ASSIGNMENT BANK 2: Film Posters

1) What are the typical codes and conventions of film posters – what information does the audience expect to find?

2) What devices and techniques have been used to produce the poster e.g. special effects?

3) What is the genre of the film? Explain in detail how you figured this out. You can refer to mise-en-scene e.g. location, setting, facial expressions, body language, particular special effects, props and colour.

4) Why has the title been designed this way? What can it tell you about the film? What can the audience expect?

5) What overall impression does the poster give the audience about the film. What type of atmosphere is being created?

6) Who do you think would be interested in going to see this film? Does it seem to have any unique selling points? What seems to be the main selling points (actor? Director? Special effects? Politics? )

7) How are characters represented in the poster?

8) How is the setting represented?

9) Which film company produced this film? It is a major Hollywood company or an Independent company? Where did the film company place the posters? (you may need to use the internet to answer these questions, IMDB is a good place to start!)

ASSIGNMENT BANK 2: Film Trailer Analysis

Viral Trailer Questions – 500 words! You can use print screens to support your answers.

Find the full viral trailer for the film on IMDB and answer these questions:

1) What are the typical codes and conventions of film trailers - what information is usually provided? In what order is the information given? (you could provide a timeline like the one we did in class)

2) How might this trailer appeal to the audience? Does it have a unique selling point or use particular techniques? Who is the audience?

3) What are the advantages of using a viral trailer to promote a film over using a poster campaign?

4) Do you get a better idea about what the film is about from the trailer than from the poster? Why is this? What extra information do you get from the trailer? Does this make the film more desirable to the audience?

5) How has the genre been represented through characters, settings, lighting, colour, music, camera shots/movements/angles and editing?

6) How are trailers produced and distributed?

Evaluation

You must produce an 800 word reflection of your magazine production coursework. Use these prompts as a guide:


• how the aims of the production have been met
(explain what your initial aim was and say if you think that your magazine has met these initial aims)

• how the product applies appropriate codes and conventions and uses appropriate media language
(to what extent do your pages follow magazine layout conventions and how did the language you use reflect the genre and audience?)


• how the product represents people, places or events
(look at your images and explain how you have represented the person or place through camera shot and mise-en-scene)

• where and when the product would be exhibited


• what regulations and controls might be applied to the product and how these have been taken into consideration
(think about the impact that the PCC and copyright laws may have on your magazine and what you have done/could do to meet the regulations)

• the strengths and weaknesses of the product in terms of meeting the needs of its audience.
(to what extent did you meet the audience’s needs. Specify three positive aspects and three areas to improve in the future)

Researching the PCC

Research the role of the PCC. This research should be quite brief at around 400 words.

1. What are the main aims of the PCC?
2. Provide one example of a case the PCC has dealt with and what the outcome was.
3. How might the PCC regulation impact on the magazine you are going to make? What considerations might you have to take into account?


http://www.pcc.org.uk/index.html

Researching Magazine Publishers

Many media publications are produced by multi-media companies for example Bauer (who recently bought EMAP).Bauer is the company responsible for Kerrang, Q and Mojo. The company also publishes around another 150 magazine titles as well as ownership of 40 commercial radio stations (including Magic and Kiss FM) and 7 digital music TV channels (The Box, Hits).

Multi-media ownership has obvious implications for the production of music publications. The successes of Kerrang! and Q have resulted in offspring radio and TV channels. IPC is another major player within the British publishing world. IPC Media’s magazine portfolio includes NME, Uncut, TV Times, Marie Claire, Loaded and Nuts. Future Publishing is another leading music magazine production with a range that includes Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Guitarist, DJ, Total Guitar and Computer Music. The company started out publishing computer-related magazine and has gradually expanded into other entertainment coverage including Total Film and SFX.It is quite clear that IPC Media and Bauer dominate the magazines market in Britain.

BBC magazines are also key players that incorporate magazine publishing with their radio and television output. Each conglomerate is able to use different media ‘arms’ of their company to promote their product.

Task 1:Research the following publishers:Bauer, IPC Media, BBC magazines and Development Hell

·Locate the official website of these companies and any related materials you can find on the internet

·Identify the key characteristics of the companies and their magazine profiles – what types of magazine do they produce (mainstream/niche)? Who makes up their target audiences (age, gender, socio-economic status)? What is the brand image?Are there any links between production of magazines and other media e.g. TV channels, websites etc?

Analysing Magazine Articles

This is just an example of a feature article. You should use your own example for the magazine you have been analysing. If you have a magazine I can scan the images in for your before next lesson. Use the questions below to help you to analyse the feature article. If your article is longer than 2 pages just use 2:

1) What does the choice of artist featured in the article suggest who the target audience is?

2) What type of language is used in the article? Is the language used informal (e.g.slang that the audience will understand) or does it have a more academic quality? Give examples of words or phrases which are specific to the style of the magazine.

3) What tone does the magazine use to address the reader (as a close friend, a member of an 'in' crowd or an informed intelligent fan?) - provide evidence

4) What style of text is used? What font do you think it is (Sans Serif is commonly used)

5) How is the interview laid out? Are various entry points used and why?

6) How are the pages laid out? How much of the pages are taken up by images and how much by text? How does this reflect the audience?

7) How is the artist/band presented to the audience through the images? How is meaning achored through the caption? You may wish to carry out a textual analysis looking at mise-en-scene and camera shot used. Are they posed images in a studio or are they live shots at a concert or sports event?

8) How does the style of the article match the style of the front cover? Is a house style being developed across all the pages you have analysed?

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