Happy Christmas Everyone!

"The Bourne Ultimatum" reviewed in Mark Kermode's spot by Hardeep Singh Kolhli

This is an insightful review of the movie by Hardeep Singh Kolhli, a film maker who appreciates the mastery of Paul Greengrass's direction. Hardeep has also made films on "the most watched nation on earth".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/entertainment/a2z/rams/thebourneultimatum.ram

Top Earning Hollywood Stars over 35

http://www.forbes.com/media/2007/11/14/hollywood-movies-celebrity-cx_lh_1114celebactors_slide.html?boxes=relstories

Which Stars Are The Best Value In Hollywood?

The following information is important for FS2. There are some suprising results here as some Hollywood stars return more bucks for their pay-cheques at the box office than others. To find out which stars return the biggest bang for the dollar click below.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/03/celebrities-hollywood-movies-biz-cz_dp_0806starpayback.html

Once you get to Forbes' page also scroll down to the bottom for "In Pictures: The Best Actors For The Buck".

What is a macro essay?

A Macro reading is:

· A commentary on a film extract of about 10 minutes

· Focused on the extrinsic (outside) meanings in an extract

· An account of the function of an extract (it may
pick up previous story information or prepare for
information to come)

· An explanation of how meanings arise from character
or story type - how these create expectations

· Aware of choices made by the director

· Focused on Genre and Narrative

· Always aware of your title

· Structured by the chronology of the extract

· Detailed about how meanings are created or closed down
as the extract progresses, shot by shot

· Clear about how the spectator interacts with the unfolding
of the extract by drawing on general knowledge (i.e. of genre)

· Explicit about what meanings the spectator brings to the
extract

· Mindful of sound, editing, camera movement, performance -
explaining how these refer to conventions or typical events
(i.e. that occur in specific genres - the gun fight, the car chase)

· Clear and concise especially in its brief conclusion

· Exact about word length at the end (about 1200)

Reelclassics is a good hunting ground for film resources

http://www.reelclassics.com/Articles/General/index.htm

Even more film posters to analyse

More film posters to analyse

Film Posters for analysis

Why not try to sharpen your analysis of film posters using the post below to help you analyse one of the posters below.? Remember that the skills you gain can and should be used to analyse film posters in your film case study.
Click on the posters to increase their size.

Analysing Film Posters

One of the things you NEED to do in your film case studies is analsye various types of trailers and film posters. Here's some advice and a checklist for analysing your film posters. Remember that representation in posters can vary in different countries as the audiences and cultural preferences are taken into account.

Analysing Movie Posters

Posters occupy a space between art and advertising. They have a clear commercial purpose - to promote an event or product - but they also have artistic value. People buy them and hang them on their walls. Museums have whole galleries devoted to poster art. When analysing a poster it is important that you evaluate both how well it fulfils its purpose (ie promotion) as well as its aesthetic value. ("aesthetic value" means their value as artistic creations.)

First Steps
When analysing a poster, you should consider the following broad questions before you start to focus on the details:

• What are the main colours used in the poster and what do they connote?
• What symbols are used in the poster? Do you need audience foreknowledge to decode the symbols?
• What are the main figures/objects/background of the poster? Are they represented photographically, graphically, or illustratively?
• Are the messages in the poster primarily visual, verbal, or both?
• Who do you think is the intended audience for the poster?
• Given that all movie posters have the same purpose - to get audiences to go see a movie - what persuasive techniques are used by the poster?
• Which genre conventions are referred to?
• Is a star used as a USP (unique selling point)?
• Are "expert witnesses" (ie critics) quoted?
• What pleasures (gratifications) are promised by the poster?
• How is attention gained (humour, shock, surprise)?
• How does the tagline work? (humour, pun, alliteration etc?)
  

Production Constraints
The poster can also give you important information about the production context of the movie:

1. How much does the poster tell you about the institutional context of the movie's production?
2. How important is this information on the poster (think about information hierarchies)?
3. How important a part of the whole marketing campaign is the poster? Where is the poster placed?
4. How expensive was this poster to produce?

Critical Evaluation

Finally, you have to pass judgement on the poster.

• Is it an effective poster? Why?
• Does it communicate effectively with the audience?
• Are there any alternative readings which might harm the message of the marketing campaign?
• Is the poster offensive in any way?

The information here was taken in part from the Mediaknowall website and other web sources.