Relationships between the audience and films in Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Relationships between the audience and films in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
In this Blog post I will discussing the relationship that exists between the audience and the films that they like to watch, while using examples to show the relationship.

With the 2011 release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it already had a pre-exisitng target audience from the previous films, as this is prequel to the popular 1968 film Planet of the Apes. As it is a prequel is has intertextual references to the old film, the most popular reference is the quote 'Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!' This is said by George Taylor ,Charlton Heston, in the 1968 film, when he is caught by the apes after failing to escape from them. In Rise of the Planet of the Apes the quote has altered a little to 'Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape!' This is said by Dodge Landon, Tom Felton, when he tries to get Caesar back into his cage. This quote is iconic to the 1968 film because everyone associates this quote with the film. To engage the audience into this film it uses frameworks of interpretation, as it is dealing with the subject of Alzheimers. The character of Will Rodman is trying to find a cure to Alzhiemers as his dad is suffering badly with the disease, the cure that he creates is what makes the chimpanzees smart. This is frameworks of interpetaion as some of the viewers could relate to his predicament of being with an Alzheimers sufferer and wanting to help.
When this film was first released it was released onto cinema , this allowed the audience to sit comfortably and enjoy this film, my own personal experience of viewing this film was in the cinema, as it allowed me to enjoy it more than I would have done in a home environment the first time watching it.l As their was a big screen to watch it on and the surround sound was excellent. But once this film was taken onto DVD I brought it and I continue to enjoy it where I watch, on a televison or portibal device this is showing that this film can be enjoyed by the audience inside and outside of the cinema screen and it continues to have fans that will watch it again and again. Fandom is a way to show appreciation to the film and after watching the new film I went and brought the box set for the old films of which this is based on. The post viewing experiences of this film can change from watching it. They might have had high expectations of the film and it fell short or it could have exceeded expectations, it all depends on the people watching the film, some people could love the film and rewatch it many times. This film has a 7.6 rating on IMDB , showing that most of the audience enjoyed what they watched and took the time to rate it.
This film is an emotional roller coaster for its audiences as they follow Ceasar's journey through the film as they have a emotional bond with him because of Andy Serkis's acting. Ceasar was orphaned after his mother was killed he then found happiness in a home with Will, then his happiness comes crashing down when he has to be sent away to live in a primate shelter for biting his next door neighbour. This is when life becomes hard for Ceasar as he is subjected to abuse by his fellow primates and the staff at the primate shelter. For some viewers they will not like watching these kinds of scenes and it will be emotional for them. At the same time it will be emotional for audiences when Ceasar and the primates escape the shelter and go and live in Muir Woods, as a big fight ensues from humans stopping the primates and some of them die. This is emotional for the audience to watch but also echilerating as it is a fight scene, some viewers enjoy action fight scenes and a reason why they watched this film.
In this film the effects used focuses mainly on motion capture for the apes as they have actors who act out the actions of the apes and it is transferrred on the screen as chimpanzees. This is the first live action filmt that focuses primarily on the lead character who is an animal. But it is Andy Serkis's acting skills that bring the character of Ceasar to life as the motion capture captures all the facial expressions that Andy creates for Ceasar. The same was used in Avatar and King Kong where Andy Serkis also played King Kong, he also did the same with Gollum in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, he has the acting ability to make a character come to life purely on just facial expressions rather than speech, This film had 6 nominations for best visual effects and special effects, and won 1 from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society.
There is a fandom for this film as it's first teaser trailer was shown at comicon 2011, it is usual for comicons to have lots of different teaser trailers for upcoming films, the sequel to this film Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes also had a teaser trailer shown at comicon. There are many ways in which fans can show their appreciation to this film and the most popular one is merhcandice mostly DVD's as it is the easiest piece of merchandice to buy.

To conclude, there is a relationship that exists between the audience and the films they love and this comes from many things that are in the film. With Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, the story captivates peoples imagination as Chimpanzees are intelligent and are our closest living relative and the idea that they could become smarter and take over is an interesting narrative to use. People enjoy these kinds of films as it makes them create an emotional bond with characters and plays on their heartsrings, which is why people enjoyed this film they bonded with Caesar and is why this film was popular when it was released and after, as it won awards and people are still buying the DVD of it and other merhcandice.

Producer and audience relationship: The Hobbit the Desolation of Smaug

Producer and audience relationship: The Hobbit the Desolation of Smaug

In this blog I will be discussing how producers publicise their films to their target audience, the many ways they show there film and to show these ways, I will discuss how The Hobbit the Desolation of Smaug was publicised. Publicisng a film to the audience can be unique and different as it will draw the attention of the target audience. The target audience for this film would be working to middle class as they are the class that can afford to see this film in cinema when it is relased. They can be of both genders but primarily male as it is a fantasy film.





































