Media Theories - Taken Trailer

Todorov:

                       The first equilibrium: Kim (the daughter) is going on holiday with her friend, Amanda. They are going to Paris and everything is balanced and happy. The two 17-year-olds are deceived by a French man who is working with an Albanian group - this leads to them being kidnapped and taken - this is the interruption to the equilibrium. Kim gets saved by her father- this is the final equilibrium and leaves things balanced and resolved.

Propp: 

                 The father, Bryan Mills, is played by Liam Neeson - this character is made out to be a very representative, conventional protagonist (strong, brave) and main character. Kim, played by Maggie Grace, is made out to be the heroine since she is the person Bryan is trying to save. The Albanians and Arabic group are classic antagonists because they are malicious and do not care for others. 

Barthes:

                     The trailer is created so that the audience is thinking whether he saves his daughter or not and if he deceases in the process. The use of short snippets and the run through phone call makes you want to know what the outcome is. The relentless build up of tension (action codes) brings you to the final enigma - does he save his daughter?

Taken - Representation Analysis

Non-American people are portrayed as aggressive, nefarious and sinful. This is shown through the plot and the character roles: the foreigners capture loads of girls and make them prostitutes or products to make them money. The Albanian traffickers are seen as pitiless and vicious because they use them for their own benefit and do not care for their feeling. The Arabic ‘pimps’ are seen as avaricious and sly as they acquire and auction for women who are virgin. This could possibly be because the U.S audience views non-Americans of a mysterious other to be afraid of - fraudulent and devious. Also, they could be implying that 17 year old girls should not be wondering around in foreign cities (even tourist attractions such as Paris) by themselves as it is perilous. In addition, this could show that Americans think that non-Americans believe in inequality towards women and have trades such as this major one which threatens the lives of many young, mainly innocent girls. 

News Research PPES

Research

News Programmes

Newsround:

Basic Info: 4:20 on weekdays

Presenters: A mixture but mainly Helen Skelton and Ore Oduba.

News Stories covered: Frozen Wonderland, Ebola Doctors and Brazilian floods

Use of graphics: Used to display the pictures (related to the news stories) as well the intro which is crafted with only graphics and animation.

Modern Technology: The have a Twitter profile but as Newsround is made for young children, they do not focus on social media tags.

Encouragement: A very fun presenter and loads of bold colours. They also review the stories at the beginning so people are aware of what the bulletin will be about.

Institution: Created by the BBC and is displayed on CBBC. This institution is funded through tax as it is the first channel and it does not display any advertisements.

Target Audience: This would be mostly viewed by young children (5-10) but they try to target it to teenagers. This is not targeted to a particular gender so I would have to say it is a 50/50 split.

60 Second News (BBC3)

Basic Info: Normally played during most watch TV Shows.

Presenters: There is no specific presenters

News Stories covered: Frozen Wonderland, Brazilian Floods and Rolph Harris.

Use of graphics: Everything is displayed on tablets and the presenter will always stand in front of a green screen which is normally edited to fit the stories or logo.

Modern Technology: They have social media profiles and there is always the use of tablets (animated) which normally ‘play’ videos related to the story.

Encouragement: Quick and simple – only a minute long

Institution: Funded by the BBC

Target Audience: Aimed for teenagers and young adults who want a simple bulletin telling them everything they need to know – which is current. The presenters are also seen wearing casual clothing which falls in to the current casual fashions. 

Planning News (PPE PREP)

News Research

Plan

1)       

Title: Real Talk

Channel, time and day: Shown on Sky 1 at 6:15pm on weekdays and 5pm on the weekend.

Length and Structure:  15 minutes long. Programme will always start recapping stories. They will do the main story (containing one interview) then the lighter news (including weather).

Presenter(s): Main presenter is a young woman named Anna Lime. The weather girl is also young and is called Toni Nish. The presenter (who goes on the outside) is a young man named Ben Manine.

Types of news: Will cover a wide range of news but only about London however there will be some major stories from around the world. On the lighter news, it will include the weather forecast and celebrity news – the lighter news will only review things which involve or appeal to teenagers. Also includes news about Sky 1.

Brand Identity: 

Title: Real Talk

Logo: Real Talk (extension of the L and K) or RT with extended letters.

Slogan: Your Future Today

Colour Scheme: Blue, pink and silver.

Package: Will very modernized and use blocks and different shapes which merge together. The studio will have a large white sofa, a table which says the logo and Sky 1. There will not be much graphics but include a breaking news bar which will cover topics from around the world. Social media characters will also be placed near a clock.

2)

Opportunities and Interaction:

Will include social media activity - #RealTalk or @R.T

Includes opportunities for the audience to get involve i.e. GiveAways and competitions.  

