Case Study: Spectre

Spectre
The most recent in the series of 'James Bond' films.

Budget- $245-300 million
Stars: Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Andrew Scott.

• Of all the cast, these are the actors with the highest profile.
• Craig and Fiennes are both older, well established actors who have made themselves famous through other works- although it could be argued the Bond films officially put Daniel Craig on the map.
• Naomie Harris and Andrew Scott are both new, up and coming actors.
• However, it could be seen that in such a franchise like Bond. The name itself is star enough and doesn't require a major movie star.

Genre: Spy

• This is an action packed genre that is appealing to a wide range, especially boys.
• There is also an aspect of love/romance which is appealing to females
• The fact that it is an adaptation also assists this, because it means it appeals to more that one generation- one that grew up with the books and one that grew up with the films.

Box Office: $70,403,148, (second highest 007 movie).
Production: Sony
Certificate: 12A

• However it was 'trimmed' as it was originally a 15
• This means it is a family friendly film which gives people the opportunity to go together

Marketing: Advertising: Posters, trailers, teaser trailers, merchandise, interviews/press tours, magazines and photo shoots.




The official trailer was released in anticipation of the film coming out, which is normal for marketing techniques. However, in a style that has become common to modern theatre, Sony released 'teaser trailers' months before the release in order to get people hyped and excited long before the films premiere. It is also an effective way of keeping people interested; in a franchise that's been going on as long as Bond has, it is necessary to keep auidences interested and prevented people 'forgetting' and losing motivation to stay loyal.  

Promotional posters were released showing different aspects of the film, there were new posters and photos that linked to the plot and tone of the story, but these were juxtaposed with traditional, old style 007 poses and styles.



The posters maintained the iconic look of James Bond films- this allowed them to be undisputedly Bond, so minimal information was required on the poster, as everyone already recognises it as James Bond.

The film producers let selected interviewers and interested parties onto the set for 'sneak peeks' further keeping the plot itself mysterious and making it seem like any information was 'exclusive' and a 'big deal'. This was an effective marketing technique because it kept things secret, so the risk of spoilers was reduced, meaning people had practically no idea what they were going to watch, only that it was a Bond film and that they were going to be surprised.



The 'exclusiveness' of the interviews meant that many big news companies were interested in getting details and information, consequently, when any information was attained, it was plastered everywhere- getting the film more coverage.


Another effective marketing technique used by every Bond film is the anticipation and end result of the theme song. Traditionally, new, current, exciting artists are selected to write and sing the song which is almost inevitably a hit. Spectre featured a song by highly successful British singer/songwriter, Sam Smith, and his song 'The Writings on the Wall' was the first Bond film to reach number one in the charts.



The amount of product placement within the film, lead to adverts for individual products, containing Bond endorsing them, this once again gives the film more coverage, and results in it being featured almost every advert break on the TV. 
http://www.brandchannel.com/2015/11/08/spectre-bond-product-placement-110815/ 



Release Date: 26th October 2015

This date is towards the end of the year, this is useful because a Bond film is almost guaranteed to stay in cinemas for a relatively long time, meaning it will still be remembered and associated as a relatively new film even in the new year.

Reviews: Spectre has had great reviews, some dubbing it "a future classic" and others "the best Bond ever".  

Case study: The Spectacular Now

The Spectacular Now
A 2013 independent film.

Budget- $2,500,000
Stars- Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley 

• Although having quite a big cast, these are two notably famous actors within the younger generation.
• However, despite these stars being famous now, at the time, they weren't excessively well known.

Genre- Romantic Comedy/Drama

• This is a hybrid
• This allows the film to cover more topics and appeal to a wider audience

Box Office- $197,415 (USA opening weekend- 2 August 2013) Total: $6,851,969 (USA, 22 November 2013). This tells us that the film was a success.

Production- Andrew Lauren Productions (ALP), 21 Laps Entertainment and Global Produce.

