Black Widow

 Black Widow: blog tasks

1) List the companies involved in the creation of Black Widow. You may wish to use Black Widow's IMDB entry to help with this - see the company credits page - but the answers can also be found in the notes above.

2) What is conglomerate ownership and how does it link to Black Widow?

The conglomerate ownership is the own a range of smaller companies (called subsidiaries). An example of this is Disney owning Marvel. It link to black widow because The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment for US$4 billion. The Walt Disney Company now owns Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and Pixar.

Walt Disney Studios are one of Hollywood's major film studios and generated an income of $2.4 billion in 2017.  This means that they can afford to make more expensive films, market them around the world at great expense and ensure that they are hugely profitable.  

3) Analyse the film trailer for Black Widow. What aspects of the trailer tell you this is a big-budget blockbuster movie?

The aspects of the trailer tell me this is a big-budget blockbuster movie as blockbuster is a major studio movie that's made with a large budget, big stars and often involves a franchise. 

A true blockbuster is extremely popular and brings in a lot of money. Typically, a blockbuster is a summer movie that audiences line up to see the first weekend it's released (which coincides with the school holidays and more family time).

4) How was Black Widow promoted to an audience? List at least three different methods used by the film's marketing campaign and why they were effective in promoting the film.

Black Widow promoted to an audience by three different methods used by film marketing campaign is,

• Specific IMAX promotions with 22 minutes of the film shot in 1.90:1 aspect ratio especially for IMAX cinemas. 
• Section of the Marvel website with gallery, story synopsis, character posters and opportunities to buy or stream the movie.
• Social media profiles on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Social media and YouTube advertising was also heavily used by Marvel to promote the film including using tweets from audience members on massive billboards.

5) What was the production budget for Black Widow and how much did it make at the box office?

Black Widow’s success is difficult to judge due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Black Widow’s budget was $200m and it only made $379m at the worldwide box office due to the pandemic. Marvel would have spent well over $100m on marketing the film globally so the profit level is very low. Most Marvel films have made around $1 billion at the box office. 

However, this doesn’t take into account revenues through Disney+ so Black Widow may well still make Marvel and Disney a profit in the end.

6) Would you consider Black Widow a successful Hollywood blockbuster? Why?

I think Black Widow is successful Hollywood because it earn $379 million globally during the pandemics and critics praised the action,story and performance 

7) Who regulates the film industry in the UK?

The regulates film industry in the UK are regulated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

8) What age rating was Black Widow given? Why?

Black Widow was awarded a 12A by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).  It was deemed to have “moderate violence, injury detail”, yet was not too graphic.

9) Read this feature on Marvel using a fan's tweet to help market the film. Why is audience interaction such an important aspect of modern film marketing? 

The audience interaction such an important aspect of modern film marketing as the audience will more likely tell the truth

10) What other interesting details can you pick out of the article about Black Widow marketing? For example, you may want to make a note of some statistics, ratings or how they used TikTok influencers to help promote the film.

Other interesting details I can pick out of the article about Black Widow marketing is they use the audience to comment about their production to promote the film in social media gaining their trust in other influencer of their rating the film 92% viewer rating and the film has done quite well, receiving an 80%

Film Industry: Marvel Cinematic Universe blog

Film Industry: Marvel Cinematic Universe blog

Read this BBC article on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and answer the following questions based on the article:

1) How many films were there in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) at the time of this article?

22 films featuring the comic book characters are set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) at the time of this article.

2) How much money have the MCU films made in total according to this article?

More than $18.2 billion ($13.7 billion) the MCU films made in total according to this article


3) Why did Marvel create the Avengers films?

Marvel created Avengers films because Marvel still owned the superheroes who form the core Avengers team - Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America - so used the early MCU films to introduce these heroes.

Marvel then brought these characters together for the crossover film Avengers Assemble. You can see a list of all the current members of The Avengers here, external.

The crossover was planned from the very beginning.

