City of God

The genre of the film City of God is gangster, this may not be very obvious from looking at posters or at the beginning film as the majority of the characters are children or young adults, the film is also based in a rural area of Brazil which is not a location you would typically expect a gangster film to be set in, however the genre is established in the Motel scene where Lil'Dice and the Tender Trio hold a heist, where we later see Lil'Dice shoot and kill the people in the motel, after this the use of violence in the film is quite strong and heavy until the end, whereby people are mainly killed with guns which a typical feature and convention used in any gangster film, the use of drugs is also a huge giveaway as to what genre the film is as the storyline almost revolves around the drugs as the drugs are one of the reasons things in the film happen e.g characters being introduced or gaining reputation, or even being killed.

Females in the film are seen as objects  as the only thing we really see them do in the film is have sex with the other male characters, for example Rockets only objective with the other women is to lose his virginity, Lil'ze also rapes Knock out neds Girl as he wanted her, this shows he has no respect for her or women as he feels he can do whatever he wishes to them just to show he is the powerful one.
The children in this film are not necessarily given the innocent image that children would usually have as most of them are criminals and killers, starting with Lil'Dice/Ze who kills many people who are all older than him and he shows no mercy whilst doing so which is something completely unexpected from a child.
The runts are a group of children who behave in a similar way to Lil'Dice, however less violent as when some of them are confronted with guns by Lil'Dice and his crew two of the Runts are stood their crying which is the first time we see these children really act like children.
Males are seen as the dominant and powerful ones in this film as they are the only people who have top roles or are bosses and tend to run things around the City of God.

   The film is aimed at an 18+ audience due to the use of violence, drug use and language, these would appeal to this group of people as they may be able to understand the storyline better and also cope with the harsh violence in the film.
The film is spoken in Portuguese so people who don't speak the language would have to read the subtitles and also concentrate on the action that is going on, a younger audience would not be able to do this due to having a shorter attention spam and would not get the whole picture.    

Scarface Audience Summary

After watching the film, trailer, seeing the poster and also watching a documentary about the film I have come to the conclusion that one of the main target audiences is people who have had similar life experiences to the character Tony Montana, such as coming up from nothing to something, which many people who come from a  poor background or have had nothing in their life can easily relate to as they would most likely wish for something similar to happen to them, or that is the aim in their life, another relatable theme would be having determination or dedication to a dream, just as Tony did as he had one objective and never gave up which meant he was able to achieve his goals, therefore people from a similar background to tony will look up to this and take inspiration from this, as was also said in the documentary 'The origins of hip hop classics' by numerous rappers who agreed that being able to relate to the struggles Tony went through made the film more appealing to them as it seemed more 'real'

Gangster Film Poster Target Audience

Select a gangster film poster of your choice that you will analyse in relation to the questions below:

Target Audience
1.  Who is the target audience for the film poster?

The target audience for this film poster would first of all be people who like gangster films in general, most likely men 18+ who enjoy crime/action films and scenes involving shootings and killing, also with a meaningful story behind it.2.  What techniques have been used to target them?

The use of a slim and sophisticated font used on the word "American Gangster" would appeal more to an older audience as the font implies that this film is aimed at an older more sensible audience, also hinting that it may have a more complicated storyline, requiring the audience to have good concentration in order to follow and understand what is happening. 

The use of black and white also plays on the sophisticated and older look of the poster which gains the appeal of an older audience, the use of colour also appeals more to male audience as the harsh contrast of black and white shows this is a film with a serious context and some strong character roles, the poster being primarily black implies there are large themes of darkness within the film.

Use of well known actors such as Denzel Washington have been used to target the audience as people who have seen other films he has featured in and enjoyed them, or think he is a good actor will be more likely to go and watch this film as they know it will be good due to the feature of the actor.

The contrast of the black and white on the two people in poster also shows opposing sides and will appeal to an audience who enjoy conflict and fight scenes.
Anchorage

3.  What is anchorage?

4.  How has anchorage been used to make the audience            clear?

5.  Why is it beneficial to apply anchorage to the                          construction of a film poster? 

This should be completed as a blog post or in powerpoint titled 'Film Poster Analysis'. Be prepared to share your observations.

Segmentation

What is segmentation?
Segmentation is the way in which there can be more  than one target audience within a film/programme, for example in a kids films such as Ice age it is primarily based at children however adults would go to watch the film with them therefore the film may contain elements that would be of an interest to adults.

2 & 3

The first film poster for Rollin in the nines has multiple people featured in it, both male and female which suggest it has multiple target audiences regarding both age and gender.
There are also features of guns which in a sense foreshadows the events that are likely to happen in the film which may interest people who enjoy films involving violence and shootings.

Audiences

• Identify whether the audience for each film is mainstream, niche or alternative
• Identify and discuss the techniques used to target each audience

Bowling for columbine:

The audience for bowling for columbine is a mainstream audience as I think it is primarily targeted at most adults or parents in America which is a very large target audience, with average tastes and interest.

Use of direct questions is one technique used to target the audience as it directly involves the audience by use of words such as "our" or "you" and asking questions like "why are our children doing.." which implies this documentary is not targeted and just a few individuals, but a large group of people.

The lift:

Personally I think the audience for 'The Lift' is an alternative audience as people who would actually be interested in this documentary would not just have 'average' tastes and interests as the documentary is not what you would expect from a documentary as it is shot from the directors point of view and does not feature any formal interviews, also the documentary has a slow start as you have to wait for all the characters to reveal there true selves, to find out the stories behind them.

Questionnaire summary: Bowling for Columbine & The Lift

My subjects aged between 18 and 24

What was interesting about documentaries?