• Independant

Certificate- 15

• Helps attract the audience they're looking for, mature people
• This would be because of the mature themes and content tackled

Marketing- Posters, trailers and interviews.

The trailer and promotional posters were released in order to promote the film.

The stars -Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller took part in interviews in order to promote the film. They had easy chemistry and rapport with each other, which allowed their personality to come through and therefore become likeable, consequently drawing more people to the film. 

Release Date- 13th September 2013

Awards- The Spectacular Now was nominated for an amazing 30 awards, and won 10 of them 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714206/awards


Reviews- The Spectacular Now received many complimentary reviews, some saying it "warrants serious attention" and is "lovely". However, there were contradicting opinions from the public, claiming it was "disturbing".

How does the use of mise-en-scene and sound in the clip from ‘The Black Swan’ convey a sense of lost innocence and revelation? 

The scene starts with Nina rushing to her dressing room. In terms of mise-en-scene, Nina’s black swan costume contrasts starkly with the other dancers, (who wear white), as well as the washed-out, grey walls. This juxtaposition implies that she isn’t as perfect and clean as the others, as white being the colour of innocence implies that the dancers are angelic almost, while Nina no longer has that purity and wears black to show her evil side, which reflects the part she plays. 

The Swan Lake score is playing as we follow Nina; this non-diegetic sound implies that what we are witnessing is similar to the production that the music is for. Consequently, we suspect that the main character will unfortunately meet a tragic end. Over this music, as a group of dancers pass, we hear a peel of laughter, however, due to the fact that it is non- diegetic, we don’t see the origin of the laugh. This could be interpreted to be a sign of paranoia from Nina, (a trait found in people who have lost their mind); this could foreshadow the revelation that she is mentally unstable. Alternatively, it could be a representation of voices inside of her head, potentially hinting to us that she has split personality disorder, again, foreshadowing the realization of her mental demise. 

Nina enters her dressing room to find shattered glass and blood on her floor from a previous scene; she looks panicked, but efficiently goes about attempting to cover it up. She selects a pink towel to cover the blood, the mise-en-scene of pink is that it is often associated with little girls, so consequently innocence. This is dramatically ironic; as such a colour is being used in an attempt to cover up a deadly crime. Alternatively, the colour is created through the mixture of red and white, potentially implying that the pink is just tainted innocence, suggesting that even the seemingly loveliest things have another side and aren’t what you originally expected. This inference is a direct parallel alongside Nina’s character- she is tainted innocence and has another side to her. To me, the mies-en-scene of the broken glass and mirrors on the floor with the blood, could be a visual representation of Nina’s life crumbling and shattering around her… at her own hands- as it was her who caused the destruction in her dressing room. As she drops the towel, we hear her heavy breathing, telling us she is nervous and scared of being found out. It could also be seen as guilt, however, Portman’s performance of Nina leads me to believe that the characters mind is set solely on the performance and at the time is disregarding rational human emotions, as she is focusing on playing the role. 

This is reinforced as Nina immediately moves to sit before a mirror where she applies show makeup in order to turn into the swan. This shows us she is completely immersed in the role and is immovably focused. This inhumane behavior, (not breaking down at the thought of her crime), is once again another clue about Nina’s questionable state of mind. 
In terms of mise-en-scene, the colour white is effectively overused. Nina applies white makeup, in a white dress, with white lights surrounding the white dressing table; consequently, the shot is very bright. The white light is artificial lighting, and although this could just be mise-en-scene to create an authentic feel of a legitimate backstage of a theatre, it could also suggest that Nina’s life has now become artificial and false. Her obsession with the role is not natural; consequently, natural light is not used. Nina is also staring directly at the mirror, mirrors in this sequence are vital and extremely significant, as not only does it literally show two of the character, but a common trait of people with multiple personality disorders is that they often look into mirrors- as if to search for themselves, (another clue to Nina’s disorder). A similar shot to this is demonstrated in ‘The Shining’ when we view Jack through a mirror for the first time- as if we are seeing another side of him. After we see him like this, he begins to act differently. His dark side is shown and takes over him, this has links to Nina’s story in ‘The Black Swan’.