Posters are used and can be placed on multiple locations that people can see, they can be placed on billboards, buses, eleveators as lots of people will see the poster when they are out and about. In cinemas they have posters by the screens as well as having cardboard cut outs in the foyae. Having them in the foyae of the cinema it will be seen by the target audience as they will see it when they walk in. The aspects in this poster will attract the fantasy target audience, producers use posters to attract the attention of the target audience with colours and images on the poster.
This poster for example, the poster says this film is created from the director of the Lord of the Rings. people who will have seen that trilogy of films and liked them will want to see this film as it is related to those films, as The Hobbit trilogy is a prequel to Lord of the Rings trilogy. The target audience of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy will know that as the Hobbit is
The genre has to be put across to the audience this poster has done so by having a dragon's eye in the background. Dragons are iconic to the fantasy genre and anybody who will see the poster will know the genre. Also if they have seen the previous film they will know that the main narrative is going to kill a dragon, the poster just emphasises this point. The location of the poster also helps with the genre of the film as it looks like apart of a castle. Even little details are important even the dont, in this case it is another reference to Lord of the Rings as the font colour is the same gold colour as the One Ring. There are links to Lord of the Rings trilogy it will attract that trilogies target audience as The Hobbit is a prequel to The Lord of The Rings. The target audience of the previous trilogy will want to see how the events in the film have begun and see the film.
This poster will attract the target audience for this film as everything in the poster will appeal to the audience. The main target audience is the fantsy genre loving fans, as when they see the poster it is appealing to what they like as it has a dragon in it and the other aspecs in it are screaming out the genre to the target audience with the use of the stone walls which will give the audience the knowledge of the era it is from.

In Wellington International airport to publicise the release of Desolation of Smaug, they put up two models and decorated a plane. Gandalf is riding the eagles that are iconic to Middle Earth and is hanging from the ceiling and is placed so that it looks like he is going to be swooping down on holiday makers. With it's size people are going to notice the model and find out where it is from and what it is publicising.

Going outside of the airport and the publicity of the film is continued. one of the planes has been decorated, on the side of it there is a picture of Smaug going the full length of the plane.

The Gollum model is hanging from the ceiling in another part of the airport and is catching fish. The models are so that anybody who enters the airport will know about the imminent release of the film, and go to see it if it is their kind of film.  By having these models in an airport people from all over the world will know about the films release.

Having all of these models and posters in the airport they can target their target audience as lots of different people go into the airport and its impossible to miss seeing these items. Having those models placed around the airport will allow the target audience of all ages and genders to see them. As lots of people go to the airport and will see them and this will pubicise the film as the models will intrigue people to look at them and want to find out what it is from if they like the look of it. With the dragon on the plane it will fly to different countries and will publicise the film there to different target audience as a dragon on a plane will stand out and people will look at it and just with the models become intrigused as to what it is from and want to see it if it is a film they enjoy.

Film premiers are a good way to publicise big blockbuster films, with the Desolation of Smaug they had a live world premier. During the premier in Hollywood it was filmed and allowed people to watch the premier live. This will publicise the film to people as they can watch people talking about the film and all the teaser that they have. Also on some channels they have a 30min premier special programme that includes short trailer and interviews as people walk along the red carpet. In the Germany film premier in Berlin, there was a big model of Smaug's head in gold coins on the red carpert, that the actors in the film can walk by and be photographed with.

This will attract the target audience to the film as this is an opportunity to see the stars of the film. This is a good way of producers to attract the target audience to the film as people are drawn to watch films depending on who is acting in the film. For example, in the picture opposite female target audience will see that Orlando Bloom is in the film and want to see the film and male target audience will see Evangeline Lily and want to see her. Also the fact that Orlando Bloom is reprising his role as Legolas from The Lord of The Rings trilogy the target audience from those films who have enjoyed his character will watch this film as it has his character in it again. It is a good way to attract more target audience to go and view the film.

The soundtrack is another way to advertise the film to the audeince. Ed sheeran was asked by the director, Peter Jackson, to create a song for The Desolation of Smaug. He created I See Fire, it was played at the end of the film but it was released in November ahead of the films release date in December. This a way that Producers attract the target audience as they will link the song they hear to the film. So when they hear the song and enjoy it they will want to see the film if they link it together. Releasing this song will also attract a target audience of a younger age as Ed Sheeran is listend to and loved my teenagers and hearing his song may get some of his fans to watch the film.

 Blogs are another way to interact with the audience. Throughout the production of this film. Peter Jackson created a video blog of the film's development, he released these blogs on a set time every week showing the film's progression when the release date is coming closer. This is targeting dedicated fans to these films as they are the only group of people who would watch these videos. Another way is to have a website that people can go onto and watch trailer, any other videos they have on the website, look at the gallery of the actors. it also has a page where people can look at the actors filmography and know a bit about them. These blogs were posted on the website as well as a Facebook page and this is so that it will reach all of the target audience by allowing them to view it on different pages. The target audience will be able to see a video of Peter Jackson working and this can make them interesting by what he is doing and watching and by teasing them with clips that they will see in the film and this will make them want to go watch the film from what they have seen ion the blogs.