3/4 of them said they enjoyed watching documentaries and learning new things.

Narrators and Directors made an impact on whether they wanted to watch the documentary

A look into he different types/genres

The lift: 1/2  people preferred the genre Reality from crime

 1/2  Would watch the type of documentary like The Lift where the main concentration was on just the audience and didn't actually feature the interview- except from the voice.

Bowling for columbine:

Both the people questioned where to watch more than 3 documentaries in the space of a month

1.     3-6 times

2.     More than 6 documentaries in a month

And both felt gun crime was a serious issue


Overall from my research I found out that the majority of young adults enjoy watching documentaries as they liked to find out and learn new things, within a range of generes, although they sometimes made the decision of which documentary they would watch by the directors and narrator featured or involved in the documentary

All subjects seemed equally interested in both the issues of gun crime, and reality life.

Research- Bowling for Columbine

 - How much did the film make at the box office?
On it's opening weekend at just 8 screens in the US the film made $209,148, with a total worldwide gross of $58,008,423, it was particularly popular in Germany making a total gross of $6,412,679
 - How do you feel the issue (s) it addresses may have impacted on the above?
The documentary made the highest gross in the US, which I think is due to the fact the documentary is based on shootings which had happened in America and also the gun crime rates, therefore American citizens are most likely the main target audience as it would be more of a concern for them.
 - Find an interview with Michael Moore about the film, and use some quotes that identify his own ideology on the topics involved.

*******

 - Watch the trailer, and identify who it seems to be being targeted at and why?

The Target audience seems to be the older generation of Americans, such as parents and teachers etc as in the trailer we hear questions such as "why would kids do this" and similar rhetorical questions that are meant to be aimed directly at the viewer, however it may mostly engage parents as it is regarding children.  
 - Does Michael Moore's other films also give clues as to who his films are targeted at? 
Michael Moore's films such as Farrenheit 9/11 suggests that his target audience are everyday Americans, however he wants people to question the way in which the American system and goverment work, and wonder if there are things being hidden from them instead of living in fear, which is a theme that seems to appear in his documentaries. - Watch a couple of trailers from some of his other films, and reference the titles
Fahrenheit 9/11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zf2nCiBJLo

Sicko https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffVJshHn-1w

Capitalism: A love story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeROnVUADj0

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Audience profile: The Lift

Age- 22
Gender- Male
Ethnicity- White British
Educational background- A Levels
Location- England
Marital status- Single
Occupation- Full time work at a Call center
Income- £0-25,000
Favourite Tv programmes- Big Brother, Towie, Geordie shore
Demographic- D
Religion-None
Interests- Reality Tv, socialising, travelling

Audience Profile- Bowling for Columbine

Age- 30
Gender- Male
Ethnicity- White American
Educational Background- College/Uni Graduate            
Location- America, Denver
Marital status- Married
Occupation- Full time High School teacher
Income- $55,000 per year
Favourite Tv Programme- CSI
Demographic- C1
Religion- Christian
Interests- Shooting, reading, cars and baseball

The Lift Research

Marc Isaacs is a director and cinematographer, known for Men of the City (2009), Lift(2001) and All White in Barking (2007).

The lift was first released in 2001 at Brighton Jewish film festival in the UK, however was also released in Netherlands, Czech Republic, France, USA, Germany, Belgium, Germany, USA, Australia, Germany,Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Italy, France, Canada in later years.

Did not recieve an award for 'Lift' however has for other films;  His work has won Grierson, RTS, and BAFTA awards, as well as an abundance of international film festival prizes.

In 'Lift'  Marc Isaacs places himself in the lift of a typical english flat in East London, he would stand for 10 hours each day in the lift with his camera facing the doors, waiting for the residents of the tower block to come in, some seemed curious and worried about him, while others seemed more welcoming and we soon discovered more about these characters and their stories.

Film review- Get off my land

I recently watched 'Get off my Land', a short five minute film written and directed by Douglas M Ray, about a man and his girlfriend who go on a walk into the countryside, to then be confronted by a farmer claiming that they are on his land, the way in which the situation was dealt with added a comical effect to the whole film as it was unexpected to the characters, however if you pay attention closely you can sense the darkness of the farmer.

The farmer is played by Robert Glenister, who some may recognize from his role as a con artist in BBC's 'Hustle', personally I think Glenister was a great choice of actor to fit the role of the farmer mainly due to his cold looks and attitude which deliver a chilling atmosphere from when he is first introduced to the scene, the man is played by Rafe Spall and is probably the main subject of this film, Finally the woman is played by Ruth Wilson who has featured in Suburban Shootout and  Jane Eyre, she seems like the more sensible character in the film as she had come prepared for their journey, unlike the man and is aware of the dangers around.

we are introduced to Rafe Spall as the 'man' in the first few shots of the film as he walks uneasily across muddy fields and over wobbly gates, clearly not having come prepared for the country side environment as he is wearing white trainers and jeans, these first few shots are majorly effective as the give us an insight into the type of person the man is, one of my favorite moments in the film is when he is questioning the farmer about where he got his land, and without a doubt you can see by the farmers face he was not impressed, Glenister displays Cold and straight facial expressions the whole time he is talking with the couple he even talks with a very placid tone, which gives a sinister representation of him allowing us to realize he has something in store for them.

Overall I think this was good short film with a humerus side to and a good moral behind it, something I've always been told from a young age "Don't judge a book by its cover", as the couple soon found out as they assumed an old farmer would not be a worry or a threat to them, but they soon learnt their lesson and had to deal with the consequences.

http://vimeo.com/30784488