects used to make the film fit within this genre category. When the audience is going to watch this film they would expect the different codes and conventions used in action and adventure films. For example in The Hunger Games they used some of the main codes and conventions in action films such as; fire and explosions. They also used the main codes and conventions in adventure films which is the characters having to complete a quest/adventure to survive and going through may difficulties to complete the quest.

The Hunger Games storyline may relate to some of the audiences watching this film because they may have experienced having to complete something they don't want to do or relate to the characters emotions and bonds with other characters. For example; the love triangle between the three characters; Katniss, Peeta and Gale. This scenario may relate to some of the audiences because they know how them characters are feeling from previous experiences they have experienced.

You can't directly relate to the culture of this film because the film is based on the future as they have used technologies such as; hologram. This is because the culture in this age is completly different to the future culture in this film, although some of the audience may be able to relate to some of the characters experiencing the changing culture. For example Katniss and Peeta going from a poor distrinct but once they both win the Hunger Games they become famous to all the districts. They would be changing cultures becaus they have gone from a poor area to a more wealthy area. They would also be changing in the different cultures as they have gone into the games with no choice which is in a different atmosphere to where they live. The audience can relate to these characters because they might of had a difficult bringing up and becoming more successful as they grow up, as they may know how the characters are feeling as this happens to them.

Pleasure

There is one main pleasure the audience can get from watching this film which is emotional pleasure. This is because the two main characters Katniss and Peeta were told only one of them could survive as previously in the film they changed the rules that two competitors from the same district can both survive if they are the last two standing. But as soon as they are the last two standing they changed the rules that only one can survive. This would be emotional for the audience because they would of grown a bond and love with the characters throughout the film and they don't want them to die because they don't deserve too as they both have been through a lot throughout the games. This part of the film would effect the audience that haven't already read the books because they didn't expect this to happen. This part of the film may not of affected the audience that have read the books as much because they knew that this plot twist was going to happen. They still may be emotional as they haven't seen this happen visually and they may have also bonded with the characters more from watching the film.

Conditions of Reception

As I missed the first 5-10 minutes of The Hunger Games it changed the way I looked at this film because I didn't know what happened in the first 5-10 minutes. As I missed the beginning of this film, I may have looked at this film in a completely different way because I would of understood what was happening when district 12 was getting their bloods taken and they were all standing in the croud waiting for the leader to come on stage. Throughout this film I understood the storyline and what was happening after they had arrived at the games arena. For example; if some audiences was watching this film at home and they got a phone call they would miss what is happening unless they pause the film. They may have missed an important scene like I did to understand the storyline from the begining.

Media Literacy

As a television and film student I used my knowledge and anaylised the film in my head as I was watching The Hunger Games such as; I like this shot, why they may have used that shot, and how it relates to the genre. By doing this it may ruin the way I watch films because I know why they have used the different techniques. Other audiences that don't study teleivision and film, will see this film in a completely different perspective. This is because they are enjoying the content of this film instead of anaylsing it from a technicals perspective.

 

The Relationship Between Producers and Audiences: TED The Movie

In this blog post I will be discussing how the producers research their target audience and how the producers of TED publicised the film to their target audience.

There are many ways producers can research their target audiences, which are; focus groups, questionnaires or surveys and by looking at similar films. A focus group is when a production company will arrange a group meeting with the audiences in the same age brackets, they will then present the film idea or a trailer of their film to them. By doing a focus group the targeted audience in the meeting will be able to give the production company feedback on what they think of the idea and if they would watch it. They also use questionnaire and surveys to find out their target audience for a film which asks relevant questions to the genre and the idea. These questionnaires will be sent to many people around the world and they will receive feedback from the questionnaires. By looking at similar films to your idea is another good way to research who your target audience is because you can see who their target audience is and research why the film has been targeted to that audience. They do all of this different type of research because they can then use it do design posters and trailers for their films. This also breaks down all the different audiences into socioeconomic groups which then allows the producers to target their films to certain audiences as they have done their research.




There are many different ways that a producer will publish their films such as; advertisements, film premiers, trailers, reviews, awards, magazines, interviews with the cast or producers and social networking. Posters are a good way of advertising your film because they are mainly put up in places that are busy which people are going to see on a daily basis. This will make the audience think that, that film looks quite funny, so they go and see the film trailer when they get to work or home. For example in the film TED they created many different posters before the film was released and these posters where published in multiple locations such as billboards over motorways, in major cities on the side of buildings, bus stops, train stations, on the side of the buses and taxi's. These posters were mainly put up in the major cities such as; London and New York. The posters in New York had many different posters on the side of the taxi's and the billboards on the buildings. They also had large posters and cardboard cut outs of the main character TED to advertise the film in the cinema's foyaes. By having posters and cardboard cut outs in the cinema's, is telling the audiences that this film will be coming to that cinema very soon. The producers of TED had many different type of posters created from different scenes from the film and photo shoot pictures. On these posters they had the main details such as the title of the film, the date the film is released and which actors and actresses are starring in this film. By doing this it tells the audience when the film is going to be released who want to see the film. Also by putting the names of the main stars that are starring in the film makes their fans want to see it because their 'idol' is staring in that film.

Just before the DVD was released of TED they had TED the bear in many different interviews talking about the release of the DVD. As the bear become major famous to all audiences after the film was released, and the most famous bear 'TED' then presented an Oscar Award in 2013. This could of increased DVD sales because a more different audiences watch the Oscar Awards which will then see TED.