One of the main ways to advertise a new upcoming film to the audience is to show trailers of it on the internet and TV. Some trailers can also be shown first at film festivals. With The Desolation of Smaug, a teaser trailer was released in June and then the main trailer in October that showed more details of the film and was longer than the teaser. The point of a teaser trailer was to engage the audience in the film but not showing all of the details, so that they are hooked on the film and will see it when it is eventually released. By showing a trailer months in advance of the films release will allow the target audience to watch as often as they want and become excited and want to go see the film. As it is being shown on different medias it can attracr target audience of all ages as some will not be on the internet all of the time and not see the trailer on websites but they might watch television alot. By showing the trailer on television on variying channels at peak times when alot of people are watching it will be shown to wide range of people and this will make the audience want to go see the film.

To conclude, the relationship producers have to audiences is how they connect their film to the audience and think up of ways that will communicate to them that this is a film for them. Different media platformswill allow a range of target audience to see advertisements of the film or trailers etc. as not all of the target audience use the same things and producers have to be creative and innvative in ways that they get to the target audience. Reaching out to the target audience is important and the publicity for this film has been successful as it has used many platforms to get everyone to see it, it has used different ways to do this by having models in airports and decorating planes as well as the usual ways of attracting the target audience by posting trailers.

Independent, international co-productions and developing countries production contexts

Independent, international co-productions and developing countries production contexts

In this blog post I will be discussing independent, international co-productions and developing countries and how they differ from each other with regards to the financial detriments, distribution   and exhibition and funding bodies.

An Independent production context is produced by subsidaires of other major studios, as they fund them films production. Some of the famous subsidaries include, Focus Feature, Lions Gate, Mirimax, Fox Search Light, Paramount Pictures and Think Film. Some famous films that you wouldn't guess are an independent production. For example, American History X a film that is about a former neo-nazi who tries to stop his younger brother going down the same route as him. Independent films use famous faces to make people want to see the film.

In American History X you have Edward Norton who is famous for a wide variety of films such as Primal Fear and Fight Club. Another famous face is Edward Furlong who is known for his role of John Connor in the second Terminator film, Terminator: Judgement Day. Another way of making an independent film popular is by showing it at film festivals such as Sundance and Cannes film festival. For example,

 The Blair Witch Project became popular after it was shown at Sundance and Cannes film festival. the film also created a website to promote the film before it's release.
For a film to be Independent half of the film's finances have to be from a major studio, independent films also need companies help after they have created the film, as companies help to distribute the film theatrically, onto DVD and broadcasting onto TV. Usually three separate companies will do this but it can be just once company. This film had a budget of $20 million and made $23,875,127.


An international co-operation film is a film that has multiple film production companies working together to create the film. Usually it is two companies working together but it can be more than this. For example, the Harry Potter film were made by USA company, Warner Bros. Pictures, and UK company  Heyday films. When these companies work together on a film they open up new markets for films and TV programs. Before the film is made a treaty is drawn up and this is when the companies decide what they are going to do with the production, this can mean the story line of the film, the location of where it is going to be set etc. and what the companies will get. The profits that the companies get are usually half and half. From having two companies work together this will allow the film to have better technology as one company might have better more up to date equipment than another and working together on the film can allow the other studio to use the equipment and make the film look good. Also the distribution of the film goes into the agreement.
As they can share resources when working together on a film. There is good opportunity while working together with another company and they can have access to a partners market, certain locations and cultural benefits.For example, with Slumdog Millionaire, it was set in India and had a Bollywood and UK film companies, it allowed Bollywood to distribute its film into the UK film market and allowed the UK film company to use Bollywood locations that they might not have been able to use before.
But the bad side of an international co-production is that heir is an opportunity for one side to have loss of full creativeness. There are increased costs with government as it could cost to do certain things over in another country. There is also opportunistic behavior by production companies as they can have ulterior motives. The distiribution of this type of production context is the same as independent films as they are released into cinema, DVD and TV. For example, with Harry potter the films went first onto cinema because it was a sucessful book and then it was released onto DVD. The Harry potter film series are also broadcast onto TV ITV1 has the rights to air it. The films had a budget of $1,155,000,000 (all 8 films otgether.) and made $7,723,431,572.

An developing countries film is a film that is from the 'third cinema' this means any films from Africa, Asia and Latina America. First cinema is Hollywood with its block buster movies such as World War Z, second cinema is European art house movies such as In Fear. Nollywood in Africa produces films a fortnight and this is different to other production contexts as they do not release films that many films in a year. But the film quality is not as good, even viewing the film isn't the best quality as the films are sold on CD video's. The cheapest film made by Nollywood was $15,000. Some Nollywood films have become popular and have a big budget for example, Last fight to Abuja. A film about a Nigerian plane that has to land due to an emergency. It is a thriller film. The budget was ₦40 million and it made ₦57,050,000. Jan Vrijman fund supports festivals and film makers in developing countries, the money can be used to acquire actors/actresses, locations and equipment etc.
The funds main goal is to make sure that local film cultures are stimulated and turn documentary's into global film art. The distribution of Nollywood films are straight away onto CD Video, as there is not a big value on cinema as much as other countries.

