Analysis Of Film Review Content

As it has been difficult to find reviews for the film which I have analysed for my textual analysis and the poster I had to find a similar film and analyse it's reviews. The film I chose is “Leaving Las Vegas” directed by Mike Figgis.

The first review which I'll be looking out comes from Time Out London , written by WH. http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/80243/leaving_las_vegas.html
The use of language in this review can be described as an academical, formal type of language. The reviewer focuses strongly on the actors in the film whose names have been mentioned at the beginning of the review. However the importance of the director of this film is also highlighted as we see his name being mentioned in the review several times. Additionally to that, at the end of the review the reviewer drifts away from the film itself and mentions success of both the main actor in the film as the director's.
Moreover there has been a slight mention of the locations used in the film suggesting that those might be desirable by the viewer.
The review however, starts off with a description of few opening shots of the film and a few quotes. In that part the reviewer is also focusing on the narrative and the theme of the film itself. There is no mention of any camera or editing techniques used in this film.

The second review of “Leaving Las Vegas” which I will annotate is written by Janet Maslin for New York Times.http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C07EFDE1F39F934A15753C1A963958260
In contrast to the review from Time Out London, this review is written academically and uses a few colloquial phrases however; it is still acceptably formal language.
Also in comparison to the previous review, this review is presented in much more detail. The reviewer starts off by focusing on the main actor in the film who seems to be the USP. Then goes on to talking about the director and his previous film and career. Janet Maslin then mentions that the film was based on a novel and gives us some back story on the writer.
She also mentions the soundtrack of the film and elaborates on some of the artists.
Most of this review is however focusing on the storyline in the film as the reviewer gives us a glimpse to what happens to the characters throughout the film.
The reviewer goes on to talking about the certificate of the film and what content we will find there while watching it. She finishes off by mentioning names of all the main characters in the film, the director, production designer, editor, and producers. Also mentions the release date.

The third and final review which I will analyse is written by Roger Ebert for Chicago Sun-Times.http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19951110/REVIEWS/511100303
This review is also very different to the two I have already annotated. In this one the reviewer used mostly informal language to connect better with his audience. He also focuses on many different things. The main focus in his review is the storyline of the film as he outlines particular scenes and quotes from the film. He also mentions actors who he empathises a lot on. He also mentions locations in detail he describes how particular locations look like and says what effect they have on the audience. The reviewer also questions the level of reality of this film by saying that is unrealistic to drink so much alcohol and still stay conscious. He also focuses on the theme of this film; he mentions the genre but also says what the film seems like to him. The reviewer does give a lot of opinion coming from his own perspective. Roger Ebert ends his review by giving it a critical acclaim of one of the best films of the year.

Production Schedule

Production
Company Cohesion productions

Date
22nd September 2011

Director
Abigail Ababio and ShaToya

Crew
Sabrina Danquah, Abigail Ababio, Angelika Kupzcyk and ShaToya

Details of Activities Date
Pre-production:
The Pitch A presentation of the film idea 15/9/11
Proposal Information about the finalised idea to be written by Angelika 22/9/11
Treatment Description of programme to be written by Sabrina 22/9/11
Audience profile Description of the target audience to be completed by Abigail 22/9/11
Resources for Mise-en-scene A list of things that will be present in the film 22/9/11
Textual analysis Comparisons of a similar media product to be done individually 29/9/11
Screenplay The events that take place in film written by Shatoya 29/9/11
Shot List A List of shots used during filming to be completed by Sabrina and Angelika 29/9/11
Recce Report Images of settings that will be used to be taken by Angelika 06/10/11
Titles and credits A list of the crew and cast 03/11/11

Production:
Monday 31st – Friday 4th November (editing for rough cut one)
Monday 7th – Friday 18th November (re-film corrections)
Monday 21st – Friday 25th November (editing for rough cut 2)
Monday 28th – Friday 8th December (last minute filming and editing for final cut)

Filming days (Monday 10th October – Sunday 30th October)
Monday 10th October
11:50 – 13:50 = filming at college (canteen scene)

Wednesday 12th October
9:00 – 11:00 = filming at Angelika’s house (drug girl scenes)

Thursday 13th October
13:55 – 14:55 = filming at Abigail’s house (bulimic girl scenes)

