Monday 20 February 2012

Justin Bieber's 'Never say never'




How is the trailer constructed in order the engage the audience


The Justin Bieber film trailer 'Never say never' is specifically constructed in a certain way in order to engage the audience. Firstly his most iconic song 'Baby' which has had over 707 million views on youtube, is the song that is played throughout, This is because to everyone who likes or dislikes Justin Bieber you instantly know the song and who it is associated with. It wouldn't engage the audience instantly if a less known song was played for this trailer.
Another way this trailer engages the audience is they inclusive language towards the audience such as "But you never stopped believing" and "You discovered." It makes the audience seem some sense of pride and happiness. They see these phrases and feel engaged and feel apart of such a phenomenon. The texts also help move along the trailer but also engage the audience. It says "Get Closer" and "Experience his world" its like exclusive access which engages the audience and makes it seem personal.
The first image we see is a home video of Justin at his home. This specifically engages the audience as again it gives it a personal feel and a new insight to this young stars life. These home videos are shown throughout engaging the audience.

How is Justin Bieber represented in the trailer?


Justin Bieber throughout the trailer is represented as a somewhat ordinary kid with a amazing lifestyle. This is shown through the text as her is said to be a ordinary kid. It is as if he is being represented as one of us, a member of the audience watching this trailer. As if he is not much different to the audience.
He is also represented as a celebrity who is still in touch with his fans and remember his roots, as we see scenes with him and his fans and his friends just being a normal kid. The quotes of fans saying he is an inspiration to us shows that he is being represented as more than just a music artist. He is alsobeing represented as a normal teenager with a character and not a arrogant celebrity as it shows him doing 'kid stuff' such as on the electric scooters, player basketball and messing around.
The camera angles of Justin Bieber are also specifically chosen to support the idea of him being like a normal kid. When there are shots of him being a normal kid it is a normal close up shots as if we are equal and the same as him. However in the scenes of him in concert, most of them are low angle shots showing that in concert it is about him and he is in control yet, he still engages in the camera re-enforcing the idea that we still have the exclusive access and he is still in touch with the fans.

What audience is this film targeted at?


This film is clearly for Justin Bieber fans, also known as 'Beleibers', as they are the type of audience who would want to go out and get a better insight of their favourite stars life. Exclusive access to Justin Bieber's life is something a beleiber dreams of, however i believe this film or trailer is not targeted specifically for them as they are most likely to watch this film anyway. I believe this film & trailer is targeted for a audience who have a negative perception of Justin Bieber already. It's been set out to change the views of the people who dislike him. They represent him as a normal kid "like you or me." This quote is said in the trailer as if whether we like it or not. The frequent shots of him interacting with his devoted fans and giving money to a girl on the road playing for music are all shown in an attempt for the target audience to think, well maybe he is not so bad after all. His inspirational quote at the end re-enforces this a he said "There is going to be a time where people tell you, you can't live your dream, this is what i tell them: Never say never." Every person would like to follow their dreams and by him saying this it allows the target audience to agree and maybe think he is just like me and his is just a ordinary kid.

How does this film reflect positively on MTV films?


MTV films normally do films that have a comedy element to it, violence or serious films. This is a new and different light on MTV films as this film attempts to tell young people to chase their dreams and evidently 'Never say never.' It's different to other artists films that MTV have produced like 50 cent's' get rich or die tryin' which contains a lot of drugs, violence and sex. Promoting 'Never say never' reflects positively as parents can see that this media institution is influencing young people to do something good and productive. This proved successful as it is one of MTV films most profitable films in terms of revenue.

 





Thursday 12 January 2012

Analysis of a documentary DVD cover

My analysis is on 'Frozen Planet'  Frozen Planet is a nature documentary series, co-produced by the BBC, the Discovery Channel and The Open University. It was filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. The how has been popular throughout the seven series and has raised awareness of the world and the environment we live in.