British Film Production Context in In Fear

British Film Production Context in In Fear

In this Blog post I will be discussing In Fear and why it has a British Film production context and how this relates to genre and how that in turn effects the production context. I will be giving examples from the film as to why it is what it is. In Fear is a film about a young couple who go on a trip to have a romantic holiday in a hotel and on the way to the hotel they find themselves lost where a psychopath torments them in the countryside trails.

To begin with the genre of this film, I would say that it is  horror/thriller as it uses different techniques that make people jump and that is iconic of  a horror and thriller. As both of those genre's play make people jump and feel scared. The setting is in the dark and anything can be happening in the dark, this is a primal fear that people have because we cannot see in the dark as well as we would like especially when we want to. This happens in the film as when Tom and Lucy are running in the dark they can barely see where they are going and we as the audience want to see where they are going, as we cannot see where they are going we feel on edge as the characters do as we cannot see what is going to happen to them.
The music that has been used in the film is eerie and creepy, fitting the situation that is happening, this is creating suspense for the audience and this is what happens in horror and thriller films they use music as a way to get people scared, as well as what they are seeing on screen as without the music in the background would what you see in a horror film be as scary? One scene that shows why this is a horror film is, for example when Tom is standing by some bushes and Lucy is watching him in the car. It is dark and a man appears next to him unexpectedly causing the audience to jump and be scared for the character. But before that happens the music is setting the scene by starting up slowly and when something suddenly happens or appears it becomes loud to help make the audience jump. With horror and thriller films they sometimes have cliffhangers that will make the audience wonder what has happened. In this film they have a cliffhanger about whether or not Lucy runs over Max or not. The scene cuts to when the car Lucy is driving towards Max and the film ends before she reaches him.This gives the audience a sense of mystery as to what has happened, this may make some people think about the film more and with good horror films people can not stop talking about them. Also the location in which the film is set is a secluded location where nobody can help them and this is the case in horrors, it is secluded so that there is no help and people end up dying as there is no one to help them escape from the murderer.

In Fear fits into a British Film context as of the locations that are used and the language that they have used for the characters. As British films tend to be have a lot of swear words in them compared to other production contexts, such as Hollywood as if they do have swear words they are only a few and not as bad as the ones that are used in British films. The characters names in this film are common British names, Tom, Lucy and Max. The accents the three of them have are irish and british, there is no mistaking where the film is set. There is one location and it is in the countryside and it has a typical British weather in the rain, as it rains a lot in the film. But by having that british weather in that particular location helps set up the atmosphere of the film. As the darker it is getting the more creepy the woods are becoming and it is hard to see if somone is following the pair even though we as the audience know that there is because of the strange things that are happening to the pair. When it starts to rain it is mirroring the mood of the couple as they keep getting lost and are not finding the way out and are getting fed up and more scared. For example, the pair have a fire emergency map that they think will get them give them a way out but when they use it they are more lost, this is when it is growing darker and starting to rain. It could be interpreted that as the hope of their escape is dying so to is the light around them and the darkness is their fears creeping up on them. The budget that was used in this film is not a low budget but not a huge budget which means this film is nto independent otherwise it would have had a bigger budget.

The three stars in this film have been known in other productions before this film has come out, this can give the film more publicity by people who have seen the other productions and want to see this film because they are in it. The actress who plays Lucy, Alice Englert, played a leading role of Lena Duchanes in the 2013 film adaptation of Beautiful Creatures. The actor who plays Tom, Ian De Caestecker, played the role of Adam Barlow in Coronation Street, 2001-2003 but also could be recognised for his role as Ocky in the 2013 film Filth. The actor who plays Max, Allen Leech, is probably best known for his role as Tom Branson in Downtown Abbey.  Having actors and actresses that people recognise will help the publicity of the film.