The main way to advertise a film to the audience is by showing a trailer of the film. These are normally shown on the internet 'youtube', TV and in the cinemas. TED's film trailer was released two months before the actual film was released in the cinemas. In a film trailer the producers use short clips, who is staring in the film and catch phrases from different scenes because they don't want to give to much of the film away to the audience before the film is released. Also by using short clips from different stages may explain to the audience what the film is about.

TED had many catch phrases used in the trailer and film such as 'that's my bad I was sending a tweet'. By using catch phrases makes the audience think of the film instantly after they have seen the trailer because most catch phrases from films are catchy and rememberable. The audience may use these catch phrases and tell their friends and they will ask where's that from and they will say the film TED.

Film premiers is another good way to publicise a blockbuster film because it gives the audience and fans a chance to get sneak previews of the film from interviews with the cast and producers. The TED film premier took place in Hollywood as where most film premiers are located, because it was a big blockbuster film. Many things happened at this premier such as; the cast signing autographs as they arrive for fans, thousand of photographers trying to get pictures of the cast on the red carpet and they had different online presenters interviewing the cast and producers. By having a film premier it helps publicising the film because many teasers of the film would be released in interviews from the cast and producers, and it lets the audience know that the film is being released just after the premier as most films are released after the film premier.

Interviews with the cast, directors and producers is another way to advertise a film because they give away different spoilers, and keep telling the audience that the films release date. For example the online presenters/company 'Clever TV' interviewed the some members of the cast a week before the film was released. By having interviews with the cast makes the fans of the stars watch the interviews which makes them talking about the film to other people, and also makes them want to go see the film. Jimmy Kimmel interviewed the stuffed toy TED on his live show in December 2012 taking about the film and the release of the DVD. By having this interview just before christmas it reminds the audience the DVD is released on DVD and they may ask for it for Christmas which will increase the sales of the film.

Sound tracks can also be another way to publicise a film to their audience. In the film TED they had a song written called 'Everybody Need's A Best Friend' sang by Norah Jones which was played in the film. This song become a huge hit which advertised the film because it was specifically written for the film. This song links with the storyline of the film because its about a boy wanted a best friend but then he wished his teddy bear could talk, he then grew up in life as TED being his best friend. Social networking is also another good way to advertise a film for example TED had his own twitter page which was verified. On this twitter page the producers updated how the film process was going on, and after the trailer was publish they kept tweeting different catch phrases from what TED had said in the film. This makes the audience want to watch the film because they thought the catch phrase was funny, and thought the film would be even better than they thought. By using twitter it advertised the film to their targeted audience which is late teenagers and early adults. This is because twitter is a major social network for these age groups. 

Independent, International Co-Productions and Developing Countries Production Contexts

In this blog post I will be discussing the three other production contexts; independent, international co-productions and developing countries. I will be explaining the difference between them regards to their finical detriments, distribution, exhibition and funding bodies.

Independent films are normally produced by small production companies outside of the major studios. Most independent film companies are distributed by subsidiaries of the major studies such as; 20th Century Fox or Disney. For a film to be known as an independent film they must have less than half of funding from the major studios. Most independent films may also get funding from investors which will invest into the film. For independent films to get out to the public they must have a well known distributor which may buy the rights off the company and publish the film to the public. For example; if a independent film had a well known star included in the film, it makes it easier for the production company for when it comes to the distribution stage because distributors will buy into the film if their is a star which is easily recognisable to the audience. This is because the distributors know there is more chance of making more money as the audience will watch the film if they like the star or a fan of them. Some independent films that don't include stars may get their distributors from entering film festivals and most of the time they will distribute you if you have won a film festival. For example; Sundance is a well known film festival. By having an film festival award in your film distributors will notice your film and buy the rights to all three stages of the film because the film won the film festival and must of become quite successful to the audiences at the film festivals. The advantage to this type of funding is that there is more chance of your film being more successful as you will be paid a bigger amount upfront for the rights of all stages of your film. These are normally bought by small major studios. The disadvantage to this type of funding/distribution is that the money you have been paid by the distributors for the film is all you will receive and won't receive any of the profit made. This is because they have sold the rights to the distributors. Here are some of the most popular independent films; Warner Independent Pictures, Paramount Classics, Think Film and Sony Pictures Classics. For example; Shifty would be known as an independent film because it was produced by an independent company in the United Kingdom. Even though Shifty was produced by three production companies in the UK it still makes it an independent film company because the film was originally produced by an independent company but some of the rights would of been sold to larger companies in the UK to distribute the film. Shifty won the best screenplay award at the Stockholm Film Festival in 2009.