BBC Frozen Planet

This is the front cover of the seven series of the show. We can clearly see that this penguin is being filmed and it is not aware as the attention is of the animal is not focused on the camera. This is a characteristic of a observational documentary, it can be a bit like secretly filming. The specific  image of the penguin standing alone with no peers focuses our attention to the penguin and forces us to ask questions. As this is a documentary it main real function is to inform us, educate us on this particular subject. Our initial question should be answered during the filming of the documentary. The clear shot of the penguin and its surrounding to some people could be consider a breathtaking image. The quality of the photo, the focus of the penguin the background all looks amazing encouraging people to watch this documentary hopefully planning to inform them.   

The photo at the back of the DVD cover of one of the camera men in a huge jacket with his hood on in the freezing cold, in the snow. This re-enforces the idea of the documentary style DVD, as it shows to the audience that people were there filming it and there with the animals trying to make this documentary. It also shows the hard work gone into the production of the documentary, the conditions at times could of possibly been unbearable and for the outcome to be a successful 7 part series is a great accomplishment . The other back images show more animals with amazing pictures encourages people again to watch the DVD. The picture with the whales at the back of the cover, the background of it shows some melted ice. This again is a trigger for the audience to ask questions and where the informative side also comes into question. The real aim of the documentary is for people to become more aware of the environment we live in, and hopefully to take care of it more.

The information on the back gives an insight to what we can expect in the DVD. This is an important feature as the before purchasing you know what you are in for and if it is your type of thing. It says "Narrated by Sir David Attenborough and the award winning team that brought your Planet Earth and Blue Planet." This is key as they have referred to the other shows that they produce and film so if you enjoy this, they can expect you to buy the other two. Sir Attenbourough who has done similar nature documentaries since 1979 (well the most memeroable one Life on Earth) and with the use of the words 'Award winning' gives us a sense that the team is very professional, hard working and essentially well regarded by others if the have been rewarded for their work. There are many other narrators of the documentary but they used the best known persons name a he clearly i.s a well regarded and important figure if he has been knighted by the Queen. This automatically tells the audience that his work is of importance of excellence to the country. Towards the end it says "Before they change forever due to Global Warming" This again makes us feel we have to be aware of what is happening and encourages us to buy and be informed about the world and if this is an issue, it gives us a chance to witness these amazing creatures while we can. 

Overall the DVD cover gives a insight to what you can expect and reasons why it should be bought. This is clear that this documentary is one of the most famous and these aspects all contribute to it.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

E-Media

Super 8 Sky Movies rewiew
http://movies.sky.com/super-8/review
Super 8 Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpzUCA5i6zY
 Twitter
(@Super8Movie)

Twitter is a social networking site used by celebrities and people around the world. Super 8 have set up thier own Twitter page with inofrmation about the DVD, Extras and personal pictures and information about the cast. This is mainly to attract the younger audience as they are the ones that mainly have a Twitter account. The day of the release on DVD the movie was trending on Twitter meaning the whole world was talking about it.

Facebook
Super 8 | Facebook
Similar to the Twitter, Facebook is a more popular Social networking aite where a super 8 page has been Set up also having this same feautures as the Twitter account. This is a bonus as people and youngsters who do not have Twitter can have the page 'liked' on Favebook still being kept up to date.
Broadcasting

The David Letterman show
Hit List TV Interview
An brief advertisment was played  during a super bowl half time, watched by millions of veiwers expanding promotion. This was signifcantly shorter trailer to grip the audience by showing high impact scenes.

Print

Bilboard poster

Quite an ambiguous poster encouraging the audience to find out more.
Teaser poster




The Guardian Newspaper Reveiw. 

A well regarded newspaper such as the guardian, gave film a 3 star rating which is reasonably good. However it was described as "slightly disappointing" as it was regarded as just a "remake of other films put into one movie"

Super 8 information


DVD Release
The film was released 22/11/11 on Blue-Ray and DVD. The release included a combo pack released with a digital copy including extra scenes and deleted scenes.


