Once Upon a Time in America

  Straight away on the opening of Once Upon a Time in America, the audience is shown nothing but a black screen and God Bless America playing in the background. This is ironic as the film is actually critisising America and it's corrupt system.

 The first character seen is a woman and instantly the audience see connotations of a classic Femme Fatal with the pearls (which are often assosiated with pureness and wealth. However, the mother of pearl is also assosiated with death), 1930's/40's hat and red nails and lips. Red lipstick is assosiated with glamour and is seen as a sensual colour to be worn. We then see her obvious beauty as she turns on a light. All the action is in the dark so far, a convention used in thrillers to connotate mystery and nightmare.

the camera pans to a high angle shot of the bed as if from Eve's point of view. The tension builds as the audience see her pull back and reveal the outline of a body, made with bullet holes. They are instantly put on edge because of the uncertainty of who is around,  This fear is then made real as the viewers hear a gun shot. The camera (a point of view shot, as if it were the woman) then turns around to reveal three men, all wearing long trench coats, typical of spies, or detectives.They instantly know they are villians as they have guns, it plays on our mind that perhaps these are the men who put the bullet holes in her bed. This is dramatic irony as the audience know that something is about to happen.

 They then interregate her of the whereabouts of a man, whom we can only assume to be her partner or husband. When she tells them she doesn't know, they appear to become angered and impatient with her. We see an over the shoulder shot from 

behind the woman as she is talking to the three detectives/police men. The men realise they are going to get no information from her and one pulls out a gun, shooting her in the chest- perhaps to prevent her telling anyone the conversation she had just had with them. The shot showing her dead uses rule of thirds with her lying across the bottom horizontal line and then men connotating the vertical lines. They are almost framed against the doorway. 

The action then seems to die down the audience enter an Opium den, this is where Noodles (the person the policemen interrogated Eve about) is hiding. The sequence in the Opium Den reflects the decadence of the era, the lifestyle of Noodles who is a flawed hero, whilst providing a link between the flashback and the action.The atmosphere is very chilled (I wonder why?!) which gives a refreshing break from the somewhat rushed and edgy tension of the action so far. We see Noodles lying down and the sound of a phone rings. This is both diagetic and non diagetic as it is in his head, so we hear it, although it is not directly within the mise-en-scene. The noise of the phone causes agitation. Noodles has a flashback, and the ringing is a sound bridge, which anticipates reaction. In his flashback, go to go a scene where three men are lying dead on a wet cobbled street, there is fire in the background giving a sense of hell to the shot. 

Perfume Advert Powerpoint

Perfume advert

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Target Audience

The target audience for ‘Edition’ is women aged from about 20-30. They have a full time job working in a fashion magazine or as a fashion journalist therefore being in the demographic group B/C1. They are very independent women and aspire to be on the editing team of the fashion magazine in which they are currently working for. They believe their career is the most important thing and will only settle down with a husband and have children when their career is stable and they have enough money to allow their family to be comfortable. My audience will always wear the best clothes and like to look ‘classy’ as well as up to date with fashion. I believe my perfume and advert for the perfume appeals to this audience.

Firstly, my advert is in black and white. This shows an element of class and simplicity in which I think my perfume connotates. I have also chosen for the photograph to be taken in black and white so it doesn’t take away attention from the perfume bottle in the bottom corner which is in colour. I have used the bottle as one of the main selling points as it has a look which appeals to my target audience. It is also very vintage looking, which my target audience would appreciate as they have a good knowledge of vintage fashion throughout the years. I believe that the ‘look’ of the bottle is important as it becomes an accessory and often reflects the personality of the buyer. The sliver plated lid also gives it an expensive feel and the hand-tied bow a more personal feel.

I have used ‘Elm Hill’ in Norwich as my location for the photograph for my advert. This is because I think that this is one of the nicest parts of Norwich and that although my audience will live in a built up area such as London or New York, they will enjoy coming to a place such as Norwich to escape for a while or see family, in which they have moved away from. My audience will enjoy visiting old buildings and streets because they are interested in history.

The model I have used represents my target audience and allows them to relate to her or even aspire to be like her. She is wearing simplistic, yet fashionable clothing. She looks like a classic ‘girl next door’ with her hair and natural beauty. She is pictured looking back making eye contact with the camera to address the audience personally so they feel that she understands them and is similar to them. I have also pictured her alone to show that she enjoys her own time, as well as being around people, but most importantly, it shows that she is independent and has the confidence to be seen alone.
Technology:

Technology has played an important part in making this advert. To begin, I used a digital camera to capture the image as it has 10 mega pixels and a view finder so I can easily see what I have taking a photo of. To edit the photo exactly how I want, I used Photoshop. Here I adjusted the brightness and contrast to get rid of the dull look and highlight parts of the image to make certain aspects, such as the cobbles stand out. I also made the image look more vintage and classic by making it in black and white. I believe if it was in colour, it would be take away the impact of the photo, the model and the perfume bottle. I also used a website called Dafont.com; here you view thousands of fonts where you can choose from different themes. I chose mine from the Serifs section. It is similar, if not the same to the Vogue font. It has serifs and I think it looks like a classic Italian font, perfect for my target audience.