International Co-Productions is when different production companies from different countries all work on the same project/film. Most films that are made out of one country such as; United Sates or United Kingdom are classed as international co-productions. All of the international co-productions normally open new audiences/markets for the film. This is because there are many different production companies from different countries which would be well known in their countries which makes the audiences from each country want to watch that film. This increases the output of the production such as; profit. Before two production companies from different countries go ahead and start the stages of making a film they will sign agreements between each of the countries. This is agreeing that the co-production will use each others countries economics, cultural and diplomatic goals. By signing this agreement also lets the production take place filming in all of the countries that have signed the agreement but must involve their culture and environment. There are also many advantages and disadvantages of a film being known as an international co-production. The advantages to being a international co-production are that you can share the budget and financial resources between each production company, more location opportunities in each company agreed to this co-production, the use of different cultural benefits, access to the partners audiences from their country and the chance to learn from the other production companies. The disadvantages to being a international co-production are that are more shooting costs, more costs of dealing with the government from the different countries, haven't got full control over the production stage as you are working with another production company and the other production company are taking it as a big opportunity to make their name bigger in other countries. International co-production films are normally funded by the different countries that are working together to produce this film. The profit made on these films are normally halved between the two production companies. For example; the film World War Z would be known as an international co-productions film because this film was produced by eight different production companies from different countries such as; Paramount Pictures, Sky dance Productions, Hemisphere Media Capital, GK Films, Plan B Entertainment, 2DUX, Apparatus Productions and Latina Pictures. World War Z could also be known as an international co-production film because it was distributed by many different distributors around the world from American and many different countries in Europe. These different companies distributed the film in different ways such as; cinema and DVD's. All the distributors distributed the film in cinemas and on DVD's in their countries, this is what makes World War Z a international co-production film.

Developing countries is when cinema is known as Third Cinema which is films mainly from Africa, Asia and Latin America. There is also another two types of cinema which are; first referred to Hollywood movies and second cinema is refered as the European Art House. The content and narrative of developing countries films are normally to do with politics in their countries. The third cinema was founded in the 1960's which produces low buget movies. This was founded by a group of Latin American filmmakers. Third Cinema in Africa made films on the countries independence and culture this started looking at the African tribes but then moved onto making films about Nigeria's upper class such as; business men and women, this is known as Nollywood. Most Nollywood films are produced very quickly sometimes less than two weeks with a low budget of £15,000. Nollywood films are normally sold on video CD's not in cinemas, this is because they are very cheap to sell to the audiences, where as Hollywood, British films and Bollywood normally distribute their films in the cinema's. As these films are sold on video CD's means they can sell them a lot cheaper, so poor areas can watch the Nollywood films. Even though developing countries don't make high budget films they still include stars which are quite famous in Nigeria and they also include a lot of the famous local songs. Nollywood films are normally funded by Nigerian investors which will invest small amounts of money for them to create a film. For example; some of the Nollywood directors are trying to produce Hollywood styled films and move away from producing similar Nollywood narratives. This would be very hard for them because they will need more investors to invest more money into the films because they will need a higher budget to make different style of films such as; Hollywood styles.

 

In Fear British Production Context

In this blog post I will be discussing the production context in the film 'In Fear'. I will be discussing the genre, stars involved in this film and how the narrative, dialog, characters and locations which relates to the production context.

In Fear fits into the horror thriller genre category because there are many jumpy scenes, intense music building up and they left cliff hangers.

The production context of In Fear would be known as a British production because of where the film is set, typical British weather, swearing and they have used typical British names. The location of this film was set in Cornwall England which is a typical place where there alot of country roads. By using this location made it more effective because they used the real natural environment of the country roads and they had many hills, forest areas close by and many trees on the side of the right, which makes the road look like a maze. This film can also fit into the British production context because of the weather. For example; at the beginning of the film as Tom and Lucy are getting in the car the weather looks like a cold day as it was all dull and wet. As the film went on and Tom and Lucy were driving around in circles the weather started to rain alot. This represents the British weather as Britain is one of the most typical countries to rain alot each year.

There were many stars included in 'In Fear' such as; Iain De Caestecker, Alice Englert and Allen Leech. These aren't very well known stars compared to some of the stars in World War Z, this is because World War Z was a more popular film due to the production context and the stars involved. These actors in this film are well known in the UK because they have mainly stared in British Films. Alice Englert was one of the bigger stars involved in this film as she has been in many films such as Beautiful Creatures which is a well known film. Iain De Caestecker is also a quite well known actor to the British audience as he starred in one of the biggest soap opera's 'Coronation Street'. The lastr star which I noticed in this film was Allen Leech which stared in another big British drama 'Downton Abbey'. By using well known British stars brings different audiences in from the UK. This is because they have all starred in many different genres which will bring in different audiences. They have also starred in different creative industries such as TV and Film.

The narrative of In Fear is completely different compared to World War Z and Rise of the Zombie because its about a young couple that have only known each other for about 2 weeks and they are travelling to a hotel the night before they go to a music festival to meet their friends. They then get lost in a maze as they keep ending up in the same place. This film is different to the Hollywood and Bollywood films because they are about zombies and In Fear is orginal and is showing the scenery and using all the British environment.

The dialog used In Fear is completely different compared to World War Z and Rise of the Zombie as they are both very formal and this film includes the typical Irish and British accents and they have used a lot of bad language such as; 'fuck' and 'piss'. The Hollywood and Bollywood is completely different because they use very formal language as they don't want their age ratings to be put down as it limits the audiences and it makes American people look always happy. British films don't care about using bad language because it's the natural British environment as British people always uses bad language.

This film 'In Fear' is also very similar to Rise of the Zombies when it comes to characters as British and Bollywood films never follow Vladimir Propps theory of the 7spheres of characters. They may stereotype some of the characters in their films such as a villain. In Fear uses one of the stereotyped characters from Propp's theory which is the villain. Max could be known as the villain in this film because he was acting as he was attacked in the woods and Tom and Lucy let him get a ride with them. As time passes and he is in the car he pretends to attack Lucy and say he has a knife if you don't drive faster. They instantly think he is the person changing all the road signs around to make them keep ending up in the same place.