There is a simple narrative to the film a young couple find themselves lost and are terrorised in the countryside where they cannot find a way out. The simple narrative works with the few characters that are in it, as the film only has 3 characters in it. The location a secluded location as it is countryroads surrounded by woods, this helps communicate the production context as Britsh films tend to show british locations and in this film there are a lot of shots at how beautiful it is in Ireland. The dialogue used in this film are irish and british accents and British production contexts use a lot of swear words as when the characters begin to know something is not right about the situation they are in they become scared an swear to get their frustrations out. For example, after Lucy is almost taken by Max she responds when she is safely in the car by saying 'What the fuck is happening?' and repeats this as she begins to worry and freak out about what is happening.
Most film use some of the seven spheres of action set out by Vladimir Propp and it's only Hollywood that try and use all seven whereas other production contexts only use a few at one time. In this film there is the Villian Max is this character as he is the one who goes out of his way to terrorise Lucy and Tom by changing the sings so that they get lost and terrorises them by doing strange things, as pretending he has been attacked by who is terrorising them, he cut his own face to make it convincing enough, arguably his most crazy way of hurting them knocking Tom unconcious,putting him in the boot of Lucy's car and attaching a pipe from the exhaust to his mouth,making Lucy drive fast so that the exhaust fumes kill Tom, it breaks her as she killed her own boyfriend. It could be argued that Lucy is the Hero as she makes it to the end of the film, as well as she remains stronger than Tom is towards the end of the film.

The technologies that have been used in this film are similar to what was used in other production contexts. For example, at the beginning of the film it has a voice over explaining that Tom is taking Lucy to Ireland. It is an easy way of informing the audience a little backstory and starts the film instantly. After the voice over split screens have been used and this as well helps to tell a little bit of the story, as at a closer inspection the images shown on the split screens is Max making it so that people will get lost on the way to the hotel, he is fixing the map so that people will get lost and car crashes that he has caused. The story behind the car crashes is explained when he tells them a story about a kid who used to stand in the middle of the road making people swerve out of the way to hit the kid and die after they crash their car. There are a lot of scenery shots when Tom and Lucy are going to the hotel, this is a good use of technology that relates to the production context by showing the location the film is set in.

Rise of the Zombie Bollywood Production Context

Rise of the Zombie Bollywood Production Context

In this blog I will be discussing Rise of the zombies and why it fits into the Bollywood production context and how this will relate to genre and how that will effect the production context and I will be using examples that explain why it fits into this production context.

The genre of this film is a horror/romance as the whole film revolves around a man, Neil Parker, who is bitten and turns into a zombie while holding onto the love he has for his girlfriend Vinny. I would say this is a horror as there are gore scenes. For example, when Neil attacks a man and rips out his heart. To the target audience this scene will be horrifying and scary but to other audiences it isn't as they are used to more gory films and are used to seeing this kind of scene. But it fits into the horror genre by the use of gore, there is a scene where Neil is eating an eye and this is gory. Also the fact that Neil is becoming a supernatural being makes it a horror film. I would also say it is a romance as Neil's main focus is on Vinny he constantly calls her and when he is alone he reminisces about the time they spent together. As well as Vinny wanting to find Neil after he goes missing. Bollywood film's center around love and romance and because of this they only have a few spheres of action; in this film they have the princess, Vinny , the false hero you could argue is Neil as he seems the good guy at the beginning but turns into a bad guy once he becomes infected with the zombie virus and starts killing people. The helper is in this film as well as Neil is out in the wilderness on his own a man from the nearby village comes out regularly to give him food and help him. Even though this is a zombie film you cannot mistake that this has a Bollywood production context as the type of music that is playing throughout the film, and the lyrics are always relevant to what is happening on screen. For example, when Neil is eating an eye the lyrics are related.

A reason why this film is a Bollywood production context is that in has lots of sponsors shown at the beginning of the film, as Bollywood doesn't have a big budget and have to find the money elsewhere this is where sponsors can help. As the budget is not as big as other production contexts such as Hollywood they are not able to have big visually spectacular shots like in World War Z. This film had a lower budget and could be a reason why the effects for the zombie Neil were all make up effects rather than special effects. As well as why there was only two locations, as that could be all they could afford, but even with a low budget the area in which the zombie parts were filmed very visually stunning as it is in the wilderness, but with the type of story that this is having lots of locations wouldn't have fit in with the story line. As it has a low budget it has to have a slow acting bite to turn Neil into a zombie as the majority of the film, this also helps to set up people for the sequel. Another way that this film has been able to get the funds to use is by product placement as there is a blackberry phone, a Nikon camera, a mac computer and a converse t shirt, product placement will enable them to get the extra money they need to make the film better or get certain effects that they want.

In this film the main star is Luke Kenny as he plays the lead character Neil Parker and he is also the director, he will be advertising his own film and will publicize it as he is acting in it and directing in it. This will give him big publicity as most actors/directors who do both are well known in their field by their target audience, just like with Brad Pitt in World War Z as he was an executive producer as well a the lead actor in the film.

This film has used more edit styles than digital effects to produce a horror, as the budget could have only allowed them to do so. For example, when Neil starts to pull his own skin off it's fake make up rather than CGI effects. Their is a slight problem with the sounds in this film as it is really loud when it isn't necessary and quiet when people are talking.

World War Z Hollywood Production Context

World War Z Hollywood Production Context

In this Blog post I will be discussing World War Z and why it has a Hollywood production context and how this will relate to the genre and how that in turn effects the production context. I will be giving examples from the film as to why it is what it is.

