FILM GENRES : ACTION ADVENTURE CODES & CONVENTIONS

I am sorry not to be with you for this lesson but I think that you will enjoy the work, building on what we covered last lesson on the action / adventure genre.

You have one task for period 6 and a contrasting task for period 7. Move on even if you have not finished everything in the first task.

Please upload your answers to Classroom at the end of each period on the link that I have sent.

Period 6: Thank you to Mrs Michael for covering.

You will need to open Clickview and if you have headphones, you should wear them.

On Clickview, go to Claremont Fan Court School > Media Studies > Action & Adventure.

Pick any one of the 6 films. All are rated 12. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, (actually it's compulsory) is to watch any 15 minute extract from your chosen film then answer in bullet points the following questions:

• Action adventure films clearly present a hero who has heroic qualities or abilities (brave, strong, good-looking, young, shows leadership, is quick-thinking, calm, can master any vehicle, is good with technology). Does the film that you chose show this?
• Action adventure films clearly present a villain who is usually foreign, a traitor, unscrupulous, bad-tempered, not attractive, rash, violent, unpatriotic.  How does the film that you chose show this?
• Action adventure films usually present spectacle (great scenery or sets, expensive kit, foreign travel).
  How does the film that you chose show this?
• Action adventure films usually offer audiences action scenes (exciting car chases, fast vehicles, fights and so on). How does the film that you chose show this?
• Finally, did you notice the music / soundtrack or just take it for granted? Sound makes up most of our emotional response to a film. Write your comment.

Period 7: Thank you to Mrs Smith for covering.

You will need to open YouTube and if you have headphones, you should wear them.

Watch the trailer for Gurinder Chadha's latest film Blinded By The Light. then answer the questions below.

It is about a teenager who discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen. It is based on a true story.

• This film genre is a 'coming of age' film. That means that it is about what Javed experiences growing up in Luton. How can you tell that from the trailer? In what way is Javed struggling to find his place in the world?
• Why does Bruce Springsteen's music become important to him? 
• This film is a 'feel-good' film - part realist, part rom-com. Does it feel and look very different from the action adventure films that we have been studying?
  

FILM GENRES: CONVENTIONS & AUDIENCES

In media studies, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to discuss film yet pupils are expected to grasp the concepts of genre and audience. Today we are therefore spending time viewing screenings of suitable films (all certificate 12) of different genres and learning about 'audience pleasures' as well as 'genre codes and conventions'.

• Captain Marvell
• Gladiator
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Johnny English
  
• Bend It Like Beckham 
• Spider-Man
  

FILM PROMO PACKS

Starter activity

Biometric facial recognition as a strategy for regulators to prevent underage social media users and screen paedophiles: 

You will learn about film marketing and research marketing evidence for a film of your choice.

Film studios and distributors use a spread of platforms, to reach different target audiences:

• film website
• Film trailers
• film posters
• Facebook
• Twitter feed
• Instagram
• TikTok

Claremont AL promo packs here

After collecting visual evidence, you will collate this into a poster like the one below:

MAKING YOUR WEBSITE

Please email me the url of your website

Today, make your 'dummy' news articles

• You can compose these on a Word document if you are not ready to place them on your homepage
• The top line is in CAPITAL LETTERS
• The standfirst is in lower case
• You need a photo (ideally original) for each news article
  
• Like those on the GCSE blog here
  

Today, decide on your main article which needs the 40 second video

• This goes on a linked page
• It also appears at the top above your 'dummy' news articles
• Your PREP this week is to do your 40 second video at home and save it to your desktop

MAKING WEBSITES

We are researching film websites to understand their codes and conventions before starting to plan and make our own news websites.

Here are examples of news websites that pupils recently made in coursework.

Brief: You start making your own news website in WIX: homepage and one linked page of an informative news website for 10-13 year olds.

MAKING TRAILERS

We look at the trailer genre and discuss how its conventions (= what elements are usually in trailers). Trailers are essentially advertisements for films. Their aim is to persuade audiences to see the film. They have to signal the film's genre, stars and directors (if they are selling points), release date and enough of the narrative to hook audiences but not so much that they spoil the surprise.

Film distributors organize the screening of trailers in cinemas (cinema theatres) and on television. 

Here is a cinematic trailer for a brand new release, Charlotte

Increasingly, distributors cut films for smart phones with portrait format. The trailer also appears on the film's social media sites (FB, Instagram, Twitter) all of which have different target audiences. TikTok is used as a platform to reach GenZ.

Here is the film website for a low-budget independent film, The Institute (the sort of film that you might make, starting out). We look at the TikTok video on its social media link.

Notice that....

• editing is not continuity editing (as the narrative arc is long)
• inter titles between clips (= writing) about the director, actors, awards, pull quotes
  
• additional inter titles explain the narrative (THOSE WHO HAVE SURVIVED / LIVE BY ONE RULE / NEVER MAKE A SOUND
  
• sound track build to the climax
• release date
• film title
  

We watch A Quiet Place as a possible model for us to copy (=make a swede)

HAVE A GO: you can team up with another person and share footage.
If you have iMovie, there is a great TRAILER TEMPLATE - choose the thriller one! EXAMPLE BELOW! "I'm Here, Find Me"
Keep it simple - creep around the house / garden, whisper about the creature that is stalking you... let the soundtrack do the work.
Add the film title and release date 12.02.2021
Perhaps add an inter-title like THE LAST ONES LEFT...

FILM POSTER - example below that I made yesterday
Either landscape or portrait, with a strong central image, release date 12.02.2021, FILM TITLE is the biggest text
Star talent at the top (names of actors) in capital letters - but keep them small or the whole poster will look out of proportion.
Tagline - like 'If they hear you, they hunt you'. ......Don't make a sound. ......Never leave the path.

IRL LESSON: SEATING PLAN