Relationships between Producers and Audiences

Les Misérables

Advertising:

There were many different sources of advertising that Les Misérables used to promote their new film. Advertising such as trailer on all certain TV channels that would be relatable to their target audience, large posters of main characters; many of these posters would be on billboards or bus stops, some of the actors/actresses of directors would go on popular talk shows; such as the Graham Norton Show and the Jonathon Ross Show. Also Les Misérables advertised at the Queens Theatre in London where Les Misérables is shown and you can see on IMDB that is you look at a particular film you enjoy for example; Dream Girls, it suggests other films that you make also like, Les Misérables is one of those options. Social networking is a very good way of advertising mainly because it’s free but also because it advertises through the word of mouth, others recommendation is usually the best way to get your film seen. Some of the Actors were tweeting during the production to keep fans up to date to get them excited; Russell Crowe confirmed on Twitter that he had finishing filming and furthermore on Facebook, the first look at the trailer was released on their official Facebook page.

Cast:

Due to Les Misérables having an A-list cast made people want to go and watch the film. The cast included Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter, Amender Seyfried, Sacha Baren Cohen and many more. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway sang a teaser at the academy awards, and as soon as people saw that, they wanted to hear them and see them sing more.

Reviews:

Mostly out of all of the reviews that Les Misérables had gotten were positive for example:

•  It was amazing. If I could I would watch it every day forever all day. Anne Hathaway deserves a medal or two. – aaaa

•  Hugh Jackman is the best thing in this movie. All I kept thinking is he deserves an Oscar. When the movie started, I found it weird at first, but I don't know when the transition happened. This movie takes you from your seat into an emotional journey, well produced and acted. Everyone sing with me: do you hear the people sing, Lost in the valley of the night? It is the music of a people, who are climbing to the light. - Laura Bsm

•  Seen this film this afternoon it was brilliant and Hugh Jackman really should get an Oscar, Russell Crowe was very good too, as was the rest of the supporting cast. I particularly liked Samantha Barks as Eponine. If you like a good cry go see it! - Kommon Sense

Source (The Daily Mail)

Getting positive reviews ensures Les Misérables getting more people coming to watch the film. More than anything, professional opinion and recommendation plays a very big part went trying to promote a film and with having 99% of those reviews being good reviews then people will believe them and want to see for themselves.

Awards:

	Award	For	Who/what
Won	AFI Award	Movie of the Year	Les Misérables
Won	Oscar	Best Achievement	Hair and make-up
Won	Oscar	Best Achievement	Sound Mixing
Won	Oscar	Best Performance supporting actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	AFCA	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	BAFTA	Best Achievement	Make-Up/Hair
Won	BAFTA	Best Achievement	Production Design
Won	BAFTA	Best Achievement	Sound
Won	BAFTA	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	Critic’s Choice Award	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	COFCA Award	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	C.A.S. Awards	Outstanding Achievement in	Sound Mixing
Won	Empire Award	Best Female Newcomer	Samantha Barks
Won	FFCC Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	Golden Globe	Best Motion Picture	Musical
Won	Golden Globe	Best Performance by an Actor	Hugh Jackmam
Won	Golden Globe	Best Performance by an Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	Golden Trailer	Best Music	I Dreamed A Dream

They won many more than that, awards are also a brilliant way of advertising for example if two film came out at the same time, both in which has been nominated an Oscar for best film, and only one won it then you’re going to choose the film that won the Oscar.

Premier

Premiers are a great way to promote the film and for fans to get picture and autographs. Premiers are a way of the

countries having a big event; some premiers go over the top to promote such as for the premier shark tale, the cast turned up on giant blown up sharks that were being pulled by a boat onto the beach were the event was taken place. For Les Misérables, they had two premiers, one in London and one in New York. Anne Hathaway told everyone at the London premier that she would sing a song, however she didn’t but even doing something like that could advertise the film for example someone could be angry that she didn’t sing, tweet saying Anne Hathaway at Les Misérables premier said she would sing, what a lying bitch! But this would be seen but loads of people, a way of advertising through social networking.

