Shot list part 1

Shot number	Shot	Filmed?
1	Medium Shot of Luke and Samie walking to a remote area.
2	Close up shot of Luke and Samie taking the drugs.
3	Close up shot of Luke and Samie Packing up the drugs in our bags.
4	Wide shot of Luke and Samie walking away from the remote area.
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Focus Groups

1)   Your chosen artist and song - Major Lazer – Roll The Bass

2)   Your music video treatment summarised in one paragraph. - 2 young boys are doing drugs as behaving crazily and mischievously in public while dancing. Then an undercover member of the authority pursuits them until one of the 2 young boys throw the drugs at the undercover officer and he then begins to act crazy and starts dancing just like the 2 boys.

3)   The feedback you received from another group-

Need to go on a sunnier day or bright day for a good establishing shot.

Maybe add some masks for the 2 boys to be discrete and hidden.

Wear an undercover outfit rather than a police officer outfit.

Use a thick powder as the drugs as it will be easily visible even on a gloomy day.

Think about timing as the song has a lot of drops that you need to have the right shots for.

What you plan to change/develop in terms of your video idea as a result of your audience research?

Music video treatment

Music video treatment

Project planning

Your name: Gus

Group members: Gus, Samie & Luke

Shortlist of five tracks (artist/song title) that you may use:

Major Lazer – Light it up

Major Lazer – Roll the bass

Macklemore - Wings

Eminem - Rap God

Coldplay – A sky full of stars

Selected track: Major Lazer – Roll the bass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5kJDWQSBUk

Music video treatment

Concept – sum up the music video in one sentence: 2 young boys are doing drugs as behaving crazily and mischievously in public while dancing.Then an undercover member of the authority pursuits them until one of the 2 young boys throw the drugs at the undercover officer and he then begins to act crazy and starts dancing just like the 2 boys.

Scene/location 1:
The first scene will be filmed at a very hidden area where the 2 young boys will be doing the drugs and then they will go into a more revealed and public area as they start acting crazy as the beat drops.(Northala Hills)

Scene/location 2:The second scene will be of the officer who will be looking around the general area and he spots the 2 boys from a distant he then approaches them and pursuits them across a very discrete area where the boys attempt to get away.

Scene/location 3:In the final scene the boys are cornered by the officers as one of the boys throws the powdered drug at the officer in attempt to drug the officer, and it works, they then all start dancing and acting crazy for the last drop.

Additional notes/scenes: -

Pace/colour/tone/feel of video: Fast paced and action-packed.

Essay

Introduction-The film I have chosen is ‘Spectre’   which is an Action-adventure Thriller. It is about a secret organisation called Spectre and Daniel Craig plays the part of James Bond who has to find the motive and links of Spectre while Ralph Fiennes, as M, is trying to politically stabilise the British spy organisation.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCYSun4hL4o

Institution-The film studios that created the film were MGM, Sony, B24 and Columbia Pictures with Sony as the copyright holder for the name ‘Spectre’. The film poster has an institutional blurb which mentions all of the Production companies and the stars of the film, and the main star is featured in the foreground of the film poster in a strong, confident pose. The trailer references ‘Skyfall’ which is effective because they have an established fan base for spy films, James Bond franchise films and can appeal to Daniel Craig fans. The poster features a predominant 007 logo instead of the actors name which signifies that it is a successful established brand. Similarly, the trailer features action footage before the name checks of the institutional information at 0.23 seconds where MGM and Columbia Pictures feature, establishing the film as associated with successful, dominant institutions. At the end of the trailer the 007 logo is again associated with the name of the film.

The film poster features the main stars full names which gives them credibility. The film poster has an intimidating picture of Daniel Craig with a gun, this is effective because it indicates that this is an action film and audiences will expect there to be violence. The trailer doesn’t mention the actor’s names as the fans will be familiar with the franchise. The USP of the film poster is that the background gives away hints about what the film could be about as it is a man in a skeleton suit, which can also be seen in the trailer, this creates synergy for the audience.

Narrative Theory and textual analysis-This film trailer doesn’t follow Todorov’s Theory of Equilibrium so it is a subversive action film. It starts off with disequilibrium: chaos and disruption in Mexico City when Bond blows up a building. You could argue that the equilibrium is established when James comes back to England to discuss plans for his next mission, therefore anticipating further disequilibrium and danger. Although we do not see the equilibrium restored (New Equilibrium) in the trailer, there are hints at moments of triumph for the hero and an established audience would expect for the mission to be successful according to previous narrative arcs.