The non-diegetic sound of a knock on the door triggers Nina to turn abruptly. She looks very paranoid and suspicious, and as she opens the door, a gasp of shock and fear is clearly audible. She is face to face with Lily, who juxtaposes Nina in this scene, cleverly displayed 
through the mise-en-scene. Although she wears white, as Nina does, Lily has severe, defined features, in contrast to Nina’s’ painted white face and soft, plain complexion. Also, Lily’s mannerisms contrast to Nina’s. Lily is very laid-back and easy going, whereas Nina is very uptight and seemingly petrified. Nina’s face is strained and frightened, but Lily seems to ignore this as she wears a smile and a tender expression. During this exchange, the constant swan lake score becomes frantic and intense- mirroring Nina’s emotions. The music builds and builds until Lily leaves and Nina is once again left alone; with the music busy and racing. Once again the music parallels with Nina’s mind, as her thoughts are obviously racing, as her eyes flicker from the broken glass, to the pink towel on the floor. 
The intensity of the music increases as her panic does, (again, showing correlations between sound and characters feelings). As a result of the building music and the diegetic sound of her heavy breathing and panting, combined with the mise-en-scene of Natalie Portman’s appearing genuinely terrified and confused, I feel nervous and intrigued. I become concerned for the character but also feel on edge, as the music creates an atmosphere of revelation and tragedy, through the dramatic climax. 
As Nina looks down, we see a close up of a wound- red against her white, feather bodice. This shot is vital as it physically shows what the audience had been suspecting- that Lily was a figment of Nina’s imagination, so she consequently injured herself in an attempt to kill Lily. The red set against the white reinforces the continuous theme of tainted innocence, as the deep red has tarnished the white. 

The music stays at a constant intensity until a shard of glass is pulled from the wound. At this point the music slows, as if it has been released and feels relief. However, the iconic bar of Swan Lake immediately kicks in and we see Nina realize what has happened. 
She then gingerly resumes her position in front of the mirror and we are presented with a practically identical to a scene to one we saw earlier- the only change being that she wears white now instead of black- this binary opposition showing the two extreme sides of her. In terms of mise-en-scene, the desk is very cluttered and full, which to me implies a cluttered busy mind. It could be seen that her mind is cluttered and full because practically two people inhabit it. A mid shot originally shows Nina hysterical and sobbing, but almost like a switch has been flipped, her emotions seem to be halted, as she inhumanely, eerily calmly continues to apply her makeup. 

There is a jump cut and we are suddenly confronted with Nina on stage, embodying the character of the White swan, this is ironic, because we know her innocence has, (if not been lost), been compromised by the fact that she has a very dark, deadly side to her. However, it could be fitting, as she is playing the role of the kind, innocent, white swan on stage, and we have now had the revelation that she has subconsciously been playing this role the whole time, in her day to day life. 

The mise-en-scene of the stage is very dark and Nina is dressed in white, this could imply that at heart, she is innocent, but has been swallowed up by the world of obsession and passion- bringing out her evil side. The mise-en-scene of the stage in ‘The Red Shoes’ is quite similar to this, as the main character is dressed in a pale ensemble on a big, dark stage. The story of ‘The Red Shoes’ is a story, which although isn’t identical to ‘The Black Swan’ also deals with obsession. (Nina deals with, or doesn’t, her obsession of her role). 
A close up shot of her shoes while she dances is matched with non-diegetic sound of a birds wings flapping as well as the constant non-diegetic swan lake score. The sound of the wings could imply flying free, which Nina is about to do after her personal revelation that she is battling with the demons within herself. She knows she won’t be burdened with this for long. The use of a handheld camera following her round the stage also reminds me of the fact that she is constantly being followed by her demons- there is no escaping them. A red light also gets cast across her face, the connotations of this colour is not only blood-shed and danger, but also passion which is appropriate as she is indulging in her passion in this scene- dance, however, it has also become her downfall, meaning it is a danger to her. 

