Relationship Between Films & Audiences

Relationship Between

Films & Audiences

 

Active Spectatorship

 

This is when the audience is actively getting involved with reconstructing a meaning from what they are watching. Other areas within the relationship can help influence the meaning that is created.

An example would be if someone had lost their friend through cancer in a film the people in real-life who've lost their friend through cancer can understand the chracter a lot more to someone who hasn't lost their dad.

Pleasure

People watching films sometimes get pleasure out of what they are watching. A lot of people love watching horror films because the characters in the film are in danger and everyone laughs at their misery. Things like the emotional, physical & cognitive relationships can effect the audience.

Frameworks of Interpretation

These are the areas that you the critic applies to a film to create a meaning. These can be intellectual, social or cultural references. An example would be if there is a social situation you can relate to, you can create an interpretation from that relating it to your own experiences.

 

Media Literacy

This is when you use your media knowledge to analyse, assess, produce and evaluate messages in all media products.

 

Intertexuality

This is when a film refers to another film but it doesn't matter if it is on purpose or not. There are loads of examples from the Marvel film where Nick Fury pops up from the end of The Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America films. One of my favourite example would be the sword used in Pulp Fiction that refers to Kill Bill. There is a 10 space between the two movies but it is a major factor that Tarintino fans pick up on and like to beleive.

Preferred Readings

 

This is when the audience takes the intended meaning from the film however this is not always possible because the meanings often doesn't make sense.

Effects

Every summer there will always be a blockbuster movie with an A list Hollywood actors and the producers will try an alomst blind the audience with loads of CGI to amke it look real. Now-our-days we expect to see visual effects in a blockbuster movies every year. This is a relationship that has changed over the years and has become very important. Audiences want to see the biggest explosions, the best CGI and now they want it 3D.

Fandom

This basically means the type of fans that do what they can do to express their appreciation of a film, TV series ext. Fans of films will buy the T-Shirts, Coffee Mugs, DVD Bonuses, Posters ext.

Social Networking

Is a place to go to communicate with other members on films, TV episodes ext. Social Networks like Facebook, Twitter, IMDb ext. are places where anyone can write about a film after viewing it and talk about it.

Interactivity

When the audience gets actively involved with the stories content like on a DVD menu you can choose between different endings.

An example would be in "I Am Legend" where you can choose either the thearetical or alternative ending.

Pre-Post Viewing Experiences

 

The experience an audience has before and after a film. This is linked to the way the film is advertised, if their were any previous films, if you are a fan of a particular actor etc.

 

 

Hush

HUSH

 

1) What is the genre of "Hush" and give three reasons why?

Hush is a Horror/Thriller.This is becuase the film is heavily linked to kidnapping whick falls under horror and a thriller is considerable because the is a sense of searching for someone searching for you. There is also death in the film that happens very unexpectedly like getting stabbed in the eye. 

 

2) What production context does Hush into and give three reasons why?
 

The production context that fits into this film would be British/Independent.This is because of the characters, location and even the weather. One of the main reasons why this film falls under the British production context is that it is an all British cast. The last reason why I chose Hushas a British production context is the location.

 

The budget for this film was also estimated at £1 million which is not really a lot in terms of the all the things that films pay for these days like casting, location, effects ext. This would fall under an Idependent film because an Independent film costs a lot less than major blockbuster movies.

3) Were there any stars involved with Hush? If yes why do you think that was?

The main actor starred in Waterloo Road and the main actress also starred in Torchwood and Hope Springs. So if any TV fans of British soaps might notice the actors/actresses in this movie so they were stars but only TV stars.


4) How did the narrative, dialogue, chracters, and locations relate to the production context? Give actual examples. Can you think of anything else that helped communicate the production context with regards to film content?

The narrative related to Britain because the film resembled a British couple by making them fight and suddenly one must search for the other as they realise that they love each other. There were hardly any effects in Hush when you compare this film from Resident Evil. The effects used to make the zombies were very effective and well as looking very new as at the time the zombies did look quite frightening for horror beginners.

