Tuesday 24 September 2013

Typography task


As displayed above, most significantly, the words: 
'Madness', 'Radiation', 'Globe', 'Relax' and 'Brittle',
 are edited in terms of font, colour, graphics, scale and texture according to the theme and connotation of the specific word. 


The Minority Report - Shot by shot analysis





Photo storyboard - Camera shots


Shot 1 - Establishing shot

Generates the scene of the story. From the bird's eye view it can be established that the victim is being approached by two pursuers as he proceeds towards the staircase. 

Shot 2 - Long shot 

Assists the audience to identify with the victim. The character is presented as unaware and vulnerable due to the high camera angle.Consists of one primary subject in the scene.

Shot 3 - Over the shoulder shot

Displays the viewpoint of one of the pursuers. The audience can see the action from the predatory perspective. Consists of two primary subjects in the scene.

Shot 4 - Medium shot

Constitutes that the victim is about to be attacked. Develops tension and the audience may question and attempt to predict the consequence. 

Shot 5 - Medium Long shot

Further development of tension as the pursuers begin to advance on the victim as he is now aware of the two 'followers'. 

Shot 6 - Long shot

Clearly and effectively presents the distance between the two characters and the victim. A dramatic effect is created due to this because the audience may be curious to discover the result subsequent to such action. 

Shot 7 - Over the shoulder shot

Shows the scene which the victim has left behind as he attempts to escape from them. Humour is created because this shot enables the audience to see the character falling (physical comedy) - common aspect of television as the fallen is aided by his companion.

Shot 8 - Medium close up

Focuses on the facial expressions and body language of the two pursuers. The victim is surrounded in a confined area and this creates a sense of claustrophobia for the audience, hence creating empathy for the victim.

Shot 9 - Medium close up

 The audience can sympathise for the victim as he is in a threatened position. The camera shot enables the audience to view facial expressions by both subjects.

Shot 10 - Long shot 

Concludes the storyline, the victim has been dealt with and is left helpless as the pursuers finish their act.

____________________________________________

(EBI) I am aware that there is a lack of a close-up shot, which could've been quite useful. 

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Thursday 12 September 2013

Fruit Bowl Task

This is my submission for this task - based on the theme of surreal art. 
All the images used share the idea of surrealism. I chose these particular images because they closely relate to the letimotif of fruit, trees, nature etc.

Each section of the original template was selectively 'filled in' with segments of the images used as appropriate to the implied object (fruit, bowl, background). 

Peculiarly, I chose to invert the colour of the outline to white from black as it appeared more compatible with the rest of the colours than it would with the default colour. 

This was an enjoyable task and enabled students to unlock the creative side of media studies and Adobe Photoshop use.  

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Tuesday 10 September 2013

Analysis of concepts used in video-game advertisements

Grand Theft Auto 5 is an upcoming game scheduled to release on various platforms on 17th September 2013. 

This post will analyse the features and key concepts used by 'Rockstar North' in order to send a message to target audiences.

The language which is used in this particular form of media is concise and compatible for the intended purpose - to convince audiences to purchase or 'pre-order' the game. An appealing factor of this message is the pledge to be given a 'FREE POSTER' if customers pre-order. 

The institution of the game as well as the developer of this poster is Rockstar North. The institution aims to sell this game well on release date as it is a sequel to previous best-selling games. Additionally, Rockstar uses these promotive methods to ensure that pre-orders of the game are made so that sales are guaranteed before release date, hence this poster was published.

The target audience of this poster (as well as the game itself) is mostly males aged 16 and above. This is supported by the placement of a female on the majority of the poster in clothes (well, lack of clothes) which presents sexual appeal. Additionally, the name 'Grand Theft Auto' or more commonly referred to the acronym 'GTA' is well known and will immediately attract persons within the target audience, due to interest.

