Thelma & Louise
Thelma and Louise was written by Callie Khouri and directed by Ridley Scott. It was released in 1991 and became one of the highest-grossing films. Thelma & Louise is an American road movie featuring two female leads; the film's plot revolves around Thelma and Louise's escape from their troubled, caged lives. It stars Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise, and co-stars Harvey Keitel as a sympathetic detective trying to trace them as they go on the run after killing a rapist. Michael Madsen plays the role of Louise's boyfriend. Brad Pitt plays a parolee robber.
The opening scene: The opening scene is a shot of a deserted road leading off into the mountains; it represents freedom, isolation and adventure. It is a slowed panning shot so it really makes the audience pay attention to it as it has such relevance to the story.
Thelma & Louise: Louise is the 1st character we are introduced to, she is portrayed as a hardworking, headstrong woman. We get this impression as the first scene we see her in she is running around a busy cafe and the dialogue she uses towards other customers makes her seem pretty hypocritical. Thelma is the second character we are introduced to and the first impressions of her are very different to Louise’s. Thelma comes across as a very weak and timid person and this is portrayed when the scene with her husband and he talks to her like a child and she says nothing.
Extra notes: Scene 1 and scene 2 completely contradict each other. The first scene is the shot of the open road and the second scene is Louise confined to a busy, claustrophobic cafe.
The only time we saw Thelma happy in the first scenes was when she was in the phone to Louise, this suggests that she is unhappy at home. Also as soon as the two get in the car they start laughing and joking and this mixed with the upbeat music suggests that they are running away from everything at home and are glad to be going.
As soon as the two are off on holiday Thelma mimics smoking and this shows that she feels she can relax and show her rebellious side.
Soundtracks from similar products.
The soundtrack to a film can be vital in helping both the representation of the character and the narrative, as well as a way to express the characters moods and feelings and helping to build tension.
As we are only producing a few minute opening sequence we need everything to help in interesting our audience and one way to do that is by the music we use, so research is needed to ensure we follow genre specific elements of a crime/ gangster film and grab our audiences attention.
Lock stock and two smoking barrells, Harry Brown, Snatch, Layer Cake ,The Departed and Kidult hood are films we have already researched In to and we have found to be similar products.
Lock stock and two smoking barrels
This piece of music is very up beat and rock and roll, it is edited a bit for the film but the loud nature of the music accompanies the fast pace of shots and helps to make the opening sequence flow.
Snatch
This piece of music is more chilled out and relaxed to introduce the characters and titles but then fastens up to help create and build tension for the audience
Harry brown
This song is quite eerie and fits with the scary location that this film is set in, the lyrics of this song also help to represent the characters as one of the films issues involves drugs and this is what the song is about, also its loud bass and repetitive beat builds the spectator up for something to happen.
Layer cake
This as well as the one above is very repetitive but this one creates a tense atmosphere for the audience as they can understand the characters feelings and emotions through this song. This song has no lyrics so make the audience concentrate more on the actions of the character.
The departed
This piece of music is typical with a gangster crime film and this is because of the rapping in it, the lyrics help to explain the narrative of this film.
Kidulthood
This film also has lyrics and also has a repetitive beat.
Sound Track Ideas
As the music in our opening sequence must be from a copyright free source we examined the following websites to get ideas for our project:
• http://www.shockwave-sound.com/
• http://audiojungle.net/ • http://freeplaymusic.com/
• www.freesound.org
• http://www.ljudo.com/default.asp?lang=tEnglish&do=it
• http://www.jamendo.com/en
We decided that we needed a very fast paced tune to highlight the dramatic storyline of the gangster genre. Below are some ideas of these:
• ‘The Escape Route’ – fast and action packed tune(freeplaymusic.com)
• ‘Running Away’ – tense and exciting tune (freeplaymusic.com)
• ‘Decimator’ – heavy and fast paced tune (freeplaymusic.com)
• ‘Money’ by Dramatic Sin – eerie and dramatic tune(www.jamendo.com)
However, after much deliberation within our group we decided that Knife Fight (freeplaymusic.com) would be the most effective music to use as the extremely past pace of the song reflects the dramatic narrative about drugs and violence and gives the film a dangerous and aggressive vibe as though something is about to happen.
http://freeplaymusic.com/search/advanced_search_ext.php
Reserach into similiar products
Opening sequence essay
“A title sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound. ...”
An opening sequence has one rule to follow and that is try and create an enigma to help the spectator understand WHO we are, WHERE we are and WHY they should carry on watching the film and also to establish characters and or settings to grab the audiences attention without trying to give away too much of the narrative. An opening sequence is usually a couple of minutes long and has to explain the narrative of the whole 90 minute film in just 2 to try and interest a possible audience. A key in creating an opening sequence is the need to develop the idea for the film in broader terms before actually producing the opening sequence, for example you need to have an idea as to the ending of the film as if you were going to produce the whole thing.
Some successful opening sequences includes:
1)
This is a title sequence taken from the film SEVEN what makes this title sequence suceful is the ability to keep the audienes attention by using a mix of weird images and shots crossed with titles, this keeps the audience interested as you find yourself trying to work out what they all mean.