The only effects that was used in Hush was when the killer gets crushed by an shipping container. Now-our-days we have CGI which ultimately would make the actual death look more realistic but would ultimatley cost a lot more than a Independent film would pay for.

Relationship Between the Audience & Producers

Relationship Between

the Audience & Producers

 

Fisrtly there are many things a producer must find out about the audience like how they research the audience? How they respond to this research? How they target the audience? How they distribute, publicise and market the film. Films researh the audience by using Focus groups, Questionnaire/Surveys, Simular Films and Interviews.

 

How do they research the audience? Interest in public opinion began in 1920’s and 30’s by an emerging market orientation in an American business. Advertising agencies had began to offer their research services to clients. It wasn’t until the 1940’s that Hollywood really began to employ experimental measures of viewer response.

 

How they respond to this research? Marketing companies use it to construct posters, trailers and advertisements that the audience can relate to and like. Questionnaires can help break audiences into socioeconomic groups and allows produces to target films more precisely to particular audiences.

 

Now-are-days we can find out about any film that is coming out soon by the different ways producers publicise their films. Things like: Magazines Adverts/  Viral Adverts, Tag Lines/Catch Phrases  Radio, Social Networks  Logo, Merchandise, Reviews, Nominations, Awards Ceromonies and Interviews/Chat Shows.

We all were asked to research a recent film that went through this process by how they targeted their audiences and how the audience responded to the film through interview, awards ext.The film that I chose to talk about was Django Unchained.

I began talking about the film itself and why would people want to see it and to identify who the target audience are. In this case, the film is targeted at a more male film because the film is very violent and deals with a very un-touched concept on slavery. And the film is written/directed by Quentin Tarintino who is the king of violenecand is very controversial especially when he announced on making Django Unchained a slavery film with the elements of spaghetti westerns whiched angered most of America.

After the film was completed and released all over the world the cast and director all had to be interviewed over different parts of America and Europe.
 

Jamie Foxx, the main actor, appeared on the Jonathan Ross show which is a popular Chat show that a lot of celebraties appear and talk about their new albulm, show or in this case film.

The director, Quentin Tarintino, went on another very wachted chat show, The Grahom Norton Show. Besides from his career Tarintino was there to promote his film which the producers wanted them to do. The actors and and director go from city to city, country to country to promote the film.

The reviews for Django unchained were amazingly undecided on whether it was a masterpiece or a absolute slap in America's face.

 

itunes.apple.com “Another masterpiece from Tarantino, Django Unchained is possibly one of his greatest pieces of work. Sensational soundtrack and amazing cast, its a definite must watch for anyone.”

Rotton Tomatoes "Tarintino slyly takes the dirty diaper that is slavery in America and rubs it in our face."

                    

 

So the reviews were ultimatley mixed but a mojority of the critics and the audience did speak on the fearless Tarintino of doing a concept that has been "forgotten" in America. We the awards were very kind to Tarintino and awarded him and his collaborator, Christoph Waltz, with 2 BAFTA's, Golden Globes and Oscar wins. So the film was well received to a big part of the film world.

 

 

There are many other ways that anyone can find out about films especially in these days. Websites like IMDB can help the anonoymous person find out about film and TV shows and magazines like Empire keeps fans up to date on upcoming film gossip and features the best films that have come out recently as well as the films coming out that we should keep an eye out for. 

 

Advertising- Trailers, Posters, Music Videos

Reviews- Magazines, Internet, TV Shows

Award Festivals: BAFTA's, Oscars Golden Globes

The Film Premieres

Chat shows, Interviews and Competitions

Social Networking

 

Resident Evil

Resident Evil

1) What is the genre of "Resident Evil" and give three reasons why?

The genre of "Resident Evil" is a  combination of Sci-Fi and Horror. This is shown because the first scene is a robot telling the audience about the company "Umbrella". The next scene shows a death and the scene after shows zombies which links to horror because zombies are scary.