This poster consists of representation of a female animated character who is presented as a trendy young woman with sexual appeal. This is due to the 'peace sign' pose combined with the parody iPhone back camera facing towards the audience, imitating the mirror 'selfie' images on social-media. Additionally, the inclusion of the '#GTAIV' twitter hashtag adds to the trend representation. These factors contribute to more attention drawn to this poster as audiences can recognise these symbols and items and therefore develop interest.

These conventions are significant as they draw attention and generate interestedness towards the advertisement by target audiences. These conventions are cleverly designed to attract these audiences by the research conducted by the institution. Consequently, the institution can successfully spread the intended message to its audience, in this case it is to convince the target audience to pre-order this game.

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Thursday 5 September 2013

Summer videogame research project

                        GCSE Media Studies : Marketing and promotion of videogames                   
                                                                                                   Battlefield 3 - Electronic Arts 
                                                                             Battlefield 3 is a first-person shooter developed and published by Electronic Arts (EA), released globally from October 25th-November 2nd 2011. The game resulted a sale quotient of 5 million copies (priced at a launch price of approximately £50) within its initial week of release on platforms XBOX 360, WIndows PC & Playstation 3.

Reactions from game critics and magazines were generally impressed and reviews suggested the game to consist of an 'unmatched experience'. Review scores ranged from 8/10 to 9.5/10.

According to EA, Battlefield 3 garnered 3 million pre-orders by the day of its release.The pre-order total makes it "the biggest first-person shooter launch in EA history", according to the publisher.

Awards

  • Best Shooter, 2011 IGN People's Choice Award
  • Best Multiplayer Game, 2011 IGN People's Choice Award
  • Best Xbox 360 Shooter, Best of 2011 IGN Award & 2011 IGN People's Choice Award
  • Best Xbox 360 Multiplayer Game, Best of 2011 IGN Award & 2011 IGN People's Choice Award
  • Best PS3 Shooter, 2011 IGN People's Choice Award
  • Best PS3 Multiplayer Game, Best of 2011 IGN Award & 2011 IGN People's Choice Award
  • Best PC Shooter, Best of 2011 IGN Award & 2011 IGN People's Choice Award
  • Best PC Multiplayer Game, Best of 2011 IGN Award & 2011 IGN People's Choice Award





                                                                        __________







Battlefield 3 was developed by an EA infant company -  Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (DICE). T
he biggest break for DICE was the release of Battlefield 1942 and its sequels and expansions. The Battlefield series jump-started their popularity. In 2004, the total value of the company was estimated at approximately US$55 million.




                                                                        __________


BF3 was marketed heavily with over $100 million spent on the marketing campaign. After the reveal of the game (3rd Feb 2011), several trailers were released which highlighted different features of the game such as the multiplayer and single-player campaign mode. Trailer releases were promoted on YouTube, Twitter and Faceboook in the week before the release. EA released a multiplayer trailer which consisted of actual gameplay footage. Billboards and magazine advertisements were also published pre-release of the game, as well as TV ads.

                                                                      ____________

The target audience for EA's Battlefield 3 is mainly designated to young males.


The marketing and promotion campaign of Battlefield 3 was successful due to its reception in terms of sales revenue - BF3 made it is EA's single fastest selling game in history. (see http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/278534,battlefield-3-is-the-most-successful-ea-game-of-all-time.aspx)





EA have revealed the sequel 'Battlefield 4' which is projected to launch on next generation consoles Playstation 4 and XBOX One, as well as the platforms of the prequel. This time EA have used a different approach of marketing the game by attending and promoting the game at more gaming conferences, as well as continuing to use traditional methods.



DICE have taken a more serious approach with the marketing of BF4 than with the prequel. This has been demonstrated by EA and DICE as a whole taking advantage of gaming events and conferences such as ‘E3 2013’. Following up to the event, EA release a short teaser trailer with very limited information to tantalise the target market as well as potential gamers. This was successful move because this information was circulating over social media websites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Plenty of promotional material such as posters was distributed in EA games as well as being put up in popular public locations – promotional method. 

 






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