Movie Idea - Break of Dawn

 Break of Dawn

Genre: Action/Thriller/Drama

When dawn rises, the city of Washington is under attack by a terrorist group named Snake Eye (SE). A skilled agent, Dawn Louis, is at the rescue as she follows the SE and gets a group of stranded civilians to help her gain the city’s power after bombs have been dropped and guns have been fired. The President and the government are all killed and the terrorists launch chemical bombs to drug the public. Using the money in the White House, the terrorists manage to connect to the UK, France, Germany and the rest of America. Shortly after, the leader of SE (unknown) kills the agent and her group, launches a nuclear bomb to kill out the whole of America. The movie ends with the leader speaking to Europe through America’s technology, saying the words ‘You’re next’. 

Change of Film- Taken

Taken

I have changed the film to Taken as I have more interest in this genre. The film poster, with a cover/central image of Liam Neeson.

Cover
 Liam Neeson is an experienced action themed actor who stars in films such as Star Wars, Clash of the Titans and Batman Begins- he is seen holding a gun (connoting action and violence) and a leather jacket which gives him a mysterious effect. Secondary images include a girl and almost a photo stream of key moments, displaying some actors.The title is written in the middle, in front of the actor which makes it stand out, The tagline is long but effective, it reads "They have taken his daughter, he will hunt them, he will find them and he will kill them". Which automatically connotes death and crime. You can see that this film fits in a Action and Crime because of his gun and the fact that he will 'kill' them. The critic review is simple and states "The best action flick since Bourne". Bourne is a sequel of action films which all are rated strongly on IMDB. The fact that it says it is better makes people who have seen the Bourne collection challenge their knowledge. The production blurb is the institutional facts and where you can see it (September 26).

Film Trailer
The film trailer is a assortment snapshots of the film, all revolving around phone conversations. The film was made by Fox and Eurocorp. It was very fast paced but didn't give away too much about the film- it gave the main gist and the things which you must understand. It introduces all the main actors-Liam Neeson (Star Wars, Batman), Famke Janssen (X Men) and Maggie Grace (Twilight). It also reviews the director, Pierre Morel (Before Sunset). It tells us that it will be released in September and gives us an overview of the film. It doesn't give away much but makes the audience understand that this film is about a kidnapping and revenge.

The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street

DVD  COVER ART 

I chose the Wolf of Wall Street because I am confident about all of the inferences and connotation; I watched the trailer for an insight and I think I have loads to say. As it is so popular, I believe I will be able to research quickly and easily without digging through information to get further information.

Institutional Background: This film was produced by Paramount Pictures who worked along side with Red Granite Pictures to create this film. 

Universal Pictures International is responsible for the distribution of this film.

No Brand Loyalty: This film fits into the Biographical genre as it is based on a book, based on a person. Also, this film has elements of Crime and Comedy. I think it will fit into Crime because of the amount of money being thrown around - it connotes suspicious as it hasn't been put into a bank account - it is lying around everywhere . I reckon that this also fits into the Comedy genre because of the use of parties and the actor Jonah Hill who is mostly in Comedy movies due to his talent of humour. The movie I have chosen is not a sequel but is promoted by the director : Martin Scorsese who is known to be an award winner. The Oscar Nominees Jonah Hill and Leonardo Dicaprio also appeal to people who enjoyed previous movies. 

Its All a Matter of Timing: The UK release date for this film was 17th of January 2014 and was a big hit in the theatres. The first trailer released was by Paramount Pictures (the one above) on the 16th of June 2013 (linking for the American release). Posters, like the one below, were released in time for this to advertise it. 

It's a Social Thing: The rating for this movie (IMDB) is 8.3 which is successful for a movie which is Biographical. Also rated 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Amazing film which I enjoyed every single moment. However, I think that it should contain less swearing!!" Sammy.

"Little bit too dramatic but hilarious!!" Sitman123,

"But then again – I guess it is a comedy. So the infamous Quaalude scene is not horrific but rather hilarious, the scenes of excess and of criminality are not equally appealing and repulsive " Anonymous 
"This film repulsed me and made me feel sick at many point - I do not recommend this for any children as they would loose their clean (if so) minds which i would be appalled about. Leonardo Dicaprio should be ashamed at his work - it was terrible and really awkward!" LizzyAn

Risky Business: The original budget for this film was set at $100,000,000 (one hundred million dollars). The film made just under $24 million dollars in the first weekend which was 'A success'. In total, the film earned $300m in the World Wide Box office.


Stars in Their Eyes:  The director has previously directed films such as Shutter Island (also casting Dicaprio). Beforehand, he had directed films in the same genre (biographic) such as Goodfellas. Most films ended in a wide spread success. The main star in this film, Leonardo Dicaprio has starred in Shutter Island, Titanic, The Great Gatsby, Inception and The Departed (also directed by Martin Scorseses). Most of the films are similar to this, including rich people, dramas and crime. All the main stars and the director are mentioned in the trailer because all of them have good reputations which will attract people to this movie.