The location used in this film links to the production context British because of the scenery and the weather. The location they used was in Cornwall which has many bendy roads and trees along side of them. They have have chosen this location because the main idea of this film was to get lost in wooded area and this is the best location as they have many roads with alot of woods by the side of the road. This is a good location because it is showing that the road has control over the couple because they want to make the film mysterious and you don't know what will happen as the sounds have been moved.

The technologies that have been used in this film are voice over’s, split screens and shots of the scenery from above. The voice over was used at the beginning of the film when it was using split screens of the location and showing the main credits. In this voice it was stating that Tom was leaving a voicemail message to Lucy asking her to come to Ireland to go to a festival with him and his friends and she could bring some friends along. I think this is giving a back story on how they know each other and where they are going. You could tell that he was leaving a voicemail message as they used a voicemail sound effect so it tells the audience that he is leaving a message to someone. Voiceovers is a good way to tell the audience what's happening/back-story at the beginning because they want the audience to understand what’s happening. Voiceovers are becoming quite popular in the film industry as it is a good way to let the audience know what is happening or a back-story of the film or characters. As the voiceover is playing there are many split screens being showed as the credits appear. Within these split screens they are showing some of the locations and the character moving signs and changing a map so people get lost and end up in car crashes that he has caused previously. This is another good way to show a back-story in a film as it gives the audience a small clue on what might happen. You don't find out who causes these car accidents until Max pretends that he has been attacked so Lucy and Tom let him get in the car. He then tells a story about a child that was obsessed with causing car accidents in the same place the were and killed the people in the car. There are also alot of scenery shots of the location from above as Tom and Lucy are driving through the forest area as they are going to the hotel. This is also another good way to show the audience that this film is a British film because of the location in where the film was filmed. This technique is also becoming quite popular in films. World War Z also have used some of the same technologies as In fear such as split screens and location shots from above.

Rise Of The Zombie Bollywood Production Context

In this blog post I will be discussing the production context in Rise Of The Zombie. I will be discussing the genre, stars involved in this film, how the narrative, dialog, characters and locations which relates to the production context of this film.

Rise of the Zombies can also fit into two genre categories which is also known as a hybrid. The genre of this film is a horror and romance because the film is about a man that was bitten by a bug in the woods where he was travelling and turns into a zombie. He goes travelling because he separated from his girlfriend Vinny which he is still holding on his love he has for her as he turns to a zombie. This film fits in the horror genre because there are many jumpy scenes, dark lighting and gory scenes. There were many gorey scenes in this film for example; when Neil Parker is a zombie and attacks a man and pulls his heart out. This man came down to the woods because he was taking some food down there for Neil as they still think he is alive human. This would be quite scary for the targeted audience because Bollywood films don't have higher budgeted films compared to Hollywood so they don't have all the new technologies such as special effects to make this scene look more realistic. Another example of a gory scene within this film would be when Neil Parker eats an eye ball which is pretty gory for their targeted audience.

Rise of the Zombies can also be a romance film because its also about a love story as well as Neil Park turning into a zombie. For example; at the beginning of this film Neil and Vinny are together all loved up but become in an argument about Neil going away all the time and not spending time with her. He then disappears after they separate and he is constantly ringing her from unknown numbers, this is showing he is still in love with her and can't live without her in his life. This is shown throughout the film as Neil has loads of flashbacks of him and Vinny all loved up when they were together as a couple. As he goes missing for several weeks Vinny becomes concerned and won't give up to find him as she realises how much she loves him. In all Bollywood films no matter what genre it is the storyline is always based on a love story/romance between a couple.

The production context of Rise of the Zombies is known as a Bollywood production because of the music used at the beginning, location, the use of product placement, sound and the amount of sponsors they had for this film. The music used at the beginning of this film was typical music used in all Bollywood films. This is because Bollywood films use cultural music instruments from India to make their music. Here are some of the musical instruments they may use to make their music; harmonium and tabla. This can instantly tell the audience that the film is a Bollywood production because Hollywood and British films wouldn't use this type of music. The lyrics in one of the music tracks in this film relates to some of the action of the character as well as the production context. For example; in the scene when Neil Parker eats an eye ball the lyrics over the top of this action was 'tears in my eyes'. This is showing that Neil is doing these things as he is upset and heart broken as he still loves his e-girlfriend and won't ever see her again because he has turned into a zombie. Another way that this film can be a Bollywood production is the amount of sponsors they had for this production, these were listed at the beginning of the film. As Bollywood don't have large budgets to make a film they can get their money from sponsors from companies and by using product placement. Due to not having a bigger budget as other production context, for example Hollywood they can't afford to have major Hollywood stars or special effects in their films. Rise of the Zombies also got some of their funds/budget from product placement as they used many products in their film such as; Nikon camera, Blackberry, MacBook and a Converse t-shirt. The more the production company showed the products in a shot with the companies logo the more money they would get.

In this film the main star which is well known in Bollywood films is Luke Kenny. He is the director of this film as well as the main character 'Neil Parker'. As he is both an actor and director he will get a lot more publicity for his film from his fans as he would be well known in two fields acting and directing. This is very similar to the film we watched for the Hollywood production context 'World War Z' as Brad Pitt was the main character and the producer of the film.