Another opening sequence that fulfils its purpose is the film Superbad,
2)
This title sequence is also successful as it introduces the characters, as well as the titles at the same time in a humorous manner by the upbeat music combined with the silly dancing keeping hold of the audiences attention and making the spectator want to watch on.
3)
All the above clips display a well thought out clever title/ opening sequence that does its job .
Todorovs narrative theory
Vladmir propp research
Audience reception theory
Ways of categorising audiences
Uses and Gratifications theory
Todorvs Theory stength and weaknesses
Vladimir Propp’s Theory....
Vladimir Propp suggested that characters took on the role of narrative 'spheres of action' or functions. From a comprehensive study of folktales Propp came up with seven different character types:
• The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest (or search). Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the villain's attentions, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villain’s victims. The hero is invariably the texts central character.
• The villain who usually creates the narrative disruption.
• The donor gives the hero something, it may be an object, information or advice, which helps in resolution of the narrative.
• The helper aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium.
• The princess (the victim) is usually the character most threatened by the villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the hero. The father's (who in fairy tales was often the king) role is usually to give the princess away to the hero at the narrative's conclusion. He may also despatch the hero.
• The dispatcher sends the hero on her or his task (who can typically be the
princess father)
princess father)
• The false hero appears to be good but is revealed, at the narrative's end, to
have been bad
have been bad
Hypodermic model reserach
Hypodermic Model - “is when media broadcasts directly shape the opinions and actions of viewers. According to this theory, information is "fired" or "injected" directly into the viewer, and then guides their actions.”
Origins
- The theory emerged in the mid- and late 1930s, when researchers were examining World War I propaganda and Nazi Germany's use of the mass media.
Key Concepts
- The key concept of this theory is that individuals cannot escape or resist media messages. It holds that people remain passive and accept, rather than investigate, information presented by the media.
Strengths
- Mass media communications
Weaknesses
- Individuals are all told to believe the same thing, therefore there are restrictions
- The power media has over society
- Mass media/mass communications make people powerless to resist messages the media carries
- Consumers are ‘drugged’, ‘addicted’ or ‘hypnotised’
- Effects theories taken up with protection of young, link between violence and the media
Criticisms
- As media studies became more complex, researches began to believe that human behavior related to media in more complex ways than passive acceptance. Studies (such as one of the 1940 U.S. election) showed that people often resisted the influences of media propaganda and made contradictory choices.
Audience Reception Theory
The central focus in the study of communication is:
‘Not in the text or message but on the audience and reception of the message. This is because meaning is constructed not given not only in the process of encoding but also in the process off decoding. ‘
‘Not in the text or message but on the audience and reception of the message. This is because meaning is constructed not given not only in the process of encoding but also in the process off decoding. ‘
Maslows Hierachy of Needs
A theory stating there are five layers of needs for all humans: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and the crowning jewel, self-actualization. With the more basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid.
“Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a reference frame for actions when trying to influence an audience. I believe you must first consider the Maslow Level the target audience or group is residing on to develop an effective strategy to influence them. This is especially important to avoid putting your own values on others. This may be people from other political groups, races, religions, or countries. I have many times in travels seen Americans living on the self actualization plane frustrated or ineffective due to failure to understand that their target audience lives on a significantly different level in the hierarchy of needs.[1]”
Different ways of gaining audience research
There are many ways to gain audience research. Firstly there is primary data which you (the researcher) collect. Or secondary data which has been collected by another researcher, whether they are someone you know or a world known theorist. Quantitative and Qualitative data is varying methods of collecting data:
Quantitative data: “information in numerical form (percentages, tables, graphs, etc) Official statistics and the results of social surveys are two important sources of quantitative data” - Quantitative data can be gathered by questionnaires, surveys, and closed end questions. The census is probably the most renowned example of quantitative data.
Qualitative data: Information, usually expressed in words, about peoples thoughts, feeling, motivations, attitudes, values etc. It is obtained from qualitative methods and sources such as participant observation, unstructured interviews, diaries and letters. It aims to give an insight into what it is like to be in another person’s ‘shoes’ .
Different ways of categorising audiences; Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic
Geographic segmentation is based on variables such as:
· Region: This kind of segmentation involves division of customer base by continent, country or state etc.
· Customer groups can also be formed on the basis of size of population of a particular region
· Population density: urban, suburban, or rural
· Climate
Demographic Segmentation includes:
· Age
· Gender
· Family lifecycle
· Generation
· Income
· Occupation
· Education
Psychographic segmentation is based on:
· customer’s lifestyle
· activities
· interest
· opinions
· Morals
Uses and Gratifications theory
Uses and Gratifications Theory – Strengths and weaknesses
Uses and gratification theory – is a popular approach to understanding mass media communication. The theory places more focus on the consumer or audience, instead of the actual message itself by asking ‘what people do with media’ rather than ‘what does media do to people’ (Katz 1959. It assumes that members of the audience or not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fufil specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewer’s gratification. (Katz, E..Blumer, J.G & Gurevitch, M. 1974)
· It is suggested that the uses and gratification theory has to fufil when we chose a form of media
- Identity – being able to relate to the person in front of you, and share similar values and morals
- Educate – being able to acquire knowledge
- Entertain – enjoyment and escapism from our current lives and worries
- Social interaction - being able to produce a topic of conversation between other people.