My advert

Technology:

   Technology has

Essex Boys

Essex boys is a British film produced in the year 2000, it's directed by Terry Winsor






Straight away upon the opening of Essex Boys, we see conventions of a Thriller with the teenage boy walking into the dark garage. This is often used in Thriller films as it plays on the audiences (and characters) fear of small spaces. There is also a risk of becoming trapped as apart from the main door, there is often no where else to escape to. Billy turns on the lights of the garage and straight away the cobwebs are highlighted as they catch the Chiruscuro lighting and instantly we are reminded of older Noir Thrillers, such as The Thrid Man. This suddenly gives a creepy feel to the cinematography. The use of the extreme darkness makes the audience feel as though there is someone hiding in the darkness and plays on their mind building fear and setting up the feel for the rest of the film.

   The first sound we here is that of Billy starting up the car with a voice over. His accent localises the Essex aspect of the film. It is non diagetic as the character is not actually speaking, so it is not within the mise-en-scene, however, the audience get the impression that this is what the character is thinking at the time, or perhaps he is looking back on himself and narrating the events in which we are about to see unfold. As he turns on the headlights, the camera cuts to Jason. He is standing in the garage door with the ambient lighting highlighting his features. This is a point of view shot as the audience are seeing it as if it were from the eyes of Billy, the fact that he is talking about Jason, emphasises this further.

   The camera then cuts to a shot where it is following the car that Jason is in. The image is bleak and almost in black and white, the audience see that Billy and Jason are about to enter a tunnel.The road is wet, an aspect often used in thriller films and it is arguably also pathetic fallacy, as you could say that the weather is reflecting the mood of the film so far.

 The camer enters the tunnel which connotates looking down the barrel of a gun, another aspect used in thrillers as it gives the tunnel a never-ending feel. A reflection of the bars of light from the top of the tunnel are reflected on the windscreen of the car and the camera cuts to an amazing shot giving the effect of prison bars over the boys face. This is called dramatic irony as we already know that, from the voice over, Jason has been in prison before, and this is suggesting that maybe Billy will be inprisioned. The camera carries on following the car as it drives out of the tunnel and drives past a sign saying 'Welcome to Essex', as if to introduce the film.

   The camera the cuts to a shot inside a van and the audience hear the voiceover once again saying 'jason says he wants to look up and old friend who he knew from before'. However, you see him leave the van with a baseball bat, suggesting he doesn't just want to 'look him up'. There is a violent fight and Jason throws acid in the man's face and drags him into the back of the van. The van drives into the Essex Marshes and the van door is opened and the man runs out, tripping over into the mud. The opening ends as we see the van driving off into the distance. Moores are often used in Thriller as a generic location because they are very isolated, it scares the audience as we know

 that there is no help for the victim. The essex moores are a cultural signifier, yet also connotation Jason's moral landscape and emotionless mind.

review: Unflinching in its dialogue and depiction, Essex Boys is a brilliantly acted portrayal of the lives of a disparate group of villains who form the underbelly of Essex society. Occasionally, this uncompromising inside look makes the hairs on the back of your neck prickle. At times, it is not an easy film to watch, and there are scenes of frighteningly realistic violence. There are moments when Sean Bean's character is relentless in his brutality, letting fly with a viciousness that is almost palpable.

