Movie poster Mise-en-scene decription, 1st try

The poster is a concept design/redux recently drawn by Olly Moss for Sam Raimi’s cult horror ‘The Evil Dead’. It depicts the now horror cliche log-cabin-in-a-forest setting on an aged sepia paper, where protagonist Ash is burying a corpse. The image is also in the shape of an undead hand bursting out of the ink smudge-like soil, hinting to the loosely strung together zombies-in-a-cabin plot of the movie, and ‘shot’ on a dramatic angle. The hand design is red in colour, suggesting the evening, and on other levels a bloody hand print. The fingers are solidified by background trees. The contrasting colours are extremely eyecatching, and the choice of colours (black, white, almost sepia) seem to be a nod to classic horror posters from decades before.

Is the film industry hit-driven?

  The film industry can appear a brutal area of profession. A swansong of a movie which a director/producer pours their heart and soul into can be obliterated and tossed aside at the box office by a huge blockbuster movie raking in more for the opening week than the director’s well worked masterpiece could do in its entire existence. Indie and niche films, no matter how flawless they are, can often be overlooked by the majority audience, who opt instead for an embarrassingly awful reboot of an already well-milked franchise. Veteran of the industry Eric Fellner suggested that “The film industry is a hit-driven industry”, which may very well be true.

  It doesn’t take an eye well-trained in the ways of film to see that the real money-rakers in the business are more often than not the heavyweight companies. The now highest grossing film of all time, Avatar, made nigh on $1bn at the box office-a number unimaginable by any amateur film maker -but a key reason for its success was the man at the helm, James Cameron. A virtual godfather of film and the man who gave us Alien, Terminator 2 and Titanic, Cameron was again on par with his latest effort. His past films skyrocketing in overall value, he poured all his resources into the film, even building on the still somewhat new medium of motion capture. The audience had never seen anything like it, and all other box office competition simply lost their work ethic.

  While Avatar was most definitely a new direction in cinema, other chart-topping movies are ever so slightly questionable. Harrison Ford returned in Indy 4 not so long ago to an unimpressed line of critics, in undeniably the worst of the four films, yet it still stormed to the no.1 spot and flattened everything in its path during its cash-grabbing assault on our eyes. Films such as the controversial critic favourite and future cult classic Kick-Ass were left to rot underneath the pile of family-friendly and 3-D romps. Scott Pilgrim Vs the World may also be set for box office doom and (preferably) a cult following in later life, proving the inconvenient truth; the fat cats rule the industry through and through.

  By the shockingly ironic statistics, it seems that audiences go for the sorry excuses for making more money on the ignorant populace rather than the true classics. Smaller indie companies like Kick-Ass’ Marv can become relatively forgotten in the sea of Viacom and Fox’s totalitarian ownerships of all but a few companies. Many a company before Marv films turned the script for Kick-Ass down due to its lack of appeal to the mainstream audience, which connotes that the larger companies simply want the majority audiences, thus bringing in the big bucks. And if a movie presented to us by such traditional champions as MGM and Warner Bros becomes a favourite among the year’s blockbusters, be prepared to see sequel after sequel fed out along with corresponding merchandise diverse enough to fill an entire aisle at Toys ‘R’ Us. A fine example of this franchise building and driving into the ground of once decent movies is The Wachowski’s brainchild The Matrix Trilogy.

  In conclusion, the box office looks conquered by bland franchises, infinitely funded award nominees and mainstream nightmares, with no sight of minority companies or indie favourites, only coming to light as the cult hits and deservedly money-making hits they really are when they reach DVD. The film industry is most certainly hit-driven, but the world of mainstream looks more blatantly than ever to be a pocket emptying franchise factory. Looking beyond this we could find films countless times better wanting some much desired attention.

How do Vue, Cinema City and Odeon use their strategies to appeal to different audiences?

The cinemas Vue, Cinema City and Odeon all compete for an audience in the city of Norwich, but upon inspection are strikingly different to one another. They aim to please different majority or niche audiences of certain ages, win customers by location and convenience, and show various differing types of film for their chosen group.

  Vue, formerly Ster Century, is an eight-screened affordable family cinema situated in Castle Mall, Norwich. Its specific audience is made mostly of the young – small children ranging to teenagers and young adults – along with their families. This is a wide scope of consumers, but Vue applies several gimmicks and perks to continue making money. Bean bags have been added to be used cheaply by youths; alternatively a row of premier seats in the prime area for viewing can be sold out to those willing to pay a few Pounds more. Vue is below par in comparison to Odeon, but due to its placement in walking distance for most of the populace it still manages to compete.

  Odeon is rather expensive when laid up against Vue’s general prices, yet I am led to believe that you get more for your money. Odeon boasts 14 screens, and reaches out to a wider audience by installing a bar for the more mature customers. Being at the riverside complex, it is a marginally farther distance to trek, but all the more rewarding when you arrive. Unlike Vue, Odeon sells food both separately and in bulk, as if to supply something resembling a meal instead of a child’s snack. Odeon’s higher rates for movies allow it to be more lenient with confectionary sales, making it all the more relaxing to visit for the seasoned movie-goer.

  Although I have not yet visited Cinema City, I understand it is set back from all other cinemas in the area. It is more of an independent cinematic experience, providing new or well-loved Indies and niche audience films to replace the sickeningly puerile family films showcased in the rival businesses. As well as feature films, Cinema City lets us use smaller screens to watch various art house shorts. Its main attraction is solely the films, with liquids only present in expensive alcoholic concoctions.