Target audience

I think that the target audience for Les Misérables could possibly be couples due to the romance, certainly fans of the musical will want to see the film or even just fans of musicals will want to see the film, maybe they targeted woman over Men because of the music and the romance. Also i think that families could be target but I think that there is advantage and disadvantages because firstly the front cover is of a child, there are children in the film and the music will attract children because they will want to sing and dance along however the narrative isn’t a happy narrative until the end, the child on the front cover doesn’t look happy and within the film there are certain things a child should see such as prostitution and war.

 

Dog Soldiers

What genre was Dog Soldiers?

The genre of dog soldiers I thought was a horror due to the amount of guts, gore and blood in the film and how graphic it was. Usually in an action the typical amount of blood used would be cuts on the head to maybe gunshot wounds(realistic) whereas in dog soldiers, warewolves are ripping the soldiers stomachs open and their guts are falling out and gallons of blood is shown everywhere (non-realistic) which is why I believe this film to be a horror. Also the monsters in this film are warewolves, warewolves are stereotypically a bad monster that will rip you to shreads and eat you, due to that and the fact that this film could never be suitable for children, this films genre would be a horror. However it could also be an action due to the army, weapons, explosions etc.

What production context does Dog Soldiers fit into?

I think that the film dog soldiers fits into the British production context. Mainly because of the location where the film was shot which was in Scotland highlands, also all the actors within the film were either English or Scottish and the slang within the film such as “twat” is not normally something an American would say. Also dog soldiers didn’t have a big budget, you can see this from the quality of effects used. Compared to a Hollywood film, for example: resident evil, they created dogs from CGI which looked alot more realistic, whereas in British films they use men dressed up in suits and costumes.

 

Were there any stars involved in Dog Soldiers?

Yes there were more than a few stars in dog soldiers, such as the main character Cooper who was played by a really well known actor Kevin Mckidd, Kevin has played roles in films such as Hannibal, brave, kingdom of heaven where he has played a scottsman in all apart from when he played a character in a hit American TV show Greys Anatomy. Another well-known actor is Liam Cunningham, who played captain Ryan, Liam has been in films such as War horse, Safe house and recently he is playing a character in Game of Thrones. Kevin is Scottish and Liam is English therefore perfect for the part of playing British soldiers in a British production.

 

How did the narrative, dialogue, characters and location relate to the production context?

The film was shot in Scotland highlands, the weather looked cold, wet and misty, typically normal weather for Britain and Scotland. Stereotypically Britain is known for its cold wet weather, which is commonly found in British films. The banter between the soldiers was very British and the language used such as I mentioned before relates to the production context. Britain is notorious for the amounts of swear words used within a sentenced which is clearly shown in dog soldiers. Also on location they used a small little cottage to hide out in, this cottage is a typical British home in the hills.

How did the technology used relate to the production context?

The warewolves in dog soldiers were men dressed in costumes were as in a Hollywood film for example: resident evil they would use CGI, however I believe that using a costume instead of CGI is more effective due to the more realistic movement. I think that makes the production more believable as it gives the actors something to react to. Also I think that the explosions in dog soldiers were fairly good, especially for a British film, however compared to a Hollywood film I think it looked more like a scratch.

Silence of the Lambs

Discuss three points within the film that semiotics were being used. How did these relate to the genre and narrative?

1.    One of the first use of semiotics I noticed in the ‘silence of the lambs’ is the FBI agent, the FBI logo stitched into his clothing is something that is recognisable to everyone, therefore the FBI is an icon and its iconic because, people associate the FBI to protect and serve the people, taking down criminals.  This is why when you first see the agent call for the women running in the woods, you immediately feel safe and not so worried for the women alone.

2.    The second semiotic in the film i noticed is when agent Starling goes to visit Dr Hannibal Lector in the mental institute, you notice that the mental patience are all behind bars, whereas Dr Lector is behind a glass screen with only the odd breathing holes the size of the width of a pencil. The glass screen would be an index because of simply what it is, however what it suggests is Dr Lector is far more dangerous than the other patience therefore them only giving him eneough space to breath through the pee sized holes, making sure there is no possible way of him getting out.