To begin with we must talk about the genre of the film, the genre of World War Z I would say is a hybrid genre of horror and action, as the zombies are what makes it a horror as the blood and gore that comes with them. For example, the scene where the zombies are trying to bite Gerry there is a lot of blood as he fights them off and stabs them, this enforces the genre. The film also fits in with the genre of a horror as it creates suspense in certain scenes as horror do mixed with creepy music. For example, when Gerry and his family are trying get to the roof where they can escape from the zombies by helicopter, they have to go up a stairwell and to get to the roof they have to go through a door and the music starts to build up and this makes the scene tense as you know something bad is going to happen. It also be said to be an action film as their are lots of explosions and gun shots that are iconic with an action film. For example, when they are in Israel once the zombies are attacking the city a helicopter is shooting zombies but crashes and explodes. The gun shots and the explosion in that scene is what people would associate with an action.

There are many ways why this film fits into a Hollywood production context, the locations that have been used the budget and the famous faces. With Hollywood productions they have a big budget and this allows them to do much more with the film, World War Z had a budget of 190 million pounds, this allowed them to do much more with this film than other production contexts could. For example, the special effects for the zombies. The first scene in Philadelphia when the zombies attack and turn people the effects used for the eyes as the people turn into zombies. Another effect that shows the extend that a decent budget can give is the scene in Israel when the zombies climb the wall on top of each other to get at the people on the other side. As the budget is quite large it has enabled this film to be filmed in lots of different locations, they film in different American cities; Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey; as well as foreign countries such as South Korea, Israel and Wales. Another way in which this film fits into a Hollywood production context is the stars that are present in the film. For instance the main face of the film is Brad Pitt, he is a very famous Hollywood actor and having him in the film will attract lots of publicity for the film, as people who likes certain actors will want to see a new film with them in it. Another famous actor who was in this film is Peter Capaldi, he may have only had a minor role he is still a known British actor and can draw in more viewers to watch the film.

One aspect that relates to the production context is the story line as it has an in-depth story line as the main aim is to find a cure to the zombie outbreak, it is in-depth because the answer to it isn't simple or obvious, as there are some clues. For example, there is no cure to the outbreak but Gerry finds a way to camouflage people against the zombies, there are  some clues that's lead him to find this. As the zombies pass some people and eat other people. Gerry concludes that the zombies bypass the people who are ill and by having vaccinations people can hide in plain site from the zombies. Another reason why World War Z fits into a Hollywood production context is the technology that has been used, as it is very advanced than compared to say a Bollywood film. As the type of shots that they have are quite visually decent as their is an aerial shot out of a helicopter in Jerusalem this gives the audience a big view of the scene and they can see the carnage that the zombies are creating. It is because of the budget that this film has that allows the kinds of shots that have been used. Another good use of technology is when the security cameras are used in the medical facility, they use it to show the characters going through the block b to get the vaccines, it gives a different aspect that helps with the enjoyment of the film.

The dialogue that is used in World War Z are family friendly as they have no swearing involved, even though it has a 15 age rating. There is a scene where one of the scientist makes a reference that mother nature is a serial killer, by creating natural disasters that cause multiple peoples deaths, he says that she leaves bread crumb trails that will allow people to find the cause, this is informative to the audience and characters as we know that there will be a trail and a way to stop the disaster happening and killing anymore people.

In this film some of Vladimir Propp's seven spheres of action have been used to help with the story line of the film. For example. the hero is Gerry as he is the one who goes away from his family to stop the infection of Zombies. The helper is a soldier called Segen who Gerry meets and saves in Jerusalem as she helps him once he is in the forensic laboratory getting the vaccines to combat the zombies. The dispatcher is Gerry's old friend Thierry Umutoni, a UN deputy secretary general, who sent him on his quest to find the cure to the Zombie outbreak. The villains are the Zombies as they are the main threat to the characters in the film. The false hero could be seen as the doctor, Andrew Fassbach, as he was going to be the man that saves everyone's lives by finding the cure to the zombie outbreak but he dies from his own stupidity by holding his finger on the trigger and falls over and shoots himself dead, he was meant to be the savior but as he dies it becomes clear that he wasn't and isn't anymore.
In Hollywood films there is always a disaster that will need to be averted and the main character will always find a way to avert the disaster and save the day.

Silence of the lambs

Silence of the lambs
Throughout this blog I will be discussing semiotics that have been used in Silence of the lambs, how genre and narrative has been communicated through the semiotics and how feminist film theory and queer theory has been used in this film.