Weaknesses
- Many people have critisced this theory as they believe the public has no control over what the media produces. And believe they are being told what to believe
- The theory rules out the possibility that media can have an influence on our lives without realising it.
- The idea that we simple use the media to satisfy a given need doesn’t seem to recognize the power of media in today’s society
- Consumers of media can decide how they will interpret the media and how it will affect them.
- Gives the consumer freedom and control e.g. sky and the internet lets you chose what you want to watch
Todorvs Theory stength and weaknesses
Todorov’s theory and application of his theory to other products and our own...
Todorov’s believes that there are five stages the narrative can profess through. He believes firstly there is a state of equilibrium (everything is as it should be) followed by a disruption of this order caused by an event. He then states that there is recognition that this disorder had occurred, and then there is an attempt to repair the damage to the disruption. Todorov believes that the narrative ends with a restoration of the old equilibrium or a new equilibrium. He argues that from this disruption the characters transform or the narrative develops and changes.
Many films follow Todorov’s narrative theory, such as mean girls being one example. There is a state off equilibrium with everyone following the self fulfilling prophecy theory. Where everyone accepts their stereotype and doesn’t challenge it. Then just like in Todorov’s narrative theory there is a disruption of when Cady Harran (Lindsey Lohan) enters the school. The disruption is then filled with an event which is when tension arises between the different social groups, and the ‘burn book’ is discovered. There is then recognition, like in Todorov’s theory and the damage is then attempted to be repaired. A new equilibrium is then formed and the disruption causes the characters transform and the narrative changes.
In our film we have challenged the conventions of Todorov’s theory as we have not opened the film with a state of equilibrium or peace, but an automatic crisis. We have also challenged Todorov’s theory by having a non linear narrative starting at the end of the film, which causes the audience to become intrigued and want to watch more, which is an extremely important aspect for an opening sequence.
Questionaire and results
Uses and gratifications theory
Audience research essay
Audience essay
We use chose to do a short no dialogue opening sequence. Before we determined the narrative I had to determine the audience in order to have a better understanding of a script and plot idea which would appeal to my chosen audience. The audience we chose was students (18+) and considering the genre I chose is crime/ gangster the audience is key to making the film effective and successful to the audience.
To gain a better understanding of my target audience I watched a series of gangster/ crime that are aimed at a similar audience and look for conventions that I could apply in my own production, for example the music used was the music listened to by the target audience and by using it, it automatically appeals to that audience, also the characters play a major role in appealing to specific audiences as they are what help the audience to relate and take interest in the film, this is why I chose a younger more vulnerable character so that my film would appeal to students.
In doing research into audience and Crime/ gangster i found that a common occurrence in teen series is drugs alcohol and violence and this is the narrative we followed to try and engage a specific audience.
AWays of gaining Audience research
AWays of gaining Audience research
Different Ways of Gaining Audience Research
There are numerous ways of collecting audience research; the main ones that are used are primary, secondary, qualitative and quantitative.
Primary research, this particular type of research involves collecting data that hasn’t been collected before. Having people fill out questionnaires, which is what we have done in our project can capture this. Usually primary research will be undertaken after the researcher has looked at some secondary research.
Other ways in which primary research can be collected is by direct observation, which is where you personally over watch something and draw the results from it, or telephone interviewing a person in order to get your own research.
The problem with carrying out primary research is that it is very time and often money consuming, but on the other hand it means they can get the correct data they need, meaning that the researchers can control the search design in order to fit their needs.
Meanwhile secondary data is basically a summary of a collection of data, which has been captured by someone else, therefore it is a less reliable source but it can be collected much easier these days by the uses of many online search engines.
Therefore it means that it is someone else’ data which you have looked into and formed results from.
Quantitative research is a much more precise researching tool, the data which is found from it is usually numbers and statistics. It is a much more exact way of collecting data, but it relies on the researcher knowing clearly in advance what they are looking for and all of the aspects within the study are very carefully designed before the data has even been collected.
I personally think that quantitative research is more efficient and able to test the hypothesis for the study but it does tend to miss contextual detail and usually the researcher is very separated from the study.
Meanwhile qualitative research aims to collect a complete detailed description, It focuses less on statistics unlike quantitative data and once its data has been collected it is generally in the form of text and imagery. Even though qualitative data is more time consuming it does have less of a chance of being generalised. I think that this particular type of research is better for the media world; this is because I think that quantitative data is very mathematical and focuses on statistics so much so that the real subject matter tends to get lost. I think it is a perfect way to capture data within scientific, mathematical and psychological research but it isn’t quite so appropriate when researching into people’s opinions and beliefs.
Genre Essay
Textual analysis!!!
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