The narrative of Rise of the Zombies is very simple compared to World War Z as that film's narrative was very in depth. This is because this film is about Neil Parking breaking up from his girlfriend and going away which he then slowly turns into a zombie. They may have used this simple narrative because they didn't have a very big budget to make this film and by showing him slowly turning into a zombie would be a lot cheaper than a zombie apocalypse like World War Z. This is because they wouldn't need to pay many actors as they didn't have hardly any extras and only had 2 main character which were Neil and his girlfriend. Rise of the Zombies narrative can also be very simple as they only filmed in one location for the whole film which was Uttarakhand, India. In the film they did use two countries but they were still filmed in the same location. By having only one filming location can indicate that the film is a low budget. This location links with the production context because Bollywood films are mainly filmed in India. You can tell that this filmed was filmed in India because there were many street stalls in the town, for example; when Neil Parker went in the town to constantly ring his ex girlfriend, the scenery had may stalls in the town with many people walking and biking around.

The dialog used in Rise of the Zombies is very similar to World War Z as they both are very formal. Bollywood films normally use formal language in their films because they may want to widen their target audience to younger audiences and to do this they have to use more formal language so the age rating doesn't get higher. This is because Bollywood films don't have a very big target audience or become as successful compared to Hollywood films.

Bollywood films don't follow all of Vladimir Propp's theory of the 7spheres of character. They may do this because their narrative is always based on a romance no matter what genre the film is. Rise of the Zombie used two of the 7spheres of characters which could be argued 'Vinnie' is the princess but could resemble the hero towards the end of the film. She would be known as the princess because she's Neil's ex-girlfriend and she becomes very needy as she is very worried about him going missing. She could be argued as a hero character because towards the end of the film she starts to look for him and doesn't give up even though she doesn't find him at the end of the film. The character that brings food down to the woods for Neil would be known as a donor because he is bringing food to Neil. Where as Hollywood films use all of the 7spheres of characters; for example; World War Z.

As Rise of the Zombie had a low budget they used more editing styles compared to digital effects. For example; when Neil pulls a mans heart out in the woods. This would of been added in post production because they wouldn't be able to show this visually when filming because their budget was quite low. When we was watching this film we would of found this seen quite funny as we are used to seeing more high budgeted films and expect more. The Bollywood audience would find this scene very scary and gory as they don't expect CGI effects to make it look a lot more realistic if it actually happened. They also used a lot of media make up for Neil as he gradually turns into a zombie which is a lot cheaper that adding CGI effects. In World War Z they would of used media make up for all the extras playing the zombies but would of added CGI affects to make the zombies look more realistic and scarier. Rise of the zombies used some digital effects but more editing styles, for example; when Neil was taking pictures of the wildlife on his Nikon camera at the beginning of the film, it cut to the actual camera screen as he was taking the pictures.

World War Z Hollywood Production Context

In this blog post I will be discussing the production contexts in World War Z. I will also be discussing the genre, stars involved in this film, how the narrative, dialog, characters and locations relate to the production context.

There are two genre categories that World War Z can fit into which is zombie/horror and action, this is called a hybrid because this film links to two genres. This film can fit into the horror genre because of the jumpy scenes, intense music, and the gory scenes. There were many jumpy scenes in this film but the one I noticed was when the zombie appeared in front of the camera when Jerry and his family was running to the top of the roof to get in the helicopter to be saved by the military which was working for his boss. I found this scene quite jumpy because I didn't expect the zombie to appear right in front of the camera. In this film a lot of intense music was used especially in the same scene I have just spoken about. This is because they had a lot of built up tension music as the family was running up the stairs to get to the top of the roof away from the zombies. By using this music it is building up the tension between the film and the audience because the viewers expect something is going to happen such as; Jerry dies and his family survives. There were also many gory scenes in this film such as zombies being shot in the head and the blood goes everywhere.

This film can also fit in the action genre because they have many gunshots and explosions, these are some of the main codes and conventions in action films. There are many gunshots in this film as the characters are trying to get away from the zombies. There are not many gunshots at the beginning of this film because no one knew what was happening. The gun shots start to happen a lot in this film when Jerry goes to Jerusalem, this is because the zombies climb over the walls the people built to stop the zombies getting into their country but they did. Many gunshot were used to kill the zombies from the military. There were also many explosions in this film and this was to kill as many zombies as possible at once. For example; in Philadelphia there were many explosions as the zombie apocalypse first happened. The main scene which has a lot of explosions in is when the zombies climb over the walls in Jerusalem. As you see this scene you can tell that World War Z could be classed as an action film as well as an horror. In this scene there were loads of explosions and military helicopters flying about to try and stop the zombies getting any further. The helicopters also crashed to the ground which made a bigger explosion. In a lot of action films they have a lot of car, train, helicopter and plane crashes.

The production context of World War Z is known as a Hollywood production because they have used many locations around the world, it's a high budgeted film and they have used all 7 spheres of characters. These are the locations they filmed World War Z; Philadelphia, New York, Wales, Israel and South Korea. By shooting in many locations a film can instantly be known as a Hollywood production because Hollywood films are higher budgeted compared to Bollywood and British films. You can tell World War Z is a high budgeted film because they have a huge star 'Brad Pitt, many extras, loads of locations and special effects. By having a higher budgeted film makes the production more successful because the audiences tends to enjoy the film a lot more due to the film looking realistic.

There were many stars included World War Z such as; Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi. By having well known stars in a production is a very good way to make a lot more money/profit on a film. This is because fans of the stars will automatically go and watch the film as their 'idol' is playing a main character, and this increases publicity, cinema, DVD and box office sales. By having a bigger star in a production instantly tells the audience that the film is a high budgeted production. Brad Pitt had a huge impact over this film as his major roles were; producer, and playing 'Gerry' the main character in this film.