2) What production context does Resident Evil into and give three reasons why?

I think that the production context fits in with the Hollywood production context. This reason being is because the effects looks above average, the sets were very proffessional and looks as it took them a long time to construct. The budget for this film was estimated and 33 million (according to IMDB) so it seems that the film was givin a hugely big budget to create a very profitable movie. The last reason is the actors, if the budget was to a low standard then the producers would have hired less well-know actors/actresses so the film wouldn't have been noticable.

3) Were there any stars involved with Resident Evil? If yes why do you think that was?

The only star I really knew from Resident Evil was Milla Jovovich. She previously starred in such films as Dazed & Confused, Fifth Element and Joan of Arc. She was already well know before this movie was released so some people who wanted to see this movie might have wanted to see it because of Milla. There were a few more well known stars that were in this movie like Michelle Rodriguez who previously starred in Fast and Furiou (2001) and Eric Mabius who is well known for doing Ugly Betty. So overall I think that Resident Evil did have a few well known actors/actresses for the movie to be successful as it is because if it didn't have actors that knowbody knew then hardly anyone would see it.

4) How did the narrative, dialogue, chracters, and locations relate to the production context? Give actual examples. Can you think of anything else that helped communicate the production context with regards to film content?

The narrative is a strong and interesting narrative. It introduces the likes of zombies and computers that can relate to different types of film fans such as Terminator and Land of the Dead fans. Zombies and computers are the basic instruments to what this particular film is, a Sci-Fi Horror. The setting was mostly around a office work that has been trashed and dumped with zombies. The effects were good as well.Obviously now-our-days effects are seen in near enough every Hollywood movie but for this tim when Resident Evil was released the effects were seen as an astonishing. The budget helped the production a lot because it had to pay for the important aspects the the setting and actors etc.

This is why I have chosen the production context to be under Hollywood. The reason why I have chosen this is because the film itself looks both well made (the setting, action, stars etc.) and the film actual did make a lot of money. Let's also not forget that Resident Evil is based on a game. The film was such a succes that they had to make another 4 more. The effects also made the film look much better as in those days the effects were classed as very well done but looking back on it now, the effects could have been improved.

Another BIG factor was the zombies, if the zombies didn't look or act like they were supposed to then the film would properly be seen as a major flop. However the make up and effects used on the zombies made them stand out and look very devlish and evil. This would also fall under the budget which, again, is a major difference for the production context. It helped the film out a lot with regards to the setting, actors, effects, make up etc. 

5) How did the technology used relate the the production context? Give examples and compare this to the British and/or Hollywood film.

The effects used in Resident Evil was not bad at all. It did help the overall feel and captured the vision that the film wanted to give the audience. At the time in 2002 (whwen it was released) the film was seen as a success after making the film based on a computer game. The only other films to do that were Street Fighter (1994), Mortal Kombat (1995), Lara Croft (2001) and loads more. The effects when compared to British and/or Bollywood will properly be above standard because Hollywood is a major money maker especially in America. The estimated budget for this movie was 33 million so the budget helped out the film a lot when it came to choosing the actors, effects, setting etc

1920: Evil Returns

1920 Evil Returns

1) What is the genre of "1920 Evil Returns" and give three reasons why?

The genre for "1920" is a horror/romance. This is because there is a love story between the main actor and actress while the horror part of the film would be put under as the actress in the film is cursed leaving the main actor to choose wheather letting his new love go away along with the devlish curse. This is part of a romance beacuse near enough every single Bollywood film has an element of a love story and the template. Also there are supernatural occurrences that happen in the film to suggest to the audience that the film is indeed a Horror. Therb are moments in the film when the actress pukes out bloody nails and the door that they kepp closing always re-opens itslef.

2) What production context does 1920 Evil Returns into and give three reasons why?