Propp’s character theory argues that each character conforms to a set role with stereotypical characteristics. The hero/protagonist is James Bond who is a conventional hero with features such as: well built, strong, skilled, intelligent and brave, constantly carrying out dangerous missions for the good of his country. The Father figure is M who is a wise and experienced man who looks much older than James and gives him guidance, he also tells off James of for doing the wrong things. Q can be seen as a Donor as he supplies James with equipment for him to overcome the villains, he can be seen as a ‘nerdy’ figure as he is always inventing gadgets for the British Spies. 

Barthes argued that all films have action codes and enigma codes.  This film follows these codes, some enigma codes can be carried on from previous Bond films such as ‘SkyFall’ ; ‘What happens to M?’ or ‘Does Moneypenny survive?’. Action codes are used in this film as the audience expects there to be action and fighting between the antagonist and protagonist. Some examples of action codes used in this film are; 'James Bond kills the European' and 'James Bond and the heroine are in a relationship.’ A key scene and/or rich moment from the trailer are at 0:18 when James Bond destroys a building and kills an antagonist. He shoots a gun at the building leading to a huge explosion.

Gender is represented in this film through the depiction of a strong, well-built man who plays the part of 'James Bond'. He is represented as a brave hero which is a typical characteristic for a protagonist, particularly this representation is conforming to other heroes in action film as he stays alive and defeats and overcomes evil; however you could argue that he isn’t the typical American protagonist with huge muscles and limited intelligence as he shows his superiority as a skilled spy. 

Females are represented as attractive women (A conventional feature in action films where females are traditionally less developed) but are also strong and can fight, this hints to the audience that the females play a part in defeating the villain and are therefore more subversive than archetypal heroines who's only function is as the love interest. Moneypenny is equated to Bond in terms of ability and bravery therefore this subverts the usual expectation that an audience would have of female characters in this genre. London is represented as the typical, sophisticated city with deliberate emphasis given to its slick, elegant side because this re-enforces the representation of the hero's personality. European people are represented as villains in this film as the main antagonist is French. They are the typical leaders of quite private groups who terrorise the world secretly.

The film promotion for spectre was extremely effective as it gave the film more attention. Aston Martin really promoted then film by releasing a car which was featured in the film. Spectre’s estimated budget was $245 000 000 and so far it has earned $198,500,048.

Representation Analysis

Gender is represented in this film through the depiction of a strong, well-built man who plays the part of 'James Bond'. He is represented as a brave hero which is a typical characteristic for a protagonist, particularly this representation is conforming to other heroes in action film as he stays alive and defeats and overcomes evil; however you could argue that he isn’t the typical American protagonist with huge muscles and limited intelligence as he shows his superiority as a skilled spy. 

Females are represented as attractive women (A conventional feature in action films where females are traditionally less developed) but are also strong and can fight, this hints to the audience that the females play a part in defeating the villain and are therefore more subversive than archetypal heroines who's only function is as the love interest. Moneypenny is equated to Bond in terms of ability and bravery therefore this subverts the usual expectation that an audience would have of female characters in this genre.

 London is represented as the typical, sophisticated city with deliberate emphasis given to its slick, elegant side because this re-enforces the representation of the hero's personality.

European people are represented as villains in this film as the main antagonist is French. They are the typical leaders of quite private groups who terrorise the world secretly.

Institutional background
Use IMDB to find out the institutions behind Independence Day. Click on Company Credits and then look for the production company and UK distributor.

1) What was the film studio or production company behind Independence Day? E.g. Warner Brothers, Paramount etc. 
The production company behind Independence Day was Stargate.
2) Who was the distributor for the theatrical release of the film in the UK?
The distributor for Independence day was 20th Century Fox.
Genre and Media language analysis
1) What sub-genre of Science Fiction does Independence Day fit into? What issues or fears in society might be addressed in the film?

2) How can you tell it fits that sub-genre? Be specific with reference to specific clips or scenes from the film.

3) How does the narrative (storyline) of the film fit the Science Fiction genre?

4) Who are the main characters in Independence Day and why might they appeal to an audience?

5) How does the mise-en-scene in Independence Day fit the Science Fiction genre?


Release date and marketing campaign
1) What was the UK release date for your chosen film?

2) Find the trailer for Independence Day, embed it in your blog and explain why it might appeal to an audience. 

3) What other examples of marketing can you find on Google for Independence Day (film poster, teaser trailers, main trailers, newspaper reviews or TV interviews etc.)