From Script to Screen: the Differences between a mainstream and independent film

There are many differences between mainstream and independent films, from how they are produced, to the marketing for the film, who distributes them and finally how they are exhibited.
Straight away on viewing the film, you can tell whether it is mainstream or independent by many different factors. The name of the actor is one of the most important things in a mainstream film and the directors always try and get a very well known actor or actress to gain publicity for the film as many people associate different actors with different genre of films, or the quality of the film. For example, I always associate Katherine Heigl with feel-good romantic comedies, and that if the main actor is Tom Hanks, it automatically makes it an amazing film. Independent films however, do not have ‘big’, well- known actors in their films, as they simply can not afford it, this sometimes goes for them though, as it gives mystery to the film they are going to see and the actors have worked hard to get where they are and that part in the film. Another main difference in production is the location and special effects with mainstream films being able to afford to set up ‘locations’ with many different props and special effects to give the feel of a real place, however it tends to be very exaggerated to keep the audience hooked on the film, an example of this being ‘Saving Private Ryan’ by Stephen Spielberg. In contrast, independent films use locations that already exist and that the audience will be able to relate to, such as ‘This is England’, which is set in Nottingham. It costs nothing to shoot there and the locations often set the mood of the film, like in ‘This is England’ shows an area in which there is a fair bit of poverty.
Secondly, the ways in which the films are marketed are different. Mainstream films have a massive budget to increase the amount of people that go and see the film. They make trailers for the television, longer trailers shown in cinemas, adverts in newspapers- magazines, bus posters and massive billboards all of which are targeted to different target audiences to gain publicity, for example, billboards and bus posters are aimed to attract commuters to work as they see the same route every day, these normally have one iconic moment from the film containing the main actor or actress so straight away you can see you is in the film, and usually you can tell the genre too. They also utilise the best review given to the film and usually show how many ‘stars’ the film has received at its preview. Mainstream films are also released onto DVD very quickly (12 weeks) so that the viewers do not forget about the film and also want to buy the ‘latest release’. Independent films are marketed much differently as they do not have the funding to promote their films with extravagant trailers. Yet smart filmmakers know that a film’s marketing is crucial to its success or failure—and doing it well requires an enormous amount of time and effort. They use the determination and what drove them to make films in the first place to create posters, generate buzz, start an online viral campaign, and do whatever else is necessary to get their work in front of audiences. These types of films also rely a lot of ‘word of mouth’ such as ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ for example.
Distribution is very important for films as the companies gain a lot of publicity for the movie. Mainstream film directors use well-known distributors such as Unviersal Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Pathe whereas independent films use companies such as the ‘UK films council’ or ‘Warner Independent’- the company that went into administration nearly causing Slumdog Millionaire to never make it to cinemas.
Mainstream films are often exhibited through large multiplex cinemas such as The Odeon or Vue. This is because they can afford to sell their films to these cinemas and they know that this is where a vast majority of people go to watch films. Large cinemas such as these show new films several times throughout the day in order to capture a wide audience and allow for people who have jobs, they also often show films much more during the school holidays as students and children are the main viewers of films. Independent films however are often shown at smaller, independent cinemas such as Cinema City.

Questionaire

Media Assignment- questionnaire

My name is Emily Watts and I went to Broadland High School. I’m the only one from my school who came to CNS as I wanted a completely new start; new subjects, new school, new people. However, my first day was very hard work, since I only knew two people, because everyone already had their friends and I had to fit around them, but I enjoy it now. In my GCSEs I achieved:
• 4 As in English Literature, Language, Food tech and Science
• 5 Bs in French, Science, PE, RS and maths
• 2 Cs in History and Art
I don’t often read newspapers, only when my mum recommends I read an article that she found interesting for example, however I do read the ‘reviews’ page as I like to know new releases of films and music and what people think of them. They influence my decision a lot as I would never go to see a film that has less than 3 stars. I also always read Glamour magazine as I enjoy the fashion photography of the designers, much like vogue- however, Glamour is much cheaper!
Every morning I listen to the radio and I believe the radio is a huge aspect of the media as the DJs talk about relevant issues, celebrity gossip, and the news. My favourite radio stations include Kiss and Radio One. I both really enjoy the music they play as it is current and catchy. Although, some of the Radio One’s DJ’s accents annoy me, so I have to change the channel. I believe that the music you enjoy and listen to hugely influences you as a person and maybe the way you may dress. For example, people who like punk music, such as the Sex Pistols tend to dress ‘punky’ with Mohawks and chains etc.
I believe that new technologies have had a massive impact on society all over the world. Being able to have internet on your phone enables you to access the news anywhere you want and to be able to reach friends and family through social networking sites such as ‘Facebook’, increasing your ability to communicate with others. Owning an MP3 or Ipod, ables you to listen to music whenever you want, without disturbing others. An increase in accessibility to television programmes and films gives you a new awareness of what is happening in the world, different points of view and makes you more open-minded as you see different ways in which people live.
My favourite television channels are the ‘Crime Channel’ and ‘living’. I like these because I find them interesting as they are about ‘real’ situations. Even though the Crime Channel constantly makes me paranoid and scared (!!) I still find it fascinating the way that they use technology to solve crimes. Similarly with ‘Living’ (although not as scary) they show ‘reality’ programmes such as ’16 and Pregnant’ and although it’s complete rubbish, I still find it interesting; but that’s probably because I am nosey! I think that Band of Brothers are extremely memorable series on television as the cinematography was so amazingly done and they special effects were brilliant. I also find the Ross Kemp series on television memorable as they show aspects of society in different countries that we may not know about.
My favourite film genre is romance and comedy. I like these genres because they are easy to watch and tend to not be very ‘high brow’ (which in films I just can’t take as it gives me a headache). Three outstanding films in my opinion are ‘Saving Private Ryan’; ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Dear John’. Saving Private Ryan is probably the most amazing film I have ever seen. The way the shots are filmed and the lighting make you feel as though you are there. It is also directed by Stephen Spielburg who, in my opinion, is the best director ever.
I love to go to the cinema and if I see a film coming out that I particularly want to see, I make sure I go, as I think that the event of going to the cinema is often as good as the film. But most often, I watch most films on Sky Movies as I really like seeing a film I love showing, and being able to watch it. My favourite cinema is Odeon at Riverside because it is fairly new and seems really clean inside, however, it is extremely expensive. I really like ‘Vue’ though, because it is much cheaper and easier to access as it is in the city centre. I tend to go and see films with friends or with my boyfriend as I don’t like going on my own.
To conclude, I think that the film that has changed my opinion to myself, my family and my life is My sisters keeper is probably the one film that has altered my view to life because the film is about a little girl who’s sister has got cancer, but she wants to sue her parents because she was only born to give her sister things such as blood transfusions and she doesn’t want to anymore. It made me see the story from both sides as her parents just wanted her little girl to live, but the main character didn’t want to be used anymore. It showed me the values of family and how important life is and how you should live every minute like it’s your last because so many people do not get the opportunity to and would be so thankful to live how we do. It has also taught me to not take anything for granted in life and to always smile.