The narrative of World War Z is very in depth and relates to the production context because Gerry's aim is to find a cure for the zombie apocalypse. This film is very in depth because they are following the main character Gerry around to the different countries such as; Philadelphia, New York, Israel, Wales and South Korea to find clues on how they can cure this infection. For example; towards the end of the film, when Gerry's plane crashes in the middle of nowhere in England, Wales. He finally makes it to the WHO doctor in Wales, which leads him to find a vaccination which makes the zombies avoid alive humans which haven't already turned into a zombie. There is no cure to this infection but Gerry has bought alot of time to find an actual cure. By having this vaccination makes you invisible to the zombies. World War Z relates to the production context because most Hollywood action films are based on world disasters and there is always a hero to save everyone from the disaster.

The dialog in World War Z is very formal for an ages rating of 15, as there are no bad language in this film because the age rating 15 normally have very light swear words but not over the top. The dialog fits in with the production context because in alot of Hollywood films they don't use much bad language.

The types of characters also fits within this production context because Hollywood films always uses Vladimir Propps theory of the 7 spheres of characters. These include; hero, villain, helper, false hero, dispatcher, princess and the donor. The hero in World War Z is Gerry Lane because he is sent on a mission to find clues and information on how to cure the infection. Gerry can also be known as a hero as he saves Segen life as she was bitten by a zombie and he amputated her arm quickly to save her life. The dispatcher chose Gerry Lane to go on this mission as he is an ex- UN investigator, because he has previous history and experience investigation. The villain is easily recognisable in this film which is the zombies because they're trying to end the human race and stopping the hero from trying to find a cure. For example; they're putting the hero 'Gerry' in many situations such as; him getting on the last plane out of Jerusalem. The zombies are trying to stop him from getting on that plane as they have got over the wall in Jerusalem and biting the humans which turns them into zombies. You don't find out who the helper is in this film until the hero 'Gerry' travels to Jerusalem. The helper is Segen which is in the military which helps Gerry to get on the last plane out of the country safely. She also protects him from the villains and helps him finds a cure for the infection as she gets on the plane with him. The false hero in this film is Andrew Fassbach because he was a scientist which was trying to find a cure for this infection but once he arrived in South Korea with Gerry, he coward way back to the plane but slipped as he was getting back on the plane and accidently shot himself. He was warned by Gerry to keep his hand off the trigger because accidents happen. The dispatcher is Thierry Umuntoni which is very high up in the UN investigation unit. He is known as the dispatcher because he sent Gerry on a mission to find clues to a cure for this outbreak. He was also Gerry's boss when he was working in the UN investigation unit. The princess is Gerry's wife Karin Lane, because she is very needy towards her husband Gerry and doesn't want him to go on this mission as she wants him to be safe. For example; when Gerry told Karin that he has to go on this mission to help the world she didn't want him to go because she wanted him to be safe and nothing bad happen to him. The donor would be known as the W.H.O doctor in Wales because he provides crucial information on a cure for the infection. You don't see the donor character until Gerry arrives with his helper in Wales. The donor also provides Gerry a vaccination to by time. This vaccination will stop the zombies killing the humans as it makes the humans invisible to the zombies.

The use of technology used in World War Z did relate to the production context as it was noticeable that it was a Hollywood film. This is because they used many up to date technologies such as; split screens which was used in the beginning scene, the use of security camera's which were used in the scene when Gerry is in the W.H.O lap when the doctors are watching what he is doing as he gets the medicine/vaccination as the infection had spread in a specific unit and many aerial shots of the different locations. By having a bigger budget the producers can achieve more in the production stage, this film had a budget of 190 million pounds which gave them the opportunity to use more extras, better media make up and special effects. For example; they used thousands of extras in World War Z to play the zombies especially in the scene in Jerusalem when all the zombies got over the wall. They would also need a lot of media makeup and costumes for the extras to make them look like a zombie visually.

 

 

Silence Of The Lambs

In this blog post I will be discussing some of the semiotics they have used, how the genre is communicated and the feminism and queer theory within the film Silence Of The Lambs.

Firstly, the genre is communicated instantly as a horror film. This can be communicated just from watching the opening scene of Silence Of The Lambs. In the opening scene it could represent a chase scene because the main character Clarice known as 'Starling' is running through a wooded area and sounding out of breathe but carries on running. This could be signified someone is chasing her as she doesn't stop running even though she is out of breath and keeps looking back time to time. The lighting while she is running through the wooded area is all dark, dull and foggy which automatically categorises this films genre as a horror. This is because you wouldn't have someone running through the woods when the lighting is all dark in a comedy film. Also all the credits overlaying the opening scene are all in bold black letters with a white outline. They may have used these colours because they can signify that something bad might happen because of the chase scene in the opening scene. As the scene goes on you find out that she is running on a training course because she is in training for the F.B.I. The audience finds this out when her trainer runs into the scene and tells Starling the boss wants to speak to her. You can also tell this from the F.B.I logo on her jumper which you see once her trainer arrives.