3.    The third semiotic I noticed in the film is the scene when Dr Lector escapes and positions one of the guards in the shape of a cross, the cross is a symbol, representing Christianity.  Religion is one of the most powerful things known to man, perhaps Hannibal positioned him that way to show how powerful he is.

How was the genre communicated in the opening scene using genre analysis?

The genre ‘Horror’ is shown in the opening scene by firstly the song played in the background; the song is called ‘main title’ by Howard Shore. The song is quite daunting and unsettling, beginning to already set the mood for the film. One of the key sound effects that I heard above all others was the cricket; a cricket sound effect is often used to symbolize silence and being alone.

The shots being used in the opening scene such as the point of view shot makes it seem its from another’s perspective, making you think that someone is following her through the woods. The women running alone, already you ask questions; where is she running? Why is she running? Is she running away from someone?

The women running in a forest, you can hear her deep breathing as if you are beside her, this could show how hard she is working, first impressions in the opening scene already building this character up to be a strong hard working women. Another point showing that she is a strong women is when a man appears and calls her name, he has the letters FBI stitched on his cap, the FBI is a well known organisation for fighting crime and when you realise she is part of that organisation, suddenly she isn’t a defenceless woman anymore, she is the complete opposite.

The opening scene is tinted with the colour blue, which is commonly found in horror films because it represents cold and gloomy. Also a blue tint is a dull misty colour, having no warmth feeling, this could show that there is no warm light source therefore it shows nothing good is about to happen.

How is the main female character portrayed in this film? How does it relate to feminist theory?

Normally in a horror film women are portrayed to be the damsel in distress, someone who is weak, someone who is not able to defend them selves, usually film makers use women in films as a way to lure men in, e.g. use there body to trap them and put them in bad situations. Men usually take advantage of the female role in horror films, however in ‘silence of the lambs’ that isn’t the case for agent Sterling. At first in the opening scene you immediately assume she will be a victim, due to her being alone and defenceless. Until the man reveals her to be part of an organisation that is known to protect others, then suddenly she is stereotyped to be the butch, masculine character.  Throughout the film she slowly develops into her character, it takes a while to recognise who she really is. During the first 40 minutes, she is looked at as a young women who is week and powerless, however the longer you watch the film the more you think agent Sterling as being an intelligent, brave character, an example is when she geos into Hannibal’s lock up, based on a psycho killers word, she goes alone not knowing what to expect, that can be thought of as stupid or brave. Also towards the end she figures out riddles which no other FBI agent managed to do, and captures and kills Buffalo Bill on her own, so now she is the hero of the film.

How is the queer theory relatable to some of the characters in this film?

Queer theory is shown in this film by the murderer ‘Buffalo Bill’. In the film Buffalo Bill is stereotyped as a drag queen, someone who dresses up as a woman but is still a man. Buffalo Bill was once a lover with one of Dr Hannibal Lector’s patience’s; this is how Hannibal Lector knows of him. The FBI are on the chase for Buffalo Bill for the kidnapping and killing of several women, however the FBI mentioned he had not sexually abused any of the women that were found, this could be because maybe he has no sexual desires for the female gender, this could show that he is a homosexual and likes men. Plus Buffalo Bill skinned his victims after he killed them, he used there skin for wigs and dressing up clothing, he possibly has the desire to change gender.

What was the most memorable scene for you and why?

The most memorable scene for me was when agent Sterling first goes to visit Dr Hannibal Lector in the mental institution. Firstly when the director of the mental hospital leaves her at the gate on her own, leaving her with the scary stories of what Hannibal had done, and then having to get through all of the security to get to the part where Hannibal is kept makes you think how dangerous he really is. Immediately you start to feel emotions for the women character. The scene where agent Sterling is left to walk down the pathway to Dr Lector with cells on both sides containing the most dangerous mental patience is the most memorable scene for me, it gave me goose bumps and made me feel scared and worried for agent Sterling because of the psychologically disturbing men shouting discussing abuse. I think that the walkway to Dr Lector got worse as she got further to the end, slowly building the audience up for a major bang. Also the dialog between Dr Lector and agent Starling was emotionally unnerving, because of how intelligent he was, he could simply get into anyone’s head and make them doubt themselves, after the conversation you would leave thinking you wouldn’t live to see the next day.