To keep the list of posts easily visible I've hidden a detailed response to a query under the read more link
...
IN THIS POST
Main coursework blog audience tag
Specific postsDetailed eg of past feedback linked to specific student blogs
MAIN BLOG AUDIENCE TAG. All the posts detailed below and more are tagged
SOME SPECIFIC POSTS
Some points useful for you all (2019-20), directed as specific feedback on Louis' draft script (if it wasn't intended for a vodcast then it needs to be much better illustrated). There's a LOT more in the cwk guide you got at the start of the year, and a range of posts on this in not just the cwk blog (eg this short one) but obviously also BritCin (not just the tag linked)...and, if you're doing horror, this blog.
KEY POINTS 1ST:
- Use your exam learning to provide context (= 'shows knowledge + understanding'; 'applies research') - use specific examples to do so (I used multiple below; Submarine would be useful for your film's context too).
- Likewise, use exam-style analysis (the TV clip Q1) to provide deeper analysis of representations (Louis has used Propp; I've suggested further points)
- By ignoring my advice on this, your female character is very limited: Bechdel would not be impressed! Your best means of justifying this to argue you prioritised commercial calculations, like WT do (and did with SotD). I've also suggested as a partial fix to add dialogue to shots when they're in the car (+ given you the ref of Lost Boys opening as an eg), but...
- Acknowledge your error in the Eval Q; you do get credit for suitable reflection - thats the point of it!
- Be clear/precise on how your audience planning will link to media language - remember, thats planned future tense in this post
- The BBFC rating is a key point
- You cannot claim this is a male-targeted film; did SotD narrowly appeal to males???? You've used HYBRIDITY to overcome the (actually relatively narrow) male-skew of horror appeal
NOW THE DETAIL
A lot to take in. Read once. The tackle ONE theme at a time to re-draft. Always break it down into bite-sized chunks, don't try to take it all in. Unless you have ambitions of being a teacher!
OUR TARGET AUDIENCE …
AGE: some good analysis, but also a little simplistic – you need to think more about the role/mix of stereotyping/countertyping: to say ‘buffoon’ only is therefore a negative representation. How do you make him RELATABLE (ie U+G I)? Develop your point on the tee shirt for example. Also use Stuart Hall here to explain how this is a particularly zeitgeisty, youth-centred intertextuality.
The concept of ‘drinking life’ is a weak one. This can be fairly aspirational; the key point would be his apparent child-like (despite adult employment + independence from parents) lack of responsibility; freedom.
BBFC rating is a key point on audience; you’ve skipped over way too quickly! No egs/analysis of box office impact of 18; importance of teens to cinema etc, plus nothing specific on what you plan to do in the opening that reflects this point. Its okay to clearly state you’ve done more on this earlier, but still check that + give key bullets here.
You’ve also skipped over genre appeal, and the specific potential of such strong intertexuality to SotD for both prim/sec auds. Good to see the impact of convergence addressed (younger), but don’t base older appeal just on the song!!! You could make a more sophisticated point on how this could be risky – consider Baby Driver (success) v World’s End (relative failure), both using older music as a central part of the movie.
You could say you’ll add a teen character to the mix after the opening, link it to Zombieland. Eddie Pegg might be helpfult o show the mix of stereo/countertyping – he’s actually quite resourceful, sharp, the opposite of the media stereotype of gen Z’ers?
GENDER: “Our target gender is male.” NOOOO!!! You might argue that horror skews more to male, BUT the actual figures show the horror box office has a much smaller gender gap than is widely assumed – I’ve covered this on dbhorror blog, and easily found from googling. Donnie isn’t a true 4-quad film, but needs to be strongly targeting BOTH genders – that’s why the very thin/minimal role for Mia is a big issue (I’ve suggested to you using added VO dialogue while in the car to boost this). You note the centrality of strong female characters (Clover!), so need to address how Mia might encourage female U+G:I as well as male gaze. Don’t use the ‘drinking life’ phrase.
Plus - you've used HYBRIDITY!!!!! Set out why!!
I’d raise the Bechdel Test: yours fails. Argue you’re sticking closely to the SotD template which succeeded in attracting a female audience.
In your eval Q on representation, though, I’d acknowledge this as an error of judgement for a modern audience – think back to the GCSE work on Class.
CLASS: “Our main aim is to target a middle-class audience (C1C2),” NOOOO!! Complex, sophisticated = ABC1; broad, unsophisticated = C2DE and up. So C1C2DE? You need to say something about arthouse etc to establish the point. “We chose this as if we were to suggest the character was upper-class, we would have portrayed him as having an interest in materialistic goods, therefore owning an recent iPhone.” NO – premium price, yes, but it’s a mass-market item. “if we were to portray him as working-class, he would have an older phone with a keyboard” – NO, unless you aim to be as crassly stereotypically as Grimsby. Any slang, dialogue, accent signifiers? Acknowledge YOU are being highly stereotypical (the mess), make the link to exam egs like I just have – BUT acknowledge this is a COMMERCIAL choice; more artist-driven films like Tyrannosaur or TisEng present a much more nuanced picture (note the impact of COMEDY there).
NATIONALITY: “With the only dialogue in our opening coming from the Proppian princess, Mia Jones, our target region would be across England. This character has a posh Southern English accent, meaning it can be understood by a wide audience.
With our protagonist being from Zimbabwe, it means his accent is slightly more niche, limiting the worldwide (specifically American) distribution. The distribution would be around the setting of the production, being London.” MUCH too simplistic. Think about the exam ideas: WT don’t use white, m.cls S.Eng to target ENGLAND; what IS their thinking/strategy with this? Consider the likes of Mickybo and Me (or even Warp’s ’71) to develop the point. This SHOULD be a point where you can make strong use of your exam learning. TP’s slight Zimbabwe accent is not thick enough to be problematic, but certainly is worth noting – maybe for its positive potential.
FANS OF – work these points in more detail into AGE especially, as I’ve already outlined above.
SEXUALITY – its very simplistic analysis; disappointing not to even see the term (hetero-)normative/ivity. Link this theme into your analysis of gender. You could argue you were concerned with any LGBT+ character simply appearing as stereotypical in the confines of a 2min film opening, and that, again, you’ve prioritized commercial appeal. Once more, use your exam learning: how many of the WT films you’ve looked at include a prominent/lead role for a LGBT+ character? The same can be asked even of Warp – and that level of insight with evidence from research is what I want to see.
RESEARCH: Good to see you’re giving some consideration to this, but contrast the broad points you make here with the specific and evidenced (egs given) points I’ve suggested above.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Needs updating, + will need some illustration from early post/s.
DB SUMMARY: Some good points, some good use of media terms/theory, but some quite simplistic analysis and several times the analysis is questionable. I’ve tried above to indicate how to improve this with more secure analysis, and applying specific egs from exam research. A broad theme or ‘justification’ to return to is ‘commercial’ film-making: accepting the use of (eg) stereotypes and very limited female representation, reflecting what you’ve seen from the likes of SotD – whilst being aware of the strong lead role tradition of the final girl. You must acknowledge your mistakes in the Eval (you get credit for actual reflection!). The other basic point is to be more consistent with linking points to specifics of your planned (future tense in this post) media language.
No comments:
Post a Comment