In terms of mise-en-scene, I believe the stage represents her state of mind. It is chaotic, busy, hectic and Nina is thrown about by fires in black; potentially visual representations of her battling with her demons. 

Case Study: Mockingjay Part 2

Mockingjay Part 2
The final instalment of the hunger games saga, the fourth and final film.

Budget- $125 million

Stars- Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth.

• All young, attractive, well-known, well liked stars who attract young people from their iconic status. 
• They have lots of charisma and are common media favourites.

Genre- Dystopian Future. 

• This genre has a loyal audience that will come back when they are impressed. They are dedicated.
• This genre appeals to young people in general- not just pre-determined fans.
• This genre appeals to both genders. 

Box Office- $101million opening weekend. (lowest from the whole franchise), although still counting, (overall The Hunger Games franchise has brought in $1.1 billion in the USA alone)

Production- Lionsgate

• Well-know, well-financed, well-respected company.

Certificate- 12A

• Appeals to teens and families

Marketing- Advertising: Posters, trailers, teaser trailers, merchandise, interviews/press tours, magazines and photoshoots.

The official trailer was released in anticipation of the film coming out, which is normal for marketing techniques. However, true hunger Games style, Lionsgate released 'teaser trailers' long before the release in order to get and hyped and excited long before we would actually do this. It is also an effective way of keeping people interested, because of the time necessary to have in-between films, the teasers kept people interested and prevented people 'forgetting' and losing motivation to stay loyal.  


The hunger games was already a franchise before being turned into a film series, meaning there was already a sizeable amount of mercy. established and a lot to go off. There were the books to be redesigned with film covers: 

There were the iconic, easy- to- sell, symbol of the books, the Mockingjay that is easily transferable from pins to jewellery, to T shirts posters and calendars:

The Hunger Games cast are well-known for being funny, entertaining and having brilliant chemistry on and off screen. Consequently, press tours and interviews are always a hit, with their admirable friendship, they are media favourites: 





Also revolving around the media, photoshoots and promotional posters are regularly issued in the run up to the release of the film. The more the public see Jennifer Josh and Liam, the more they are reminded of their new film: 

















Release Date: 20th November 2015

This date coincides with blockbuster season, also, in America, this is the run-up to thanksgiving and black friday, meaning it is a time for families. This consequently would mean that families are more likely to initiate a cinema trip.

Reviews: Despite not matching previous successes of the franchise in the box office for its opening weekend, the reviews of the film have been very complimentary and have dubbed it a great success. 

Film Noir- Reflective Analysis

Our film was based off the traditional film noir genre, so as a result, we tried to take advantage of the fact that it consistently displays clear conventions such as smoking, shadows, a femme-fatale and murder. I think that we effectively accomplished portraying these throughout our short film.
We used torches in order to cast shadows on characters faces, incorporated a femme-fatale as well as smoking and a murder into the story.
My role within the team was director- I instructed actors on where to position themselves, dictated the camera angles and wrote the dialogue. I feel as though I effectively transferred my vision onto the screen, as the majority of the scenes are how I wanted them.
However, I feel as though we didn't create completely appropriate miss-en-scene, but, through no fault of our own. We didn't have access to props, appropriate clothing and lighting assistance, (such as venetian blinds), which consequently meant our sets and general feel of the film wasn't as traditional and faithful to the genre as we would've liked. However, the music my team mate chose and applied to the film was appropriate and gave the film an authentic feel throughout- as the music is constantly playing.
Next time, we will make sure that we have microphones near the actors if the camera is far away in order to limit the amount of background noise, as there is a lot of unwanted sound, and the dialogue is relatively quiet in comparison to the voiceover- limiting consistency.