Monday 17th October
11:50 – 13:55 = filming at Abigail’s house (bulimic girl)

Wednesday 19th October
9:00 – 11:00 = filming at Angelika’s house (drug girl)

Thursday 20th October
13:55 – 14:55 = filming at Abigail’s house (bulimic girl)

Post-Production:
Log and transfer
Rough cut 03/11/11 Audience response
Soundtrack preparation
Graphics preparation
Second Cut

Final Cut Deadline: 8/12/11

Poster Analysis

The genre of the film is expressed through the tag line which is “the longest journey begins with a single step.” From this, I am given the impression that the film is about a person who must overcome their hardships in order to move forward which is typical of a dramatic film. The image on the poster is of Precious who is the main character in the film and she is shown walking forward which demonstrates the tag line. Based on her facial expression, she’s upset and is most likely finding it hard to move on from her past.

On the poster, the unique selling points are the actors. This includes “Mo’nique, Mariah Carey, and Lenny Kravitz” who are all well-known individuals capable of attracting an audience. Another unique selling point is the critical acclaim that has been positioned on the left hand side of the poster. Four have been used and this is to show a potential audience positive feedback on the film as a means of drawing them in.

Fonts have been used to make specific words standout such as the title of the film which is in a large font and the actors’ names which have been capitalised. This is to draw attention to them as they are key things that may attract an audience.

The poster appeals to the films target audience who are most likely aged between 16 and 24. The background of the poster is of a school building and so members of the audience who are in/have been in education may see this as something they can relate to.

Film Reviews

1. This review was written by Time Out magazine with the film ‘Precious’ as its subject. Language has been used to describe to a potential audience what the film is about without revealing any spoilers. The review has been written in a formal tone but contains some colloquial language that has been quoted from the film. A range of adjectives have been used throughout the text to make it appear more interesting and for it to be a good read. The review begins with a euphemism “if there was a gold statuette for wall-to-wall compassion, ‘Precious’ would wipe the floor with its rivals this awards season.” This type of sentence is likely to interest a reader to continue reading the review as well as to watch the film because it’s begun with a positive opinion. The first paragraph is about the films history and storyline and the second paragraph describes moments from the film that are both interesting and shocking. A personal opinion is always put forward by the writer which may lead a reader to believe and trust the writer’s judgement. The unique selling point being the actors in the film has also been mentioned in the text which is one of the things that the reviewer focuses on and this may be because it’s one of the films main attractions.

2. The subject on review is the film ‘Precious’ which has been constructed by Film 4. The review begins with some history about the film similar to the first review and then goes onto explain the storyline in more detail. This review is formal and focuses mostly on the cast as well as the films adaptation. This review also consists of personal opinions but aren’t as positive as the previous ones. The first and second paragraph mentions the films background and ends with a positive opinion from the writer saying that it is a good film. The third and fourth paragraph explains the plot of the film and also mentions the unique selling point of the actors but takes a focus on Mo’Nique. This review consists of a lot of personal opinion that have been listed in the fifth and sixth paragraphs and ends with an overall verdict of the film which is also positive.

3. This Review was constructed by Empire magazine and it includes information about the plot of the film as well as a verdict. This review is shorter than the other ones that I have analysed as it focuses directly on the main areas of the film such as where it was adapted from, the producers, the cast and the crew. The first paragraph consists of the film’s history which seems to be a common feature in reviews. The fact that the film was adapted from a novel is something that’s constantly mentioned in every review and this might be because it’s an important factor in the films production. A number of adjectives have been included and this is expected of a review as they are used to best describe elements of the film. The unique selling point being the actors in the film are also mentioned (Mo’Nique, Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey) as they were in the previous reviews.

Textual Analysis

Textual Analysis

Introduction:
Kidulthood is the title of the film I’ll be analysing; it was released in March 2006. Menhaj Huda directed the film, the film is a social - drama it represent social issues and problems that occur in a day to day teenage life.

Part One: Narrative Structure
A theorist called Todorov came up with 'The equilibrium model', he said that every film has a similar structure and all films should have equilibrium, a distribution and new equilibrium. Most films do go along with this structure and Kidulthood also does too. The equilibrium in this film is when the boy (Trife) is holding a blue plastic bag with a gun in it and hides it outside a building in this yellow box. The distribution is when the girls start to bully another and beat her up in the class room in front of the class. The new equilibrium comes at the end of the film.