There are many semiotics used throughout this film but I am going to discuss a couple of them which mainly stood out while I was watching the film. The first semiotic that I noticed was the deaths head moth which was found in a women's throat when Starling was looking for clues from the women's death. When she found this moth and look at it in more detail a close up shot was used of the moth. While she was looking at it she found a skull on the back of the moths head. Once the audience sees that their is a skull on the back of the moths head they instantly know it represents death and this can be known as a connotation semiotic. The second semiotic I am going to discuss is the scene when Hannibal gets transferred to another prison and has a muzzle mask over his face stopping him from attacking or trying to biting any of the police officers as he was sent to prison after murdering people and eating his victims. He makes a weird and disturbing noise when he is talking about eating people. This can be known as an iconic scene because the muzzle mask he is wearing is a recognisable scene because it makes the character look a lot scarier. Another example of this scene being iconic is when Starling is trying to get information about 'Buffalo Bill' off of Hannibal. When she is asking about him, he makes that weird noise as she is mentioning his past about eating people. This noise is recognisable because he makes it every time someone asks him about his past in previous scenes.

The feminism film theory is used in this film as the main female character Clarice Starling is portrayed as an object. This is because everyone treats her unfairly and not equally. For example; when Starling and her boss went to investigate a body, the police officer said I will talk to the man in charge in the next room. This results in her being portrayed as a pretty face and won't know anything but the only character that treats her with respect is Hannibal. Her boss only gave her the job to visit Hannibal because he knew he would listen to a pretty face. All the other males in this film see Clarice as a sexual object, because they all stop what they are doing and stare at her when she walks past. For example; when Clarice went to the bug nerds to look at the deaths head moth in better detail and the bug nerd asked her out on a date. Clarice Starling is known as a strong female character which will succeed and won't fail where as most females are stereotyped as a weak, pretty faced and can't do nothing. For example; when Clairce gets information from Hannibal about Buffaloo Bill, she goes to an a banded lockup to investigate it on her own. Baring in mind it is quite late in the evening but stills goes alone. When she can't open the lockup door and the male character there doesn't help her, Clarice decides to get her car jack from her car and opens the door herself. This shows that she isn't afraid of anything and is a strong character because she is doing jobs that males are stereotyped to do. When she is investigating the lockup she finds a humans head cut off in a jar. As she sees this head she acts really calm which also shows her characters strongest where as most girls in films are stereotyped to scream at things like that.

The queer theory is also used in this film because there are two stereotyped characters used in this film which are; the drag queen and butch lesbian. Firstly the stereotype of the butch lesbian can be known as Clarice Starling because she doesn't wear all girly clothing, instead she wears baggy trousers and her hair is always up and messy. She only wears smart clothing such as a skirt, blouse, blazer and heels, hair done nicely and makeup on is when she helps investigate murders with her boss and interviews Hannibal. She probably dresses like this to look professional and she's not someone to mess around with. Clarice also can be stereotyped as a butch lesbian because she has a deeper voice compared to other women in this film, as they have more feminine voices. The other stereotyped character in this film is the drag queen which is known as Buffalo Bill because he dresses up as a women. This is proven in the scene when he is dancing around his room, wearing a wig, makeup, and wearing a silk dressing gown. After this scene the audience finds out why he kidnaps women that are size 14 and then kills them because he wants to use their skin to make him look like a women.

The most memorable scene to me in Silence Of The Lambs is when Hannibal escapes the caged area in the hotel while he is being transferred to another hospital/prison. This is because he killed two police officers and swaps clothing with one of them to get out of the hotel without being noticed. He then moves that body and drops it on top of the lift in his clothing making out that he killed himself and they won't try finding him. As he does this he cuts the police officers skin on his face and wears it on his face to disguise himself. I remember this scene quite well because he hung the other police officer by is arms on the cell/cage which represents him on a crucifixion cross.

 

Queer Theory In Mean Girls

In this blog post I will be discussing the Queer Theory in the first 20minutes of the film 'Mean Girls'.

In the first 20minutes of Mean Girls the different characters are introduced to the audience. As each character was introduced, the audience automatically stereotyped them because of the way they look, their voice tone and how they act. The two characters that were stereotyped were the gay best friend and the butch lesbian which are known as Janice and Damien.

The character Damien was first introduced when Cady started her first day at high school, and asks her about her hair colour. This is very unusual for a male character to ask about a girls hair colour. As he asked Cady about her hair colour the audience automatically stereotypes his character as a homosexual. He can also be stereotyped as a homosexual because he wears bright clothing and uses girly hand gestures when he is speaking. As the film went on his stereotype as a homosexual is proven more to the audience for example; Damien uses the girls bathroom at school instead of the males bathroom. Another example is when Cady asks Janice and Damien if they have any clothing which is pink and Damien instantly replies 'yes'. The other stereotyped character in Mean girls is the butch lesbian which is known as Janice best friends with Damien. Janice is known as this stereotype because she wears all dark clothing and all of her body is covered up with clothing. She is different to the other girls in the school because they are dressed in pink and showing more of their body by wearing less clothing. Also when Cady asks her and Damien if they have any pink clothing, Janice instantly replies ''No''. She can also be stereotyped as a butch lesbian because of the way she talks to other people in the school as she has a deeper voice compared to the other girls and the language she used to other students is not ladylike.

These stereotypes are seen differently to other characters because all the other girls in the school are wearing less clothing compared to Janice such as short shirts and low cut tops and they were all dressed in feminine colours such as bright colours, mainly pink. The other girls also had more feminine and high pitched voices compared to Janice as she had a deeper voice. All the other male characters in this film were talking about girls and football. They were also wearing darker clothing whereas Damien wears brighter clothing and talks about clothes and different hair colours. This is proven in the first 20 minutes of mean Girls because he comments on Cady's hair colour and lends a pink top to her.