  To conclude, the three highlighted cinemas each aim to please a different audience. Vue is suited to the mainstream, ‘appropriate’ viewing and fancies of teenagers wishing to lazily drop into the closest screening possible. Odeon’s audience is ever so slightly more sophisticated, but still nothing but a commercially motivated business compared to the quirky independent shorts brought to us by Cinema City.

Introduction/profile task

Name: Jack Sims

Hobbies: Reading, writing, watching TV, acting (occasionally), gaming

Media Interests:

  Print media:

I rarely buy or read newspapers, but occasionally pick up The Sun to laugh at the ridiculous stories. I tend to skim through and find something slightly insane to point out or criticise if it’s the only thing to read. I prefer accessing the news on the web, seeing as I can filter out all the sensationalist piffle and read stories which interest me in particular.

  I read several magazines in my line of interest. I buy Empire monthly to read about upcoming films and the happenings in the industry. Occasionally I buy the Official Nintendo Magazine for game reviews and queries. Music magazines tend to keep in the likes of Kerrang! or Metal Hammer for my niche of musical taste.

  Radio media:

I tend to listen to Kerrang! Radio or local stations for some news, as long as I can stand the endlessly repeating playlists of chart topping mediocre bands.

  Music Industry:

My preferences of genre stay in the wide scope of Rock and Metal; Occasionally General Rock, Punk, Grunge etc., but mostly Heavy Metal (Thrash, NWOBHM, Proto). I don’t belong to a band, as I have no grasp of any instrument apart from a dated Casio.

  I tend to access most of my music from the PC after compiling all of it onto iTunes. Illegally downloading music from sites is something we might have all done in the past, though I disapprove of bands not making any money with droves of fans torrenting tracks.

  The music industry definitely affects the way I dress and what I aspire to. The general style of Metal set down by bands such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest is still popular among many. A lot of Metal is written in protest, like Sabbath’s War Pigs, conceived during the turmoil in Vietnam and elsewhere.

  Video Games:

I don’t particularly have a favourite video game, but most of my highest rated ones were released by either Nintendo or Valve. Sidescrollers like Super Mario Bros. were masterpieces back in the 80s, setting down the blueprint for almost every other similar format game in history.

  In terms of Valve, my favourites would be Half Life 2 and Left 4 Dead 2. HL2, much regarded by players and critics alike as the best game of all time, follows Gordon Freeman in a First-person Shooter in which he fights the totalitarian invading aliens, the Combine. Unlike other games of 2004 and beyond, all of the cutscenes were fully playable, and the Source Engine physics were incredibly accurate. Further episodes to the storyline were added in 2007, and we are currently waiting for the final instalment.

  L4D2 is the sequel to the controversial best-selling game of 2009, Left 4 Dead, and runs on an updated Source Engine. Up to 4 players slash, shoot and sprint their way through several multi-stage campaigns set in the American deep South to find safety in the zombie apocalypse; The graphic nature of the game and false allegations of racism lead to a thankfully unsuccessful boycott.

  The attitude that videogames are violent and offensive could be supported by L4D2, but looking closer it is much more rounded and correct. The concerns arose with parts of campaigns being flooded with bloated corpses in water, not long after hurricane Katrina. Some zombies were also black or Asian, which aggrovated this and led to a racism boycott. If all of the zombies were white, I think it would be far more racist, and a slection of various nationalities in zombies is actually reasonably PC. The graphic nature of the game is also expected in an FPS. Violent games have distinct age restrictions to stop this outrage happening, but small children may still be influenced badly by such games.

  New Technology:

New technology has allowed me to get the news as it happens, anywhere, which is a great advantage for everyone. Mobile phones have also allowed us to be more social and keep in contact halfway across the globe. Multimedia ways of watching films are a great way fore the industry to attract customers, and programs allowing you to broadcast your own media on the internet are available to all. The media has evolved, and in turn the consumers have.

  Television:

I watch channels as the programs come and go. I tend to switch channels if something interest is elsewhere. My favourite TV channels include the BBC, for its decent amount of drama and satirical comedy, and its overall left-wing undertones. As genres go, I would choose Comedy for the joy of laughter, especially at the state of the country, or Horror. I consider quite a few programs memorable, but the most recent one to stand out to me is the series on E numbers on the BBC. Contrary to popular belief, they do you an amount of good.

  Feature film:

I like to watch films whenever I can. My favourite genres would be Comedy and Horror, or a mix of both like in schlock or horrifically low budget laughs. Three films I would describe as outstanding would be Vertigo, The Matrix and Green Slime.  The first was one of Hitchcock’s superb movies, relatively flawless in my opinion. The Matrix was, for lack of a better word, game-changing, and altered the way our generation thought. Green Slime was, even on 60s sci-fi B movie terms, a low budget atrocity. If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry. The Hendrix-esque end theme was mental.

  I consume films from television, cinema, the internet, anywhere that films could possibly be shown.  But the atmosphere of the big screen is the better than any other. I usually head down to Riverside Odeon, since Vue’s rubbish. I prefer watching films in a group. I have never contributed to anything in media other than the activities week road safety.

    I am not easily offended by texts, but those which have were awful. Some papers portray teens as 100% antisocial, which is a misleading stereotype in my opinion. Heavy Metal also gets bad press, seeing as for some bizarre reason people think we all worship Satan: they’re only a nutty sub-culture, made up by the clinically insane and the odd National Front News reader. Contrastingly I thought the work on artificial life was ground-breaking, and points toward a bright future for man rather than an act punishable by God and his lightning bolts.

  Reading about unsustainable Palm oil in Borneo has altered my way of consuming products, as I sometimes look for a source of Palm oil on the packaging. If I were to write a media text for the reading of the public, I would write about the idiotic stereotypes of Metalheads being Satanists. I chose media studies due to my interest in film and drama.