Another theorist is Levi - Strauss' he developed the theory of Binary Oppositions which is when opposites create meaning for an example, good and bad or villain and hero. In 'Kidulthood' there are a lot of binary oppositions used. At the start of the film you see Sam the bad boy who bullies everyone and Trife the boy who nice and tries to help others get into a argument because Sam bullying people younger than him this suggests to us that Sam is the villain and Trife is the hero.

Another binary oppositions used in the film is Mooney and Jay because he good and Jay bad. From the start of the film you straight away to see who good and who bad and he most calm, doesn’t want trouble to happen and tries to stop confutation between all the boys. Shaneek who bullied Katie is an another binary opposition because Shaneek was a bully and Katie was an victim who ended up killing herself all because she couldn’t take being beaten up every time she went to school. But Shaneek got a kick out of bullying her and laughed every time she did and quite enjoyed bullying her so she could seem tuff to all the other school kids.

'Kidulthood' is not in chronological order from start to finish because at the end of the film Trife has a flashback and it shows everything that happened in the movie in a few seconds. The narrative is open and it suggest to the viewers that there will be a sequel because it left a gap and it makes you think what will happen next. Also it’s an omniscient narrative the audience is aware of what’s going on in the film and has an idea of what’s going to happen next because there a moment in the film when the audience know more than the character in the film, when Sam is going to go to the party to get revenge on the boys.

Part Two: Genre codes and conventions and representation

The characters used in this film are very typical to the social – drama genre. The youths portrayed in social – drama film is to have social issues like being in gangs, bullying, teen pregnancy, drugs and alcohol. The characters in this film act aggressive and unruly to each other in the beginning of the movie, the girls begin to bully another girl. They speak to her rough and in slang ‘Are you dumb bruv?’ which most teenagers speak in. Also they don’t tend to respect their elders (Teachers and parents). Most of the characters costume was typical of the genre because the boys mostly wore tracksuits, hoodies and trainers, while the girls wore short skirts, tight tops/clothing and tights. The girl hair was either up in a bun or down straight on their shoulders.

'Bullet Boy' is another film from the same genre as 'Kidulthood' social - drama which also includes similar representation. In 'Bullet Boy' it has social issues like gun crime, gangs, bullying and alcohol which is also featured in 'Kidulthood'. The costumes used in ‘Bullet Boy’ were typical to the genre just like 'Kidulthood' because the boys wore tracksuits, jeans, hoodies and trainers while the girls wore tight tops and jeans.

The costumes of the characters were typical of the genre because we always associate teens from urban areas to dress in hoodies, tracksuits, hats, trainers and jumpers. Most of the characters body language in the film is sometimes aggressive and we stereotype that most teens in hoodies are aggressive and threating this also is a representation of age but also gender because it stereotyped that mostly young males that behaviour and dress in those certain ways are aggressive. The female costumes are also typical to the genre because you would expect them to wear short skirts and tight tops with loads of make – up on trying to get boys attention and that very exaggerated because not all females dress or behaviour how the characters in the film are dressed or acting toward the boys.

The representation of social class and ethnicity in film was represented in a negative and exaggerated way. It came across that most black people that live in urban areas sell drugs to other people in the area and also bully others that are younger than them. Also age is represented in a comical and stereotypical way that all teenagers want to do is have sex with each other, drink alcohol and smoke. In addition that parents who are upper class and working class don’t concentrate enough on their children and more focused on their jobs was shown in a negative way because it shows that parents don’t always see the sign and don’t look into depth what goes on their child’s life.

The story line is typical of the genre because it’s a social – drama film about a teen that gets pregnant, and a girl getting physically/mentally abused and bullied by a group of teens and she commits suicide and they day the school gets off to mourn for her death, the youths take drugs, smoke, fight and party. The theme is power, love, friendship and enemies, the film show a lot of social issues throughout the movie, and how those issues affect one and other and other people around them.

Non-diegetic sound is first used at the beginning of the film, the sound used is an urban music that teenagers who would watch the film would listen too. The diegetic sound used is when the youths are all at the party coming towards to the end of the film and the music playing is RnB and hip – pop.