The obvious choice for production context is Bollywood. This is because the narrative, songs and even costumes are very much different to British and Hollywood. All the songs are sung in Hindi and the language is in Hindi al well. The costumes also fits under Bollywood because the main actor and actresses are dressed in their usual Indian attire. The effects is another big issue as well. Effects in Bollywood films aren't popular to say the least but sometimes there are completly over done. In this film however the effects did make the film look more like a Horror film with the possion of the devil and all the supernatural situations accuring as well.

3) Were there any stars involved with 1920 Evil Returns? If yes why do you think that was?

The only well know star in this film was Aftab Shivdasani who was the main actor "Jaidev". He has previously been in over 40 Bollywood movies prior to 1920 Evil Returns. Perhaps a few Bollywood fans might have recognised him so they might have wanted to see this movie because he was the lead. The main actress actually won a competition to appear in this movie so she was very fortunate.

4) How did the narrative, dialogue, chracters, and locations relate to the production context? Give actual examples. Can you think of anything else that helped communicate the production context with regards to film content?

The narrative is classically Bollywood because of the love story, songs, costumes, acting etc. However the horror elements did make the film stand out. There were moments in the film that did shock me like the bloody nails scene, the almost devil like figure that was hiding in the actresses room practicaly all the night scenes. The chracters for me was exactly what I expected. The main actors sister turns out to not trust the random girl that her brother found so she moves away out of the house to get away from the possesed girl.

The location was a bit confusing as it was supposed to be set in 1920 and did however meet that demand by showing forests and using horse carriages. The only thing that let the set down was the costumes. At times the main actor would wear a very fashionable blue shirt and jumper. It didn't suit the 1920s look that the film wanted it to be. There were elements in the film that did suit the 1920s feel to the feel. like all the supernatural sistuations that accured through the course of the first half of the film.

5) How did the technology used relate the the production context? Give examples and compare this to the British and/or Hollywood film.

One the main elements that stood out from this film was the effects. The effects were much different when compared to Hollywood and/or British films. For example: The main villain was the possesed girl, she did look evil but compare the possesed girl to the zombies in Resident Evil (Hollywood) and 28 Days Later (British) the effects and make up would favour the British and Hollywood production context. 

Dog Soldiers

Dog Soldiers

1) What is the genre of "Dog Soldiers" and give three reasons why?

The genre for "Dog Soldiers" is a Action/Horror genre. I have chosen this answer because in the film there are lots of action scene like when the crew are being attacked by werewolf's, this happens properly 6 times during the film. Their are guns and explosives that are involved in many action films and of course, the werewolf's are the main reason why this film is classed as a horror as well as an action.

The werewolf's are the main villains in this movie because their role is to hunt down an kill anybody in their way. Ultimately the entire crew couldn't survive the werewolf's however the classic horror genre delivers their most key storyline, the only person who survived.

 

2) What production context does Dog Soldiers into and give three reasons why?

The production context for Dog Soldiers is British. One of the main reasons why this film falls under the British production context is that it is an all British cast. The crew swear a lot in this film. Obviously in action films like Die Hard, Speed and  Bad Boys the do swear but in this case Dog Soldiers banter with each other, calling people name and playing around with words which is classically British. They did however avoid the C word which would've made the film a 18 instead of giving the film a fair 15.

The last reason why I chose Dog Soldiers as a British production context is the location. the film is located in Scotland (this is seen at the start of the film). scotland is apart of Britain therefore the film was film on British territory which also makes the movie British.

3) Were there any stars involved with Dog Soldiers? If yes why do you think that was?

There were a few faces that I recognised in Dog Soldiers. The main actor that I and mostly everyone knew was Kevin McKidd. He was the main actor in this movie as well as starring in Danny Boyle's classic "Trainspotting (1996)". That film was a very popular film in Britain so a few people must've recognised Kevin McKidd. 

There were another couple of actors that everyone eventually knew about was Liam Cunningham, who played Capt. Ryan and Sean Pertwee who played the Sgt. Harry Wells. Sean Pertwee is the more popular one because he has done a lot of voice acting so many people could've recognised his voice.