Critical reception
1) What is the IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes rating for Independence Day?

2) What is the word-of-mouth like for Independence Day? Use the IMDB user review rating or the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating to judge whether the public rate the movie.

3) Find three quotes (no more than 25 words each) from user reviews of Independence Day and post them on your blog.


Box office success
Use IMDB to find out the box office records for Independence Day. Click on Company Credits and then Box Office/Business. You may also want to use the excellent website Box Office Mojo to find out the budget and box office success for the film.

1) What was the original budget for Independence Day?

2) How much money did Independence Day make in the opening weekend?

3) How much money has Independence Day made in total? (Look for the subheading ‘Gross’ which has the total box-office earnings listed).

4) For a film to be considered a box office success, it needs to make at least two-and-a-half timesthe budget in box office takings. Using this method, was Independence Day a success at the box office? 


Stars and director
Research the stars and director for Independence Day.

1) What other films has the director made? Are they in the same or similar genres?

2) Who is the main star of Independence Day?

3) What other films has the main star appeared in? Are any of those films similar to Independence Day? Are any of them Science Fiction films?

4) Are the stars or the director or writer mentioned in the trailer for Independence Day?


Audience pleasures
1) What specific aspects of Independence Day would an audience enjoy?

2) Identify three key moments in the film that audiences would particularly enjoy and explain the audience appeal for these key scenes. Use media language in your analysis.

3) Which characters in Independence Day would particularly appeal to different audience types? Use specific examples from the film to support your points.

4) Write a detailed demographic breakdown of the possible target audience for Independence Day. Include age, gender, social class, education, job/earnings, where they live, what they enjoy in their spare time and brands they are attracted to.

Plans

1) Brainstorm ideas for a new Science Fiction film aimed at a family audience. Plan out the following:

1. Issue/fear that drives the storyline (e.g. alien invasion, contagious disease, overpopulation etc.) -My issue/fear that will feature/drive my movie is a contagious disease called The Flux.
2. Title and tag line - The Flux , Run before it gets you. 
3. Logline – summing up the film in one ‘hook’ sentence - As mad scientist Dave's experiment goes wrong , The Flux spreads across the Seven Seas infecting everything in its way. 
4. Other successful Science Fiction films similar to your idea - Other Sci-Fi films that are similar to my idea 'The Happening' and 'Outbreak'.
5. The narrative elements / plot and the sub-genre of Science Fiction it fits into - A narrative element for 'The Flux' is fear of contagion as there is an international fear that people near you might have the disease.Another narrative element is fear of mutation as the disease infects humans and the infected humans try to infect the people closest to them.The plot is a scientist experimenting on a dead corpse accidentally finds a horrible disease. The disease then becomes an international fear which drives peoples crazy and it becomes an every man for himself situation.The sub-genres that 'The Flux' fits into contagion and mutation.
6. Location: the setting of the film and how this fits the Science Fiction genre -This film starts in a science lab in Texas but then the disease spreads world wide and becomes an international disease. This ties in with the Sci-Fi genre as it is set in a crazy scientists lab.
7. The hero / heroine and their appeal to the audience - The protectionist is a student who is studying science in school and he thinks he can get raid of the virus. His appeal to the audience is that he is a young student who is still at school so the audience is able to relate to him.
8. The conflicts the hero / heroine encounters during the film (can be physical, moral or internal)
9. Other characters and their role in the film
10. Presentational style: The look, style and feel of the film e.g. will it feature 3D? Visual and Sound FX? CGI? 

2) Which of the aspects of the brief have you successfully included in your idea? (Note: you do not need to include all but must include at least two of these aspects.)

• Futuristic Earth setting
• Another planet such as Pluto or Mars
• Outer space or set on a spaceship
• Issues of genetic engineering, cloning or AI
• Changing people, robot technology or how people may develop in future through scientific advancement- The disease changes people by slowly killing them and nobody , but 1 person knows how to cure the disease

3) How will you make your film popular with a family audience?

I will offer visceral pleasures in my film such as letting the audience relate with the protagonist and featuring a family in the film.

4) Plan a marketing campaign for your film: trailers and video content, social media, apps, tied-in merchandising, franchise opportunities (e.g. sequels, spin-offs etc.)

5) Prepare for the creative task in the exam. Plan, sketch and draw the following:

• Logo and graphic identity for your new Science Fiction film
• Film poster
• Website homepage for your Science Fiction film
• Storyboard for a 30 second trailer for the film. Use this AQA storyboard sheet if you don't pick up a paper copy in class.