To start off with the opening scene it communicating the genre of this film instantly as a horror. As the film begins the main character of Clarice Starling running through a wooded area. The atmosphere around her is foggy and secluded , this makes the audience think that this is a horror as most horror films have a chase scene through a secluded area mostly in the dark or where it is hard to see and easy to be captured. Clarice is not being chased however she is running on a training course, as it is made clear almost straight away as she used a rope to climb up a small hill, up to that point everything was leading up to the idea that something bad was going to happen to her. But the camera angles and the music during the opening scene allow the audience to know the genre of the film. The camera angles that are used follow Clarice around the course from behind her and in front but when the camera is behind her it is almost as if we as the audience are following her. The music that is playing in the background as she run is eerily creepy and it picks up pace when she runs faster as if it is a chase scene, as in horror's the music can pick up when a character is being chased to give suspense and tension to the audience. Also the font that is used is also an indicator of the genre of the film as a horror, the colours are black and white they are not bright and happy colours as would be seen in other genre's.

The semiotics in this film are not only just used in the opening scene to communicate the genre they are used throughout the film. There are a lot of gory images and blood that show this film as a horror, the images are of the girls that 'Buffalo Bill' has killed, as the pictures show the aftermath of him skinning them, it is a shocking sight that is usually seen in a horror. The scene that communicate the genre of this film, if it hadn't already, was the scene when Hannibal Lecter escapes the audience see a lot of action and gore that people associate with a horror or a thriller film. Hannibal breaks out of the holding cell he is in by handcuffing one prison guard to a pole and beating him to death, with the other prison guard he bit him and hung him up. The position in which he was hung up in is signifying  crucifixion on the cross. One thing that can be mentioned from this scene is the colour of the costumes of Hannibal and the prison guards. Hannibal is wearing white which usually signifies purity and innocence, whereas the prison guards are in dark clothing giving off the idea that they are the bad guys when it is the other way around, it is contrasting to their characters with the colours they are wearing. There is an iconic scene in this film that people always remember and that is the scene with Hannibal wearing the muzzle mask and the noise he makes when he talks about eating people. It could be argues that they are iconic as they are shocking in some ways, as the muzzle that Hannibal wears makes him look creepy and when he makes that noise at Clarice it makes him look disturbing especially with the noise used with his intense stare.

Feminism film theory can be looked at in this film as the women in this film are portrayed as objects, even the main protagonist in this film, Clarice Starling a young rookie cop looking to become a member of the F.B.I. Throughout the film Clarice is treated mainly as a pretty face, with the exception of Hannibal Lecter as he treats her with respect , as even Jack Crawford her boss uses her as that in order for him to get Hannibal Lecter to talk to her. The male characters see Clarice as a sexual object, Frederick Chilton a man from the mental hospital Lecter is in, he asks her out on a date, as well as a man who is a bug expert does the same and men at the training academy she is in continually look at her. For example, while she is our jogging with a fellow cadet she passes a group of men and they look back once she passes and stare at her, this is known as voyeurism. As Clarice is a woman in a male dominated world she has to be strong to succeed, she is not a typical female stereotype as she is strong. For example, when she investigates an a lockup. When she cannot get the door open instead of waiting for a male to help her, she gets her car jack to open the door for herself, this show how she is a strong character as she take it upon herself to do the jobs men would usually do. Another example of this would be when she finds a decapitated head in a jar, instead of screaming as would be stereotypical of women she is calm.

The serial killer 'Buffalo Bill' uses his female victims as objects as he only needs them to skin them. There is a scene between him and his latest victim Catherine, he wants her to put the lotion in the basket, he says 'it puts the lotion in the basket' the fact that he uses the word it making her an object to him as he doesn't use her a name. By not using her name he is emotionally detached himself from her to allow him to get what he wants from her. 

Queer theory can be looked at in this film, the stereotypes of the drag queen and the butch lesbian. The stereotype of the drag queen is in the character of 'Buffalo Bill' as he is dressing up as a woman, there is a scene where he puts on a wig and wears dressing gown as well as make up and dances and pretends to be a woman. This is the reason why he kidnaps women as he wants to use their skin and make himself a woman. Homosexuality in this film is seen as dysfunctional and very negative, as the character of 'Buffalo Bill' is gay and killed his lover which makes the relationship dysfunctional and makes homosexuality seen in negative light, as he murders and is the bad guy. There is no other homosexual to compare this negative view to as he is the only homosexual in the film.

The stereotype of the butch lesbian/ lipstick lesbian could be Clarice as she is not a stereotypical woman she wears baggy trousers and has her hair messy most of the time. The only time she wears skirts. make up and makes her hair nice is when she has to when she meets with Hannibal, or when she is Jack Crawford investigating the murders, it could be argued that at these times she is accepting a stereotypical role for herself when she has to to further her career and experience.

Queer Theory in Mean Girls

Queer theory in Mean girls
Throughout this post I will discussing Queer's theory in the first 20 minutes of Mean Girls and what issues can arise from the use stereotyping.