4) How did the narrative, dialogue, chracters, and locations relate to the production context? Give actual examples. Can you think of anything else that helped communicate the production context with regards to film content?

The narrative related to Britain because it resembled a British cadets tht are out on training but then is attacked by werewolf's. The effects were very different when you compare this film from Resident Evil which coincidently was made the same year as Dog Soldiers. The effects used to make the zombies were very effective and well as looking very new as at the time the zombies did look quite frightening for horror beginners.

The effects that were used to make the werewolf's from Dog Soldiers however surprise me. This is because the effects were really costumes with an actor playing the werewolf but it did do its job. Now-our-days we have CGI which ultimately would make the werewolf's real when there aren't, so they say. 


5) How did the technology used relate the the production context? Give examples and compare this to the British and/or Hollywood film.

There were many different aspects when comparing three different horror films in three different production contexts. 1920 Evil Returns was more of a love story set in a horror rather than the other way around, Resident Evil is a horror classic that is based on the original sci-fi game and Dog Soldiers was a very adventurous and interesting situations when you mix the tough, gritty British with the man-eating werewolf's.


The budget has a major effect for each of the three films. Resident Evil was the film that had the most budget with an estimated 33 million, which injected the adrenaline shot to the heart of Resident Evil which it needed after the much popular video game that had fans waiting.


1920: Evil Returns was an entirely different film compared to Dog Soldiers and Resident Evil, the only thing that all three films have in coming is that there is a element of horror in each film, some more than others. 1920 is a very different film in itself, the costumes, the songs, the actors and even the language was different.

Dog Soldiers was properly one of the best British horror films I've seen, when there are a few in general. Although the actual storyline was a bit "saw it coming" the way the injected suspense and drama within a British environment. Differently my favourite of the three and for sure the film that I thought had the most suspense, which is always not bad.

Idependant & International Films

Independent and International Films

 

An Independent or Indie films is feature film that are produced mostly outside of a major studio. Independent films are often produced and/or distributed by subsidiaries of major studios. In pairs research and see if you can find the main mini major studios. Some mini major studios like: Sony Pictures Classic, Focus Feature and Mirimax Films produce/distribute Independant films. An film which is an independent film would only be seen that way if less then half the films finances can come from a major studio. Independent films can be funded anyway, producers, distributers and even yourself.

 

In an independant movie there is always the "one hollywood star" that is casted in the movie. This is to help with securing distribution. If there is somebody in the film that the audiences know then there is more chance of making money off the movie. If an independent film wins at film festivals like Sundance there is more chance they will be approached by one distribution company wanting the rights to all three areas.

One good thing out of this is that there is more chance of getting a larger payment from the distributer however this is mainly from the mini major studios. The downfall to this is what ever the payment you get for distribution is all the amount that they'll give you, you don’t have the opportunity to go out and get additional sales to make additional money.

 

International Co-Productions

 

In filmmaking you might sometimes get an Internation Co-Production which is a film made by production companies from different countries. Many films made outside the United States are international co-productions. An International Co-Production open new markets for films and TV programmes that can increase the output of high quality productions through the sharing of investment. The official co-productions are made possible by agreements between countries.

 

Co-Production agreements seek to acheive economic, cultral and diplomatic goals. The key attraction of a treaty co-production is taht it qualifies as a national production in each of the partner 's nations and can access benifits that are avalible to the local film and television industry in each country. Developing countries within cinema is referred to as the Third Cinema, with First Cinema being "Hollywood Movies" & Second Cinema as being "European Art House". Third cinema is mainly concentrating on films from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

 

Nigeria’s film industry has grown over the last couple of decades to become the second largest film industry. The rise of affordable digital filming and editing technologies has stimulated the country’s video film industry. Each film is produced in less then a fortnight for $15,000. But unlike Hollywood and Bollywood, Nollywood films are mainly sold on videocassetts and not in cinemas.