Comic Spin off
The film after the movie release then made a comic book spin off of the movie super 8. it was illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards and is available to download, buy and read online.
 

I Phone App

The i phone app on super is a handy application available to all for free to download and it is just a mimic of what a super 8 camera would look like. You can edit, cut and adjust what you can see through the camera. This handy application is targeted at young people as it gives a chance for them to fiddle about with their phone and application

Blogs and different opinions.

Of course being a film there will be different opinions on the film. Good, bad and ugly. By Myerla who 'blgged' about the film on the BBC page regarded it as the perfect family film and recommended it to all. However by on other blogs and i quote "its silly and terribly predictable. The CGI was sloppy and out of control"



Monday 21 November 2011

Lighting Techniques



This image is a classic example of what we call film nior, a term used to describe the stylish side to Hollywood crimes in a movie. This was mainly popular in 1940's & 1950's. The idea was a low key lighting, black and white and a sense of ambiguity of certain characters. This can also be used with harsh lighting to create a shadow on the character as shown in the image which is also known as chiaroscuro.
The use use of the high key lighting and low key in the same seen could connote a double side to this character, with his hate being down shows a sense of mystery to the audience. His dark coloured clothing and the prop of a cigarette suggests to us that he is not the kindest of characters and is related to some sort of crime. Most of this is told to us simply by the chiaroscuro lighting effect.
The dark lighting in the background gives the a negative atmosphere also re-enforcing the idea of crime and negativity.


Rihanna Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIOoqfk2lzk


The 1 minute 46 second commercial has a variety of lighting techniques. The first thing we instantly see is that it is set in a car park. The low key lighting suggests a sense of sense and ambiguity. This is also re-enforced as the commercial is clearly filmed in black and white.
The low key lighting in the back of the car again gives a sense of mystery for the audience wondering who this person in my back is. There are some brief flashes of light on the company 'Armarni Jeans' symbol in the car, advertising the item of clothing being put on and also brief flashes of light on key sexual parts of her body such as the breasts and legs of the character.. Once this person has got out the car and the face is revealed the light is chanced and becomes a slightly higher key light effect on this persons face emphasizing the fact that it is none other than the amazing, multi- talented & sexual appealing Rihanna.

Tuesday 25 October 2011

The 'Super 8' film review.

The Spielberg produced movie 'Super 8' was a little short off a good film in my opinion. The film lacked substance and the thin story line was very predictable. After the train crash an figure of authority comes to warn the human race that there is a danger and they must be careful. Yawn, heard it all before.

Take nothing away from the young actors such as: Joel Courtney who played the main character Joe lamb, Elle fanning who played Alice Dainard and the geeky clan of young actors were vibrant and witty. however not even the bright young sparks could draw me away from how dull the and predictable the storyline was. With the title being named 'Super 8' a lot more reference should have been made to what it actually was. Forgive me for being harsh but it didn't feel like it was set in 1979 other than the over obvious retro cars.

Good points about this film; the 50 million dollar explosions did help the film get along and keep the audience excited and even at times at the edge of there seats. The male gaze of Amanda Michalka drew the young teenagers into the story a lot more. Again the acting of the youngsters was next to nothing, sticking to the stereotype 'geeks save the day' theme. Also the back story of the death of Joe Lamb's mother was quite interesting and it also helped us sympathise the young boy throughout the film as he continuously clashed with his father.

The real question we have to ask ourselves is the originality of this film. Monsters, small town in America being hid the truth, a romance and gang of children it's simply all been done before in one way or another. 'The Goonies' 'ET' and 'Stand by me' are all great films and also great examples of the lack of originality the film offered.

Overall i would giver 'Super 8' half of that. A resounding 4 out of 10. It's something i wouldn't want to waste money on and i could of really wrote myself.

Reece Charles 'Bouss' Jones.