You need to be using a PC - this will not work on a mac - shame :-( - then go to THIS LINK and download the program called 'Ranger Outpost Client'. It is a small program and there is a manual too. This can now also be accessed from the school webpage by selecting it from the 'Staff' drop down menu.
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Stars in Disaster Movies
You will need to be aware of who stars in disaster movies and why they were chosen. You might find you are asked to cast a movie you have 'made up' and give reasons. The sheet below helps you to research this - don't write EVERY movie they've been in - try to pick ones you think are relevant. You will also find that there are no WOMEN on this sheet - why not? Who would you cast? What are typical roles for women in disaster movies?
Stars in Disaster Movies Handout
Shot types in Disaster Movies
You will need to be able to identify chot types and their effects. You will be asked to identify a shot types form the extract you see and then explain it, linking it to another disaster movie you have seen. You therefore need to MAKE SURE you have examples ready.
Shots in Disaster Movies Handout
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Film Poster Conventions
Poster Conventions
• An eye-catching image or images – often related to characters (and the stars in the film) or the setting of the film
• The title of the film, carefully constructed in terms of font style, colour, size and placement; a lot of thought goes into the title – it is meant to be memorable and also to suggest the genre of the film
• A tagline for the film –which is lie the catchy slogans of advertisements – offering another clue to the genre and main themes or content of the film
• The names of well-known or key people connected to the film. These are usually the lead actors but may also be the director or producer
• Endorsements from other media productions (for example EMPIRE magazine) giving their comments such as ‘an unmissable film’
• Details of any award nominations or awards that the film has already won. These will be placed clearly on the poster
• The production ‘blurb’ – called ‘The Credit Block’ – which lists in tiny print the production and distribution companies, the main actors and director and other information
• The certificate is often shown
KEY QUESTIONS
1. WHY are these the conventions?
2. Have you got example of each ready to use?
3. What is the PURPOSE OF THE POSTER?
4. How do these help to TARGET the audience?
HOW DO YOU RELATE THIS TO DISASTER MOVIES & YOUR EXAM?
Think about how movie posters for Disaster Movies use these strategies - what is typical?
Starting with the Disaster Movie Genre
Help with the Disaster Movie Genre
This is a short summary of the basic outlines for the disaster genre - a good place to start but you will need more info and detail
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Poseidon 2006 - Sequence 2 - 3.43 --> 14.40
There is a higher quality version on my youtube account -->
Handout to support analysis of Opening of Poseidon 2006 - the second sequence - Introducing Characters
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Thursday, 24 September 2009
The Disaster Movie Genre
Having read the previous post and been in the lessons to further your understanding, try to compile what you think are the genre elements of the DISASTER MOVIE genre. You need to POST these on YOUR BLOG by Friday 2nd October. You should use the areas highlighted in yellow and write a short explanation and list for each, with examples whenever possible. Although Friday finishes early, as your blog is online I will collect and mark your work online so it won't matter that school closes - you will be EXPECTED to meet the deadline.
What constitutes GENRE?
Okay so we all know what genre is - we 'use' it to label films and to choose which films to watch and which to avoid. BUT do we know how to define genre? What elements go together to make up that genre we're so fond of or the one we loathe...
I don't know about you but I really don't like Westerns and I don't much care for adaptations of classics like 'Jane Eyre' or 'Emma'. I know why I don't much like WESTERNS - I find the characters very repetitive and the plot lines are very similar. I don't find the settings or locations very inspiring either. But I do like thrillers and Sci-fi and yet they're also quite repetitive in their use of characters and storylines.
So, thinking about GENRE - there are several aspects we should be interested in as film students. Firstly we need to be sure we know what the elements are that make up genre. They are:
SETTING - think location in a geographical sense as well as location in time
THEMES - the kinds of issues and ideas that are developed and explored in the films
CHARACTERS - genres use character types again and again, some are stereotypes so we get to know them quickly as an audience and some are more 'fleshed out' and explored in the film in detail - they'll be main characters. Genres use types often so we see 'Gunslingers' in westerns, the Sheriff, the almost silent stranger, the whores in the whorehouse... In Sci-Fi we see Scientists, mad scientists some kind of military or controlling force such as the army or the police, A key character who provides the only hope of a solution..you get the idea
PROPS OR SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS - genres include props and objects that crop up again and again. Using our previous examples, you'd expect guns, a sheriff's badge, cowboy hats or perhaps in Sci-fi, robots, aliens, ray guns, computers and stars/planets....
NARRATIVE & PLOT - a key way of defining a genre film is by looking at the storyline and how it is plotted. Lots of genres that seem hard to define in terms of similar characters or props often hold together strongly when you consider narrative. For example, the people may change, the location and time may differ widely but an alien threat to life on earth will make it a sci-fi genre movie
STYLE - Genres can have a style (or elements of a style)...for example WESTERNS might include lots of long lingering shots of desert or brush.. there are usually long periods where the camera moves across the vista with no action or dialogue. Gunfights are usually quietly tense, the tension built up by 'extending time' (achieved by giving the camera a long look at many source points BEFORE the action starts).
It's worth thinking about how each broad category of genre then has 'SUB GENRES' within it, a good example of which would be Sci-fi - not all sci-fi films have the same characters, settings or
props and storylines which might hold other genres together as a category but there are similar storylines and these can develop into sub-genres.
Secondly there are other key areas to consider in relation to genre - the way the audience uses genre and how producers use genre.
Finally some films clearly belong to more than one genre - called HYBRID. A good example would be 'Independence day' which is an action movie, a sci-fi movie and a disaster movie. Generally HIGH CONCEPT films are hybrid genre films.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Poseidon 2006
Rather than watch the 1976 classic, we have viewed the newer version which critics really didn't like all that much. It is useful because it follows a very conventional plot line for a disaster movie. The action quickly moves into the disaster itself with the first major disaster sequence taking place within 15 MINUTES!!
Look through the information you have been given and think about how the movie meets the genre conventions. Later movies we will watch will have different approaches to the genre 'recipe' so making notes on this now will help you when it comes to the exam.
You should have:
1. A colour copy of the DVD cover
2. A cast list
3. A genre conventions sheet
4. A plot outline
5. A plot outline for TITANIC
Think about how TITANIC and POSEIDON differ in terms of narrative - how are the plots TOLD differently?
Old Disaster Movies
Well you saw some of 'The Towering Inferno' and 'Airport' which are the 'classics' of the genre and mark what became the first films of the 'GENRE'. They established the DISASTER MOVIE and became the blueprint for the genre expectations.
Genres change over time and now we've started watching more modern examples, you should be able to see some obvious differences.
FIRSTLY - the special effects are much better
SECONDLY - the plot moves much quicker - there is less time spent introducing the characters
As we watch the more modern examples, think about those old movies we saw and reflect on how things have changed and how your expectations as a modern audience are different.
Friday, 18 September 2009
Welcome to the new blog for year 11
Welcome to the year 11 film studies blog. You'll find lots of things that you need here to help you with your final GCSE year. You will need to set up a new blog for year 11 work and to send or give you blog address to me so I can link your blog to the page.
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