Crime Film Genre

In our group of 3 we have decided to choose that our genre is going to be crime. A crime film is focused on the lives of criminals and it shows the audience the realistic portrayal to real-life criminal figures as a form of a 'Anti-Hero'. These criminal acts are usually glorified in movies and TV shows. The Crime genre can focus on protagonists side which can include; detectives, special agents, investigators, lawyers and the police. There are a variety of sub genres that fall within the crime film genre such as; Crime comedy, Crime thrillers, Film noir, Heist films, Hood films, Legal drama, Mob films, Mystery films and Police procedural. Some of the most popular films associated with crime include; Pulp Fiction, The Godfather and Reservoir Dogs. Some of the most popular crime TV shows are; Dexter, Luther and Breaking Bad.

Crime Film Conventions - Characters

In Crime films they are developed around the actions of criminals or gangsters which can include bankrobbers, hoodlums, criminal masterminds and underworld figures who are behind an organisation. These types of people tend to steal, murder or drug dealing their way into life.Criminals in films are usually street-smart, materialistic, ruthless, immoral and destructive. Some films featured countertypes of the criminals where they are seen as the protagonist in the films like in The Italian Job because the main characters are performing the heist.

The main character can have a female interest which is common in films, but in crime films there is a sense of danger because the main character needs to protect his female interest because a rival criminal/gang could kidnap/murder her just to get to the main character. Depending on where it is set or born some criminals may have an accent/dialect because it represents where they are from. It is stereotypical in gangster/mob films for the characters to have an  Italian accent/dialect because that is where the Mafia originated from. Costumes depending on the era when the film is set. For example a fedora hat and sharp suits would be used for gangster films in the 1940's.   

Age of Heroes and Gravity trailers

Age of Heroes

Genre - The audience can understand that this is a action/war film because in the trailer there are many action scenes involving guns, explosions and hand-to-hand combat which is stereotypical in war films to include these. The scenes are very useful to pinpoint to the audience what the genre is.

Narrative - Because this is a war film the plot line is very simple, which is to defeat the enemy. This is the Unique Selling Point (USP) because this is what war films consists of. This is shown visually, for example with the battle scenes and guns. The dialogue connotes to the audience what kind of characters they are, what their plan is (Operation Grendel) and who the enemy is. The titles show who one of the main characters is (Sir Ian Fleming) and his No. 30 Commando Unit. In the background of the titles there is a British and Nazi Germany flag which indicates to the audience who the enemy is.

Audience - This film trailer is for a male target audience because these kinds of films will attract the male audience to go and see it because they stereotypically like their action films and will interest them more than the female audience. The actor Sean Bean will appear recogniseable with some of the audience because he is very well known in Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings so that may attract the audience to see his latest work. The target ages will be from 16 years old. Because people from that age like action films but also because this is based on a true story it may appeal to those who like history and/or are aware of the Commando Unit so that can mean people who are middle-aged or over may want to go and watch it.

Representation - The film trailer represents to the audience that war is a world of violence due to amount of battle scenes and gunfire that are featured in the film. This also shows how it affects the soldier being in a war and it also represents patriotism because it shows the audience that they are fighting for their country and their determination and confidence to win the war over their enemies.

Media Language - The trailer also shows the settings of where is being taken place. The trailer shows trees surrounding the soldiers which indicate to the audience that they are in the forest. The majority of the clips shows the Unit in the snow which can imply to the audience that it is taken place in the winter. One of the titles says 'In 1942' and because it is a war film, this will tell the audience that it is set in World War 2. The non-diegetic music in the background is epic because it connotes the Commando Unit's to succeed in their mission and the battle scenes.

Gravity

Genre - This trailer indicates to the audience that it is a science-fiction drama film. The audience can tell its science-fiction because it is set in space and the main characters are 2 astronauts. This will attract to the target audience if they are interested in science-fiction films. 

Narrative - This trailer shows the story non-chronologically so it doesn't give too much away for the audience to not watch it. It shows an astronaut having to detach herself from the shuttle having being in a mid-orbit destruction and gets lost in space. The other astronaut has to rescue her and attempt to bring themselves back to Earth.

Audience -  The actor George Clooney and actress Sandra Bullock are the only on-screen characters in the film and they are very well known for their previous films. They have won awards in acting so that'll appeal to the audience that there is good quality acting featured in the film. This is why they are the USP. It indicates to the audience what the release date is so they are aware of when the film is coming out and also it is in 3D which will appeal to those of are fans of 3D technology. The makers of the film will want a mass audience to see this film.

Representation - One of the two main characters is a female astronaut, which is a countertype because astronauts are stereotypically male. This will appeal to the female audience knowing that the lead is female. She is represented as a mother because she wants to return back to Earth to see her daughter and that she is looks up to her. The main characters are very determined to complete the mission which connotes to them being heroic and trying ways to get back to Earth. This builds up the film suspense in the trailer because the audience want the main characters to complete the mission. 

Media Language - The editing in this trailer is fast paced to go along with the tension of the clips. The sounds and music are synced with the transitions and cuts to make the trailer more dramatic. There are many shots that are included in the trailer. One of them for example was the POV shot from the female astronaut telling us what she can see visually. She says she "can't see anything" and shows the audience what it looks like in space looking down on Earth. There are a few fade to black transitions with the sound of breathing and heartbeats synced to the shots cutting which builds up tension towards the audience. There is not much sound featured in the trailer because the trailer mainly focuses on the film's plot line and dialogue.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

This is a theory from sociologist Abraham Maslow's which was introduced in 1954 and it shows that human behaviour reflects a range of needs, which is ranked in order from basic needs to higher aspirations. These include; Physiological, Safety, Social (love/belonging), Self-esteem and Self-actualisation. When one need is fulfilled, then they proceed to the next stage of needs and then it progresses on from there, so it helps to understand what motivates people. Advertisers uses this theory to combine with demographics and lifestyle categories and it shows an insight to why consumers are attracted to certain products and advertisements. This helps to find their target audience and its groups of people.

