Friday 31 October 2008

My questionnaire into Audience Research

Age:

Gender:

Occupation:

Student

Full Time

Part Time

Retired

Unemployed

Aspiration:

Get a job

Travelling

University

Moving abroad

Other

Of these three which do you most prefer?

Thriller

Comedy

Horror

Which British films from this list have you seen?

East is East

Anita and Me

About a Boy

Chocolat

Love Actually

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

Calendar Girls

This is England

Billy Elliot

Snatch

What attracts you most to watch a film?

Word of mouth

Director

Actor/ress

Advertising/ Marketing

Other

Which radio station do you listen to?

Which newspaper do you read?

Which film viewing setting do you prefer?

At the cinema

At home on the sofa alone

At home with friends/family

Round a friends house

Don’t care

How often do you go to the cinema?

Never

Once a year

Once a month

Twice a month

Every week

Other

Which type of cinema do you go to?

Multiplex (Like Odeon)

Independent (Like cinema city)

How often do you watch films in general?

1-2 times a week

Once a month

Less

More

Tuesday 21 October 2008

My Media Advert

I chose the target audience for my advert to be males aged between 16-35, they would be aspirers who buy high-tech gadgets and high fashion goods. They want a higher social status, and desire a superior persona. For this particular group it is hugely important to have status, image and acceptance as they always want to be 'the best'. I predicted that this group would fall into the C1/C2 group, most desiring to be in the B bracket of the social pyramid. I designed my product name and advert composition around this audience and I think it definitely appeals to this target.

I chose the name 'Alpha' for the brand of my product as it connotes superiority as it is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. It is also the brightest or main star in a constalation, connoting that he who buys this perfume will be the main individual of a group, those around him will desire to be him. It is the highest mark you can recieve in academic work again connoting superiority. Mainly it revolves around the common term 'Alpha Male': 'a male in a pack of wolves, or a similar pack or troop of animals, that other members submit to and follow and that takes priority in mating with females.' This connotes that the man who buys this will not only be the most popular and superior of all his followers but will also have a good romantic life as well. I chose the name of the perfume to be 'Dominant' again, following the main superior theme as 'Alpha male' can be also described as a 'dominant man, a man who controls the activities of a group and to whom others defer'. All of these appeal to my target audience's desire to be unsurpassed.

I chose to use a black, grey and white colour scheme throughout my piece becuase it connotes classiness and the fact that black, grey and white are all very formal and business orientated colours has definitely got a lot to do with the overall advert as it connotes success and superiority. I took all of my images in black and white changing the setting on my camera before capturing. This made it easier to compose the final advert although it did not give me any option to change my mind or experiement with alternatives. I chose to use white font to primarily stand out over the black background



I used a low angle shot specifically to highlight the superiority of the model, it gives the impresison that he is towering above the audience and after buying the product, you too will have this power. I used my own digital camera and set it black and white when taking the photos. I took about 20 photos in total and chose which one was the most appropriate, I thought the one I have chosen was the best because it connotes power the most. I imbedded a picture of Skyscrapers in the background to emphasise this idea, also Skysrapers connote high-class exclusivity, they also link in with the business idea from my colour scheme. On the right is the original photo of the skyscrapers in my advert, using photoshop I blacked-out the background using the 'magic wand tool' and layered the photo of the model over this. It was fairly easy to do but was very time consuming to get it perfect round the edges of the buildings.

Wednesday 8 October 2008

Thriller Openings

Leon (The Proffesional) Dir. Luc Besson, Released:France September 1994. United States: November 1994.
Shots
The opening shot of 'Leon' is a slow-moving helecopter shot above the woodland outskirts of NewYork. It travels at a constant speed towards the Silhouetted stretch of sky scrapers. There is then a quick dissolve cut into a, still moving, shot through the city. The camera is now following the city roads as if placed on top of a car. The shots keep dissolving into each other, each time getting closer to the destination. The camera finally reaches a shop and whilst it carries on travelling the shot is eventually emmerced in complete darkness of the extreme close-up. The darkness of the shot before is merged with the darkness of the room in the following shot in which Leon and another man occupy. The camera is in extreme close-up of a section of Leon's face and it carries on cutting between the shots of him, the picture sliding across the table and the glass slamming down on the table.
Sound
The sound in the opening of 'Leon' is predominantly non-diagetic. As the camera travels through the city there is a peaceful soundtrack with a slightly oriental sound, this completely contradicts the film's theme. Then, as the camera zooms into the black doorway we hear a loud dooming sound, this makes the audience feel alarmed and know everything is not what it seems. When in the room with Leon all we hear is dialogue (Diagetic), this signifies the beginning of the film.
Mise-En-Scene
The Mise-En-Scene in Leon is all very conventional to the thriller genre. For example the staircase shot and the climbing lift numbers. The colour of the film is yellow tinged grey, I think that this highlights the bleak lives of the two protagonists.