Risk Assesment

Hand Drawn Posters

These are our three ideas for the posters of our film 'breaking point'.

The Script

Breaking Point

By Cohesion Production

Int. House – Day

Aaliyah runs into the bathroom, leans over the toilet and is being sick.

Cut to:

Aaliyah walking down the stairs.

Cut to:

AALIYAH enters – She looks into the mirror, fixing her clothes and hair, she goes walk out room and looks back at dressing table.

Cut to:

Int. Canteen – Day

Aaliyah sitting in the canteen, looking through a magazine.

Cut to:

Aaliyah looking out the window looking at Lisa.

Cut to:

Int. House – Midday

Aaliyah opening her front door and then walking into to find a note, she picks it up to read it.

Aaliyah then throw the note on the floor and opens fridge and see a cake and takes it out.

Cut to:

Aaliyah taking cake up to her room, she then sits on her bed with the cake and looks up her wall with all posters on it and starts to eat the cake fast.

Aaliyah then looks up and sees her face in the mirror and she gets up and runs.

Cut to:

Int. Outside –

Aaliyah running down the road crying and then bumps into Lisa.

Then cut to:

Int. House – Day

Lisa is waking up and she looks at her phone and starts to cry.

Cut to:

Lisa walking into the bathroom and washing her face

Lisa looks in a mirror, and then looks down at her arm

Cut to:

Lisa in her bedroom getting ready

Lisa then looks back at the drugs and pick up her bag and leaves her house

Cut to:

Int. College – Day

Lisa walks into college tapping her college card

Lisa then walks outside the canteen and sees Aaliyah

Cut to:

Lisa walking into her house, Lisa then was in her room

Lisa throws her bag down and goes to her table and puts all the drugs in her mouth

Lisa then looks up at a picture of her boyfriend and spits all of them out

Lisa then gets up and runs out the house

Int. Outside –

Lisa running down the road crying and bumps into Aaliyah

They both look at each

LISA & AALIYAH

What are we doing to ourselves?

Poster Annotation - Ecstasy

This is the poster of film "Ecstasy" directed by Lux.
The genre of this film is social drama. This is communicated to us- the audience through many aspects. The first aspect, also the most eye catchy is the hill made out of white pills with a high school female student who isn't facing the audience. This suggests that the drugs might have a big influence on the character, as well as it might represent addiction. This therefore contributes to representation of the genre as this is the type of problems that we usually see in social drama films. Also the background is in colours of navy blue and grey. These two colours represent coldness, loneliness and fear. This therefore also gives the audience clear idea of the genre of the film. Lastly the title of the film title is "Ecstasy" itself raises up expectations of drug problem in the film which makes the audience believe is a social drama film.

The title of the film is written in light red colour. Usually we associate red colour with anger and fear and fight. However because it is a light shade of read this sends us as an audience message of the fight being given up, the fear decreasing and the anger washing away due to the effects of the "Ecstasy". The title is located lower on the poster which suggests that the word "Ecstasy" is the foundation to all the problems that the character on the poster might be facing. It builds up from the foundations through the hill of white pills. the word "ecstasy" itself raises up a few connotations. We associate this word with of course drugs, but also with that come problems and issues. We also often associate young people with this word. Some people may associate it with fun because we often hear of people taking ecstasy while partying.

The unique selling point of this poster is mainly the director: Lux. Lux has directed films like "Random Walk", "Unfortunately Malory" and "Solitude". Therefore fans of his previous creations would be keen to watch "Ecstasy".
This poster also has a tag line "How high can you fall?". This is a type of an oxymoron, however it means that in this situation "getting high" only makes people fall down.

The poster very clearly represents the issues raised in this movie. We can clearly see that there will be a drug problem because there is a big hill of pills in the middle of the poster. Also standing on top of the hill we have a teenage girl who we can see goes to secondary school as she wears a uniform. This suggests that a young person will be dealing with those issues.

The target audience suggested by the poster will be young girls aged between 15 and 20 as the costumes (school uniform) and props (school bag) are typical of people who fit into this age criteria. Also the film is targeted at lower, middle and high class people, as everyone is in the danger of becoming a drug addict and because it’s often heard about drug associated issues within those areas of the target audience.