4) Who owns the rights to Spiderman and why is the character now appearing in Marvel films?

Long before Marvel Studios existed, Marvel Entertainment had sold the rights to some of its characters to other filmmakers.

Spider-Man was sold to Sony. The studio made a Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, and soon afterwards rebooted the franchise less successfully with Andrew Garfield as the webslinger.

However, Sony and Marvel have now agreed a partnership that allows Tom Holland's Spider-Man to appear in MCU films, while Sony retains the rights to the character.

Sony also owned the rights to Ghost Rider, and made two films about him starring Nicolas Cage, until the rights reverted back to Marvel in 2013.

5) Which company owns the rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men?

The Fantastic Four series and the X-Men were sold to 20th Century Fox, though Marvel Studios expect to regain the rights to both properties this year due to a merger between Disney and Fox, external. The merger means Marvel could introduce these characters into the MCU in future films.

6) Look at the very end of the article. What has Disney announced regarding TV shows on their new streaming service Disney+?

Disney has announced plans for several new Marvel TV series, including one based on Thor's adopted brother Loki, on their new streaming service, Disney+, so there'll be plenty more Marvel content to watch in future.

Audience Effects Theory

Audience Effect Theory

(Blue Planet II)

1) Write a definition of a passive audience: 

The definition of a passive audience is an audience which accepts the messages encoded in a media text without challenge

2) Write a definition of an active audience: 

 A definition of an active audience engages,interprets and responds to a media text in different ways and is capable of challenging the ideas encoded in it.

3) Write a definition of the hypodermic needle theory: 

The definition of a hypodermic needle theory is a linear communication theory which suggests that the media has a direct and powerful influence on audiences, like being injected with a hypodermic needle.

4) Write down a media product (e.g. TV show, newspaper or video game) for each category of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory and WHY it fits that particular audience use/gratification. The first one is done for you: 


INFORMATION/SURVEILLANCE: Media text - The Times newspaper
 > Why: It tells audiences important information about politics, the world and more.

PERSONAL IDENTITY: Media text - Marvel Movies (E.g. Spider-man)
 > Why:  People see themselves in the characters, their struggles, and their value

DIVERSION/ENTERTAINMENT: Media text - Video Games (E.g. Minecraft)

 > Why: It's fun and helps people escape from stress by building and exploring a virtual world

RELATIONSHIPS: Media text - Friends TV shows
 > Why: People feel connected to the characters and enjoy talking about the show with others

5) Re-watch the clip from Blue Planet above and write a paragraph analysing how elements of the clip offer the audience pleasures or gratifications (use media terminology from Uses and Gratifications theory and the 3 Vs - notes outlined above). 

The Blue Planet element of the clip offers the audience pleasures or gratifications:

Information/Surveillance: It teaches viewers about the ocean and the sea animals, helping them learn new facts and information they didn't know or knew

Diversion/Entertainment: The beautiful underwater scenes make people forget their problems and enjoy watching nature itself

Personal Identity: It makes people think about how they treat the environment and how they can help protect the planet

Relationships: Families or friends can watch it together and talk about the amazing animals and the world under the sea

Magazine

 

Camerawork (Doctor Who)

Camerawork

(Doctor Who)

1) Pick three camera shots from the Doctor Who scene and explain what type of shot it is and what meanings or effect they have on the audience.

Two Shots - usually a medium shot or medium close up that allows you to see two characters together

Medium close up - Camera gets closer in on the character so that the face and the top of the shoulder is shown

Wide shot of the scene/Establishing shots - used to introduce location,set the scene or show huge action set pieces that show the whole setting.

 

2) Pick one camera angle that is used in the scene and explain the effect it has on the audience. 

High angle shot - is used in the scene to show the character expression and its face to show how the character felt in the close up or showing what he is looking at.

3) Pick one aspect of mise-en-scene from the scene and explain what connotations are being communicated to the audience.

The Setting shows its sci-fi of the telephone box portal.