The issues I think these stereotyped characters have in this film is that they're on the outside of the other groups in the school and no one wanted to socialise with them because they are known as the outsiders. Another issue is the representation of the stereotyped characters because it may offend the audience watching this film because some men that are homosexual don't act all girly and not all lesbians cover all their body with clothing and wear dark clothing.

Feminism Film Theory

In this blog post I will be discussing what the Feminism Film Theory is and choose a scene from a horror film which relates to feminism. The horror film I have chosen to annalyse is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I have chosen a scene from both the orginal and the remake of the film of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre because these two scenes are set up for the male glaze.

The scene I have chosen from the original film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is when the women and her boyfriend finds a house and then the boyfriend disappears after investigating the house. After this happens you see the women getting up from the swing chair. The camera angle they have used is coming from underneath the swing chair which is looking up directly at the women from the ground as she walks towards the house. This can be seen as male glaze because she is hardly wearing any clothes such as; short shorts and a top that only covers the front of her body and as the camera is following her, the audience might think she isn't wearing any clothes on the top half of her body.
This is seen as male glaze because the camera is focused on her walking towards the house in the same camera angle and it doesn't move until she gets to the front door of the house. This shot could be cut to her expression on her face when walking towards the house as she looks for her boyfriend but they didn't do this and they kept the same shot from below focusing on the women.
Another point that can be seen as male glaze in this scene is that the women slightly bends over to look in the door way of the house. This can be seen as male glaze because she is wearing short shorts which automatically focuses on the women and not the house even though the camera angle is still in the same position from below looking up at her. This can suggest fear as she doesn't want to enter the house as she doesn't know what might happen.

Here is the link to the scene I was talking about in original film of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-2LQnFPOUY

The scene I have chosen from the remake of the film 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' is the scene of the last character alive running through the meat factory as the man chases her with a chain saw. In this scene she is running through the meat factory soaking wet as the sprinklers have been switched on. This can be seen as male glaze because she is fully clothed but soaking wet, and there are many camera angles focusing on her running through the meat factory. A lot of these shots consist of close ups, mid shots and long shots. All these different shots are still focusing on the women running soaking wet.

Scream Opening Sequence

Scream Opening Sequence
In the Scream opening sequence it starts off with a black cut shot and they have sound effects over the top of this. The sound effects used is the background music and a phone ringing. This is giving a short insight on what might happen. On this black shot after the sound effects, the title 'Scream' appears which has a red light flashing behind it, and then turns the title complety red. This would be a signified because the colour red is representing blood and death, which is used in horror films. Once the title of the film has appeared it cuts to a close up of the phone ringing, and the lady answers the phone. Instantly you can tell the male voice on the phone is a stalker because he keeps asking questions about her such as; 'Who is this' and 'what number is this'. This part of the opening sequence can be a signifier semeiotics because the signs he is giving off by asking personal questions such as; 'Do you have a boyfriend'. This is giving a sign to the female character that something isn't right about this phone call. She realises this phone call is dangerous once the male character on the phone says 'I wanna know who I'm looking at'. As soon as he says this line, you can feel the tension already building up, and by the look on her face as her face drops from happy to tense, you can tell this phone call is dangerous. As soon as he has said that line there is suspense music building up the tension as the phone call goes on. This line can also fit with the mise en scene because her house has all open space windows which are door length and she has all the lights on. Meaning he can see her but she can't see him because the outside is completely dark.
The female character in this film would be known as an icon because she is a blonde female which is most common in horror films, these are referred as 'dumb' blondes. 'Dumb' blondes are used mainly in horror films because blonde people are stereotyped as not being very smart. The sound of the phone ringing would be signifing a phone is ringing in the house. This is because the sound effect of a phone ringing is very recognisable, as if you heard a 'ding-a-ling' continuously, you would instantly know a phone is ringing.
The tree outside the characters house with the big arms, can signify that it has control over the female character because the trees arm is leaning over the characters house. This represents control over her and her house from the male character on the phone. Also from this shot there is a swing hanging on the trees arm and its swinging. This symbolically representing someone could of been there, which is stating the female character in the house isn't alone. As this scene goes on you have an idea it may have been the male character on the phone there.
After this shot, she puts a packet of popcorn on the hop before she watches a scary movie. As time goes on the popcorn packet gets bigger, this is showing that the tension is building up gradually. Even though you don't see the popcorn explode, you know theres only one end to this as its only one end for her. This is because she doesn't turn the heat off which is showing that she will die at the end of this. This can be known as an iconic semiotics because the first person seen normally dies first in a horror film.
As she is speaking to the male character as she hasn't already suspected anything after the shot of her making popcorn, she is talking to him about her favourite scary movie. As she is speaking to him there are a collection of knifes on the working tops which she pulls out and makes the swoosh knife sound as she pulls them out of the knife holder. This would be an iconic semiotics as they use the knife sound effect in a lot of horror films to represent scare, death and threatening behaviour.
As the phone call gets more intense the front door bell rings, which he is doing to scare her even more, but she says 'who's there?' which is a death wish in horror films. This gives the hint that it is a death wish as he replies 'might as well come out here and investigate a strange noise or something'. This can be known as an iconic semiotics because they're the normal conventions used in horror films. Also in this same shot she looks out the door window, which makes it look like prison bars. These can represents she is trapped in the house and there’s no way of getting out.