Throughout the opening of Mean Girls there are a few homosexual stereotypes that are obvious for the audience, they are the gay best friend,butch and queen. These are present in the characters of Damien and Janice. These are noticeable by the tone of voice that the characters use, the clothing that is worn and the body language that they use. For the character of Damien the first time the audiene are introduced to him he asks about the colour of Cady's hair, this is unusual for a male character to comment on and this would make Damien look like a homosexual stereotype, and this stereotype is proven more in the film as the audience get to know the character even more. The other homosexual stereotype that is also present in this film is the butch lesbian , the character of Janice is this stereotype. Janice fits this stereotype as of the clothes she wears and how she acts around other people, the clothes she wears covers herself up compared to the other female characters clothing, the way she speaks to other characters is not what some people would consider ladylike and is the complete opposite of the way the other female characters talk to others.

The way these homosexual stereotypes are shown are through their clothing, their looks and their body language, as mentioned before Janice wears unfeminine clothes, with Damien he owns a prink top when Cady needs to wear a pink top she asks Janice for a pink top she doesn't have one but Damien does this is showing the stereotypes that they fit into and shows the difference between the stereotypes. Also Damien has a feminine tone of voice that fits in with his homosexual stereotype of being camp, whereas Janice has a deep voice that fits in with her being a butch lesbian stereotype. The body language is also helps to clarify what behaviour makes people which stereotype, for example Damien continually flicks his wrist which most people associate with homosexual men. Damien can be classified as the gay best friend as he is best friends with Janice and the queen as he is flamboyant in his actions. By having these two stereotypes as friends audiences can see the difference between the two.

There could be some issues with the representation of these stereotypes in films, as for some people it could be unrealistic as they are not like that. For example, some homosexual men are not overly camp and some lesbians are not butch. Some people could take offence how they are represented in films, but others could agree with the representation as they are like the stereotypes.

Feminism Film Theory in Alien.

Feminism Film theory in the ending scene of Alien.
When the ending scene begins the main character of Ellen Ripley, believing that she is safe from the alien, is readying herself to go home. The first shot is of her undressing and getting into different clothes for hyper sleep, As she takes her jacket off she is in the centre of the frame and is the main focus of the scene, this could be seen as the male gaze as she is the image that is being presented and we as the audience are positioned as if we are watching her undress. This continues as when she begins to take more clothes off the camera follows her, she takes her trousers off and the camera goes down as she bends down. There is a long time spent on Ripley when she undresses , the camera stays on her as she is the only character left and that she is undressing. The camera also never moves away from her she is the primary focus, but as this is the ending scene the fact that it is lingering on her for so long rather than cutting to the credits are hinting at the idea that something else is going to happen, as her escape from the Nostromo, spaceship, was to easy. When the alien appears the male gaze disappears as the tranquillity of the scene changes as she is in danger once again. When the alien appears it is meant to make people jump as the scene was set up perfectly so that the attention of the audience is focssed on Ripley that when the alien appears it is a shock as its unexpected as it is meant to be dead. 

Throughout the film and this scene Ripley is not seen in a typical stereoype way as she is not the damzel in distress as is usual for a woman to be, as she is the one character who has survived, in this scene she manages to kill the creature by getting it out of the ship, this is primarily a male stereotype's job, but this film is averting the usual stereotypes for women ny making her the hero of the film rather than something pretty to look at and eventaully watch die.

Scream Opening Sequence

Scream Opening Sequence

To begin with the screen starts off blank with music playing in the background, until the title comes onto the screen with a bang and a phone ringing, which could be a signifier that a phone call will be significant in this film, as well as a woman screaming when the title turns blood red connoting that someone is dying, as well as the sound of slashing knives, and what the film will be about. Once there is something visible on screen the screaming cuts out and there are no hints that something bad is happening when the character comes on screen to answer the phone. The character is revealed and she is a stereotypical horror character, as she is a wearing tight clothes and is acting dumb as is stereotypical for female characters to be. The conversation is pleasant even with the hint that a phone call is dangerous, the man on the end of the phone is not menacing to begin with. However the scream and the phone call audio at the beginning could arguably be signifying what is going to happen to the character. When the camera shows the house it is cut off from anywhere who could help if the character needed it, when that happens there is a tree with a swing that is swinging which is indexical as it is representing that someone has been there and that the woman is not completly alone.
When the man continually calls back they begin to converse about their favourite horror movies that involve knives to kill people, this is quite ironic that they are as that is how she will eventually die. The atmosphere and music alters when the man on the phone says 'I want to know who I'm looking at' as this is the point where everything changes, as something is not quite right. When the man on the phone begins to become angry that she keeps hanging the phone up on him, his tone of voice changes and his heavy breathing gives off an atmosphere that she is not safe as is usual for a horror film. The continual phone calls become iconic as that is the way that this killer taunts his victims throughout the rest of the film. When the girl attempts to lock herself in the house she looks out of a window and the window frame symbolically looks like prison bars and suggest that she is locked in the house and will not get out. Towards the end of the opening scene the more distressed the woman gets the more tense the music becomes and the popcorn that she is making is getting bigger and bigger symbolising her building fear.