The actor expression is serious and panic as the 3 actors movements where fast as they are going everywhere around the one place to another.

Blog feedback and Learner Response

 Blog feedback and Learner Response

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

WWW: It’s great to see that your blog is up and running and that for the most part you have managed to keep up with the blog tasks required. You seem willing to work towards any improvements needed and this is clear in the writing that I have seen over multiple blog posts. You’ve also gone to great lengths to ensure that your blog is a reflection of yourself which is fantastic.

EBI: I would like you to focus on ensuring all blog tasks are correctly titled (including capital letters) and all answers are clear and detailed throughout. Also, whilst I know it was when you were absent, if you could read over the information for the Camerawork task and complete that, then that would catch you up completely.

Grade: 3

Marks: 9/30

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Write down the mark you achieved for each question: 

Q1:  0/1

Q2: 1/1

Q3: 0/12

Q4: 2/2

Q5: 3/6

Q6: 3/8

3) Identify one of your stronger questions. Why did you do better on this question? Use the mark scheme to help you with this.

Q5 is one of my stronger question as I got half of them right and maybe next time if I revise better I could get 6/6

4) Identify one of your weaker questions. Why did you score lower on this particular question? Use the mark scheme to help you with this.

Q6 is my weaker question because I  didn't add stereotype, controversial/emotive images and should add more detail.

5) Finally, write a new, detailed paragraph for Question 3 - the unseen text 12 mark question. Use the mark scheme to identify anticipated content you can add to your response and make sure you refer to the text and write in detail

Design and layout

• Direct address of main image from the advert with Beyonce making eye contact with
audience.
• The central image is anchored by the slogan across the middle (‘Catch the fever’) as
well as the anchorage text in the bottom right.
• The advert is dominated by the central image which is provocative and designed to
illicit a strong reaction from the audience.

Photographic codes / mise-en-scene

• The central image features Beyonce in a provocative pose wearing a low-cut,
revealing dress. This combines with the colour connotations to create a seductive
effect.
• The image also has connotations of class and wealth with the costume appearing to
be luxury or designer label, fitting in with the connotations created by the serif
typography.

Verbal codes (use of language)

• Product name offers connotations of romance and attraction – ‘Heat’.

• ‘Catch the fever’ as a slogan is snappy and links to idea of magic or irresistible

attraction created by the fragrance.

• ‘The first fragrance by Beyonce’ appeals to fans of the artist and suggests an exciting

new range of products from a star known for music and acting.

Colour palette

• Advert is dominated by red – connotations of romance, seduction, sex appeal and

fire/heat (the name of the product). Creates a powerful effect on the audience. Colour

of product in bottle adds to this effect.

What do you feel is your strongest piece of work so far? What is your weakest? What specific skills or knowledge do you need to develop over the rest of the course?

My strongest piece of work so far is the Magazine Demographic I did to complete my work and My weakest piece of work is the Mise-en-scene (Stranger Things) of the 'CLAMPS' as I'm not good at it. The specific skills I need to develop over the rest of the course improve my work and revise key words I need to remember for the up coming exams or test

Demographics and Psychographics

Demographics and Psychographics

 1) What information do media companies use to create a demographic profile of their audience?

The information the media companies use to create a demographic profile of their audience is Age, Gender, Income, Education and Occupation

2) Why are media companies and advertisers increasingly using audience profiling and not just demographics?

Media companies and advertisers increasingly using audience profiling and not just demographics because it makes them easier for them to reach their target customer.

3) What are the seven different Psychographic groups? 

The seven different Psychographics groups are The Aspirer, The Reformer, The Explorer, The Mainstream, The Succeeder, The Struggler and The Resigned.

4) Write a brief summary of what each Psychographic group is seeking or motivated by.

The Aspirer - Materialistic, acquisitive people, who are driven others perceptions of  them rather than by their own values. Their core need in life is for status

The Reformer - Independent judgemental and reformers are the most anti-materialistic of the 7 groups and they seek out the authentic and the harmonious

 The Explorer - These people are driven by a need for discovering, challenge and new frontiers. They often the first to try out new ideas or experiences and their core need in life is for discovery.

