AA ANALYSIS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ja63b5O8Tk        
BP= BRAD PITT
AJ= ANJELINA JOLIE

I am going to do my 2 minute extract on a scene from 'Mr and Mrs Smith'. This film is starred by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt as they play the roles of two spies who do not know each other are spies and are set on the same mission to kill each other, they then end up fighting the spy companies and the attempt to stay alive. The scene I have chosen is the ballroom scene between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I chose this scene because it shows a different variety of camera angles.

I chose this extract because although it doesn't show a fighting scene it shows the build up and the tension towards one. I think it suits the genre of an AA film because it involves a lot of tension and the camera angles are constantly switching which also adds to the tension, they are also in a very posh place which you are meant to perform the tango in. In a lot of Bond films the build up to a fight is usually based in a posh very high up place. This then gives it the typical action and adventure film style. As well as this my second reason for it fitting the genre for an AA film would be the typical bond style where they know they are facing a life or death build up yet they remain calm and give this cool effect.

It starts off with a new York birds eye view which then switches into a over the shoulder shot of Angelina Jolie. After this it changes into a close-up to catch her emotions- she is crying and drinking what is either white whine or champagne. She is not looking directly at the camera which shows she is thinking or day dreaming. After this it then flicks to another over the shoulder shot of a man approaching and what looks like a waiter about to pour her drink. I then changes into a close-up of her reactions as the man pours her drink, this then changes once again into another close-up but its of the man who is Brad Pitt.

The camera then spins around him as he speaks slightly. It is still in a close-up but it zooms out slightly to expose a bit of Angelina Jolie's hair to show he is speaking to her and not an empty space. After this the close-ups flick back and fourth for a few moments as there is a piece of dialogue between the two characters. In the background you can hear traditional tango music, this adds to the tension as its meant to be a slick dance that is performed between two people who would be considered to be in a relationship. It also shows the kind of place they are in, a posh very fancy place.

There is another over the shot shoulder showing BP sit down in front of AJ and it flicks to a Camera view of AJ from just below her shoulders upwards. Quickly it then switches to an extreme close-up of her moving her gun and hiding it under her handkerchief. It then shows a close-up to capture his reaction before he makes an exaggerated attempt to hide the fact he has a gun also, this adds to the tension  between them a lot because they both know the other has an armed weapon.
It then pans upwards to show his face and it flicks between them as the dialogue starts again. There is then another close-up but  is almost immediately switched to a close-up of AJ. Yet again it flickers through the dialogue, there is more and more tension between the two characters. There is yet again another over the shoulder shot which is then straight away changed to a close up. Then when BP asks AJ to dace with him it changes to a wide camera view of them getting up out of their seats to go dance.

What I find so interesting about this extract is that it fits the bill for an AA scene however it doesn't actually contain any fighting. It just contains the build up and shows the tension between the two characters which I may have already mentioned but gives a typical post-fight feel. I personally feel tension, this effect takes place on me because of the background music is the tune to the tango which is performed as a pair between two quite posh people. The camera angle flicks between he two characters as they attempt to overthrow and threaten each other with their speech and play the cool card to each other. This gives me a feeling of tension.

At the moment there is no hero just two good spy's who were married to each other turned against each other and told to kill each other. In the end they are both the heroes as they prove to each other they love each other two much and decide to take down the two spy companies who decided they needed to kill each other. I think they are the typical heroes because in the end they make everything good again.

READING LYNX ANALYSIS

Today we looked at an article called 'Reading Lynx' in the Media Magazine, and we also analysized it.
Firstly we looked at the signs in the advert. Signs give you clues to what the advert is about, where you are, who you are and what you are doing.  For example the producers of this lynx advert make you notice that the kitchen is a 1950's type kitchen. During this era men had complete control over women and saw them as a piece of their property. 

 Secondly we talked about codes.There were two types, cultural codes and technical codes. Cultural codes are a way of communicating through what the advert is trying to tell you. Technical codes include things such as lighting or camera angles. For example in this advert the camera is behind the women but she is still looking at you, this makes her look more sexy. 

Textual analysis grids help to analyse the text you are looking at or reading. You start by picking key points. For example; her tanned skin; the model is white but her skin is tanned which imitates the healthy and natural glow of someone who relaxes in the sun.

LUCOZADE AND LARA CROFT

About 13 years ago Lucozade was selling its product as a medicine. They decided that this wasn't working for themselves so they had to re design their product. They wanted to redesign their product into an energy drink. However to do this thy needed someone to convince the buyers to buy their new energy drink.

I think Lucozade used Lara Croft as their new image because she was at that time the game everyone played. She was quick and a lot like a 'warrior'. It shows her running from a pack of angry dogs and she comes to a ledge. The ledge is to far for her to jump as she doesn't have the energy. So she chooses Lucozade out of her backpack and drinks this. It shows her energy go up and she jumps the ledge.

I think this was a good marketing idea because everybody see's Lara as an active animation who is very fit. It shows people that Lucozade shoots up her energy and is now an energy drink. Therefore proving to buyers that Lucozade is now branded as an energy drink not a medicine.

SHARE A COKE ANALYSIS

CLICK HERE FOR THE SHARE A COKE VIDEO BEFORE YOU CLICK ANYWHERE ELSE!

In the link above you will find the most recent advert of all coke adverts, the 'share a coke advert'.

I think coke have been very clever in this advertising. They have published a drink with names on them. So you can either share a coke with yourself, friends, family, summer or other people. They have targeted many different people. Firstly they have targeted people who want to thank someone for a previous experience so they would buy the drink. They have also targeted individuals who will want to buy a coke with there own name on. As well as that they could have targeted people who want to buy one with someone in there family or a friends name on. I think this is very clever also because the likely hood of someone buying a coke with either there or someone else's name on and posting it on a social networking site for everyone else to see is very high. This then persuades other people to o out and buy one and then the cycle continuous so it becomes very popular very easy. You could say it was free advertising.

I think its meant for the younger generation, the people in the advert are young and speak young. It's showing a friendship between the actors which may suggest you are meant to but your best friends name 'hence share a coke' however people have preferred to 'share a coke' with themselves. The advert has kept the same red ad white colours of coke in the background. In the advert it is showing a variety of names, its saying that there can be unusual names like 'Dauntaye' however they do show common names as well for example 'Jamie'. This is coke telling everybody that they have a variety of names even some of the more unusual names.

The shots in this video are close-ups. They show from the waist upwards.  feel they show this because they don't want to much excess space behind the actors but they want enough to be able to show the main details of the actor and the red and white in the back that makes the coke colours. By watching this advert, personally, it has tempted me to find a coke with my name on it and have a coke. I think the colours all tie together with the theme of coke and the actors/actresses work well to aim this at the younger generation. I believe this s a very good advert.

SHOT TYPES

This is a close up of Rihanna. This is used in films where you may be wanting to see the expression on the actors face or from the other actors point of view of talking to this person (as if the audience was the other actor looking at Rihanna)

This is an extreme close up of Harry Potter. This is usually used for dramatic effect and to see the actors expressions in more detail.

This is the over the shoulder shot. It is used to add effect and mystery as you cannot see the other actors face unless they shoot from the other side. It is used in films but also in documentary's when the person speaking doesn't want to be identified.

 

This is the two shot. It shows the actors in deep conversation although they may not be.

This is a wide angle shot. This shows the area/environment around the dog and could show how little the dog is compared to its surroundings.

 

MY FIRST MEDIA LESSON

We had our first media lesson today, it was just an introduction to the media studies and then we started studying different adverts in the textbook and the coke zero advert which was associated with James Bond. Overall I believe it was a really good starter to the lesson.