Jean Paul Gaultier advert

Media Essay for Jean Paul Gaultier’s perfume ‘Classique’
The advert for Jean Paul Gaultier’s perfume ‘Classique’ suggests that owning the perfume will make you feel like the model in the advert; sensual, feminine and ultra-glamorous.
The fairly long shot shows the model’s whole body, including the background behind her, shot carefully to draw your attention to certain aspects of the advertisement. Straight away, our eyes are attracted to the middle of her body as it is directly in the centre of the ‘rule of thirds’ with the top horizontal line skimming her shoulders and the bottom line at the top of her legs, perfectly framing her figure naturally sending our eyes to the most important aspect of the advert. The bodice is also the lightest part of the photograph which accentuates her perfectly feminine ‘hour glass’ figure, showing it off to the consumer to advertise not only the essence of the perfume, but how feminine and wonderful you will feel and look (just like the model) after having bought ‘classique’. Another main aspect of the advert is the models face and hair, situated in the top centre of the ‘rule of thirds’ and straight away we are drawn to her volumous curly blonde hair framing her face; showing off her natural beauty once again emphasising that if you were to buy the perfume, you will also have shiny perfect hair (accentuated by the lighting) and modelesque facial features.
There is also a sensual message in the advert, once again with the corset; a ‘sexual’ piece of clothing, emphasising her figure showing the consumers that they could be ‘sexy’ and attractive if they were to purchase the perfume. Also, the main colour of the photo is pink, which is seen as a colour of desire and femininity; this gives the message to the woman audience that they could also be seen to be desirable which will give them more confidence because they know that they will look and smell amazing. She is also staring into the camera as if making eye contact with the audience directly addressing them personally, making them feel that they can relate to the model, even if they do not know her. Her pose is carefully set up to highlight her best features. The writing at the bottom of the page also attracts the female audience as it is an easy font to read and with the name of the perfume (Classique) being French, gives a sophisticated feel to the perfume.
Furthermore, I think that the advert is very glamorous and classy, making the perfume seem so too. The grand doorway in the background carefully frames her body, once again sending our eyes to the most important part of the advertisement, also making the advert have an ‘expensive’ feel to it, giving a strong sense of glamour in which the female consumer will idolise as they want their lives to be the same, and the only way to do that is to buy the perfume. The feeling of glamour and luxuriousness is shown once again by the perfume bottle, in the bottom corner as it has a certain vintage look to it. If women are looking to buy a perfume, I believe that they have to like the look of the bottle as well as they aroma of the perfume as it becomes an accessory, so the advertisers have cleverly added a picture of the bottle giving the consumer a glimpse of what they are hopefully going to purchase.
To conclude, I believe that this is a good advertisement for the perfume and personally, this would make me want to buy ‘Classique’. It has many presentational features, expertly set up to sell the product including the choice of model, her wardrobe and the setting (even if you cannot see much of it) personally addressing a large audience resulting in many women avid for the perfume.