The Mainstream - The people who live in the world of domestic and their life choice are 'we' rather than 'me'. They are the mainstream of society and also their core need in life is for security

The Succeeder - The succeeder posses self-confidence, have strong goal orientation and tend to be very organised. They also seek out caring and protective brands and their core need in life is for control.

The Struggler - They live for today and make few plans for tomorrow as for others often see them as victims, losers and wasters - aimless, disorganised people. In  essence, they seek escape.

The Resigned - They are predominantly older people with constant, unchanging values built up over time. They respect institution and enjoy acting in traditional roles. In life, their aim in basic: it is to survive

5) What psychographic group or groups do YOU belong in? Think about your own interests and lifestyle and explain your decision. Remember, you may fit into two or three different groups! 

The psychographic group I belong in is The succeeder and The Reformer because I'm organized and independent of my own interests and lifestyle

Magazine Demographics

Magazine Demographics

Home: City

Race/Ethnicity: white people

Gender: Women

Age: 18-30 (Teen-Adult)

Social Class:  B

Education: University or collage

Age: The reasons why the age is teenage to adults is because most women may need advice to make a new hairstyle or makeup to look and may go and buy the beauty product

Gender: The reason why the gender is women is women out there use the women front cover to attract women to go and buy the Magazine or borrow it to see their beauty product or their new creative design ideas for the makeup or hair style in this generations

Social Class: The social class is B because people may think it is relative to creative and media due to the designs and may think they have a lot of money advertising the magazines

Education: The education maybe used by university or collage as young females want to make them look beautiful buy using different hair style by using the magazine to choose and make them look attractive

Race: Maybe white people or other different race as it depends as it doesn't matter of different race as women can still use the magazines

Camera movement and Editing: Chase Scene

Camera movement and Editing: Chase Scene

1) Pick three aspects of camera movement in the Minority Report clip. Identify the type of camera movement and write about why the director chose to use that camera movement in the scene and what effect it has on the audience.

3:25 - tilt (camera tilts up and down)

1:20 - Handheld (often shaky)

2:20 - Pan (Horizontal turn left)

2) Pick two aspects of editing in the Minority Report clip and write about what effect it has on the audience.

0:15 - cut (jump out shot)

2:53 (3:06) - Pace (The speed of which the film cuts to another shot)

3) Finally, revise last week's work on camerawork by picking out two shots or camera angles in the clip that communicate meaning to the audience.

       Handheld (Often Shaky)

      Pan (Horizontal Turn Left)

Mise-en-scene (Stranger Things)

 

Mise-en-scene 

(Stranger Things)

Costume: 1980s costume which means it was set in the 1980s also the beginning of the scientist was wearing a white cloak uniform while the kids costume have their comfortable clothes as their clothing highlights differences

Setting: foggy/dull woods, Dark and eerie as it was past night and everything was quiet and no ones is out during midnight.

Props: The kids and their friends rides their bike to head home and at the end the kid was all alone as he saw a creature so he rushed home as he was scared as he was at home alone as there is no responds to his parents so he hold a gun to defend himself as he heard a weird creature noise and the light turn brighter in the attic and then the kid disappears.

Denotation and Connotation

 

Denotation and connotation Task:

1) Write an analysis of the WaterAid advert above using denotation, connotation and analysis. What can you see? What are the deeper meanings in the advert? What does the advert communicate to the audience? How might an audience react after seeing the advert?

I can see a African boy in the WaterAid advert above. The deeper meanings in the advert is the boy needed water and food to survive in Africa as it have less food and water for them to survive in the hot area and needed us society to help them. The advert communicate to the audience is that they need them donate the Africans money for charity to help them. The audience might react after seeing this advert pity and worried for the Africans as they wanted to help them and make them healthy and have enough food resources for them to survive.