Survivors - Those who want security and like routine.
Social climbers - Those who have a strong materialistic drive and like status symbols.
Care givers - Those who believe in 'caring and sharing'.
Explorers - Those for whom personal growth and influencing social change are important.

Stuart Hall Theories

Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist who came up with theories linking to how people think towards a media text such as the Reception theory and the encoding/decoding model

Reception Theory
This is when the audience will have different opinions towards a media text depending whether they have similar sociocultural backgrounds are likely to make similar readings. This is because if the audience's opinions, values and experiences can be related towards the producer's. They also depend on; who the audience is and what their social position is.

Encoding/Decoding Model
This model is used for communication between the producer and the audience through several stages which Stuart Hall called 'Moments'. This is to help with audience consumption because he considered that audiences as not only active but also a group of individuals rather than an undifferentiated 'mass'. The producer (encoder) will encode the media text while the audience (decoder) will decode it differently accordingly through interpretations, social situations and personal background. The first is the Moment of encoding which is the creation of the text, when forms, structures, codes and conventions are used to design a text with an intended meaning. The Moment of the text is the symbolic existence of the text as it is published. The  Moment of decoding is when the individual with a relatable set of values, opinions and experiences.

Preferred Reading
This is when the individual accepts and shares to the text's ideology, which is essentially likely to be their target audience because they have the same opinion and attitude as the producer.

Negotiated Reading
This is when the individual generally accepts the text and it puts them outside of their specific target audience because they may question the representations of the text because some parts won't relate to the individual's interests.

Oppositional Reading
This is when the individual completely disagrees with the text because their values and attitudes are very different from the producer, therefore there is no decoding and won't accept the whole text, possibly not even a little.

Propp and Todorov Theories

Propp

Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic born in 1895. In 1920 he was very interested in the narrative of folk tales. He analysed the basic structure of these folk tales because they were all very similar and developed a theory (Character theory). According to Propp, characters have a narrative function and provide a structure for the text. Character theories are very useful for academics and for researching to structure the different types of media and the roles of the characters.

Villain - The character who opposes and blocks the hero's quest.

Hero - The character who seeks something/weds the princess.

Donor - Someone who provides the object for the hero which could be magical.

Helper - Someone who aids the hero in the quest.

Princess - The character which is supposed a reward for the hero after defeating the villain and part of the                     villain's plans.

Father of Princess - Someone who rewards the hero.

False Hero - The character who takes credit/false claims for the hero's effort.

Dispatcher - The character who sends the hero off, possibly on a quest.

Propp example applied to a film/story – Shrek 2

Villain – Fairy Godmother = Wants Princess Fiona to be with her son Prince Charming.

Hero – Shrek = He is married to the Princess and tries to save the day.

Donor – Puss in Boots = Gives Shrek the love potion.

Helper – Donkey = He is beside Shrek during the whole film, aiding him in his quest.

Princess – Fiona = She is part of the villain's plan to get her to love Prince Charming instead to make him king.

Father of Princess – King Harold = In this film though, he does not like the Hero which can be seen as a countertype.

False Hero – Prince Charming = Because he tries to take credit for the Hero's actions and also pretends to be Shrek, when Shrek takes the love potion, taking him to his human form.

Dispatcher - King Harold = Asks the Hero to come to Far Far Away with the Princess.

Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov is a Bulgarian philosopher who was born in 1939. In the 1960’s Todorov pointed out that stories have 5 stages to a narrative. This is the narrative most “mainstream” films go by and is noticeable when these stages happen.

1     

            Equilibrium – (A normal/happy start)

2        A disruption of this equilibrium by an event – (A problem occurs)

3        A recognition that a disruption has happened - (Something can be done to stop the disruption)

4        An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption – (The problem is resolved)

5     A restoration to the equilibrium – (A happy ending)

Todorov example applied to a film/story –  Monsters Inc

Equilibrium - The main characters Sully and Mike do some training and then walk off to work. Sully then does his ordinary job or scaring kids. He beats his rival Randall to become the top scarer which makes him very happy. 
A disruption of this equilibrium by an event - While he finds some paperwork, he then comes across a door left behind on the scare floor. When he opens the door, a kid (Boo) escapes and then is in the monster world which is forbidden for human kids to be in. Soon enough everyone knows about the kid.
A recognition that a disruption has happened -  Sully and Mike try to find the door that Boo originally escaped from so everything can go back to normal but are caught out by their boss Mr Waternoose who is then a false hero, because he then becomes an antagonist alongside Randall and takes the kid away and puts Sully and Mike through a door taking them to the Himalayas. 
An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption - Sully and Mike escape and then they returned to the factory to rescue Boo by trying to finding her door. Randall soon is then defeated and so is also Mr Waternoose. But Boo has to be put back to her room which saddens Sully because the door would have to be destroyed.
A restoration to the equilibrium -  With Mr Waternoose gone, Sully and Mike are manager at the factory and come up with a plan to make kids laugh instead of scaring them, making it more cheerful. Soon Mike shows Sully Boo's door which has been rebuilt which also makes him very happy.

Film Magazine Front Cover 2nd Draft

This is an improved version of my original film magazine cover

• Visually it looks more balanced with better use of the space which was unused in the previous draft.
• I've moved the pictures from the bottom to the right, which has given me space to type in a description related to the film.
• The titles of the 3 other films are written in a variety of fonts and colours to create more a interesting look for the reader.
• The coverline 'Review of 2013' encourages the reader's interest in the reviews and news of the past year. I used to the colour yellow to emphasise its importance within the magazine.