Case study research tasks
The basics
1) What is the name of the film, the director and notable stars?
Film: Spectre
Director: Sam Mendes
Notable stars: James Bond
2) When was it released? 26 October 2015
3) What genre is the film? What are the generic conventions that tell you the film belongs to this genre?Action, adventure and thriller
4) What was the critical reception? What is the film rated on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes?
On IMDB the film is rated 6.9 out of 10 and on Rotten tomatoes it has a rating of 64%.
Broadcast
1) Write a close-textual analysis of the trailer using the MIGRAIN key concepts of Media Studies.
The trailer portrays to the audience that James Bond is a solid character this is because we see him experience and put himself in dangerous situations. James is also portrayed as a strong minded person when he participates in his stunts and car chase scenes at some parts of the movie. This is also shown in the trailer in order to attract the audience and give them a glimpse of what will take place in the movie.
The movie's producers of Spectre are Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.The production company for this film is Eon Productions and it was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Colombia pictures. Spectre was released on 26 October 2015 in the United Kingdom which was on the same night as the world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London which was then followed by a worldwide release. It was released in the United states 6 November 2015. The budget for this film was $245–250 million and altogether they made a total of $880.7 million from box offices.
2) Find examples of television promotion on YouTube (adverts, chat shows, ‘red carpet’ interviews etc.) and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.
3) Does the broadcast promotion use stars to create interest in the film?
1)
At times clunky, Spectre is still utterly gorgeous, always compelling and the ultimate proof that Daniel Craig is the best James Bond of all time- Cinema blend
Full marks to Mendes, Craig, Waltz, Fiennes and the location finder. But could we please get a hummable song next time?- Empire
hristopher Nolan’s influence shows in this excellent 007 caper, where Daniel Craig meets his match in Léa Seydoux - The guardian
2) Find examples of print promotion (e.g. film poster, billboard adverts etc.) on Google images and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.
3) Choose ONE print advert and write a textual analysis of what it communicates to the audience.
4) How is the film’s brand constructed? What does the brand connote? Does it remind you of any other brands or similar films?
E-media
1) The films social media helps to promote the film because their official pages e.g facebook , twitter etc will have a number of images of the cast and films locations. It will also have a lot of information for the audience e.g the release date etc.
2) The synergy between the official website and social media sites is that the official website has links to its social media sites. This is good because of the young target audience they may prefer getting sources of information about the film from other sites e.g facebook.
3) Spectre had a campaign with Heinekan. This allowed fans to have exlcusive access to behind the scenes content and a number of other things.
4) Can you find any examples of the two-step flow theory online – did celebrities or journalists tweet or post about the film in order to promote it to their followers?
Audience
1) I think the target audience is for both male and females in the ratio 50:50. These male and females are aged around 15-35.
2) The cross media platform target this audience as this audience would be fans of the action that would be in Spectre as it has been shown in many trailers. As they know this audience are quite young people they use well known social media sites and apps such as snap-chat to engage with them.
3) The film pleasures in this film are the many different locations, the audience will wish they were in those places.
4) My target audience would like films like 22 jump street and other James bond films because of all of the action , drama and comedy involved in all of them.
Institution
1) Eon Productions, other films they have produced are Call Me Bwana and Dr.No.
2) Columbia Pictures , they have also produced films like the vow and 21 jump street.
3)Eon has always been apart of the Bon Franchise I I believe that it would be one of their most well known brands to handle.
4) $245,000,000
5) I think this film is very successful financially due to the big profit they made from the sales at box offices.
6) I think it was more successful in the UK and this may be due to the fact that it was released there first. It is also a British film so it may be more relevant to UK audiences.
7) 12A, this is because it contains a lot of violence so it can not be viewed by younger audiences.
Representation
1)The representation of the antagonists are quite typical as they are foreigners. The protagonist whereas is from a 'first world' country hence his intelligence and skills. London is represented as a wealthy and powerful city
2) The location of the film is the biggest aspect of Britishness and it is the location than theme that makes this film stand out. Most films that are released are from America and are often set in America, however one of the biggest soy films is British and it is the location and type of character that makes British people want to watch it. It makes British people proud that they have a successful film franchise like James Bond.
3) Both films portray Britain is a different way. The slogan of Ill Manors even states their portrayal of Britain. First of all, Ill Manors, basing it off of them, tone and style of the film the audience can see a negative view point of Britain. There is very little colour and if there was, it would be dull and grey colours. In addition to this, the people are portrayed very differently. In James Bond the characters are presented as strong and loyal to their peers whereas Ill Manors have their character speaking slang and dressed like criminals.
4) The most well known ideology seen in the film is that Britain is proud of its historical state. There are many scene through out the film which take place in famous landmarks around Britain. The film makers are trying to make the audience realise this by setting certain scenes in historical places known to Britain.
Another value and ideology is that Britain can make as good films as America.This film is to counter the American films and show how Britain can still create fine films such as this. The film is seen to represent the country. Furthermore, another film that represents Britain in an equal state is Harry Potter. The film is set around London and is themed around the country. This franchise represents Britain as holding the most amazing franchises as well as authors.
Case study comparison
1) What similarities and differences can you find between Ill Manors, A Field In England and your chosen case study film? List all that apply.
Similarities-
Ill Manors and Spectre both take place in the same country/location- Britain. Even though they are both created and set around these locations, it doesn't mean that their portrayals of these locations is going to be the same. Both Ill Manors and Spectre are themed and are known to be set around Britain/London. Their characters are also there to reflect their environments. This is clearly evident as both characters from both films seem to be different due to the different take/portrayal of their environment.
Both films consider and relate to justice in a way. Ill Manors is about, how young teenagers need to watch themselves from the police as they may be seen doing criminal related things. The idea of justice is also the main motive for the director Ben Drew to make the film Ill Manors. This is because he wants to create justice for the youth and how they are being ill treated by society, and by him creating this film he is trying to create a message to society to change their view of the youth. Spectre on the other hand, is about a man who is trying to bring the bad guys to justice due to them harming James and his country.
Differences-
Ill Manors is more accurately based on truth and true event that have occurred whereas Spectre is mostly made up and is not based around reality. Ill Manors isn't a films for just entertainment purposes. It is also their to inform and educate the consumer/viewer of the content. Ben Drew wanted the viewers to understand the problems that the youth face due to the changes made by the government. Spectre on the other hand, is primarily there to entertain audiences and those who are fans of this franchise. Spectre has generated this big fan base that goes back to 70 years worth of James Bond related content. The current James Bond films link with one another and therefore, it is needed for another movie to come about to finish off the story line or perhaps continue a new one.
