Avatar - Year 10 assessment

Avatar Film Poster Analysis

The poster consists of a single image, in this case a face of an ‘avatar’, the central character of the film. The face is twice as big the frame, and is placed on the right hand side of the frame, split down the middle, which increases the idea of ‘alien’ – we are used to seeing a whole face, not half of one, and especially not a blue one – this plays with our expectations of a movie poster, and teases us with the idea that ‘less is more’...the striking visual leads us to expect a striking film, and the fact that the poster does not reveal much about the film, apart from the alien nature of the characters works as a teaser, designed to make the audience want to know more, and to see the film.

We see a blue male face (or half face on a dark background), and the face is lit from the top left, highlighting the cheekbones and the lips. Because the poster is essentially dark, the glowing ‘spots’ on the face (intensifying the character’s ‘alien’ nature) and the single yellow eye are prominent: they are much brighter than the surroundings. The eye holds the key central position in the frame, and looks straight at us, the audience, challenging us to explore the film to find out more.

The idea of ‘halves’ is important here: the avatar is half alien, half human DNA, and to reinforce this we get half a face. One half is presented, the other half is mystery. There is very little text in the poster: the banner across the top says ‘From the Director of Titanic’ – this intertextual reference gives a sense of the size and the scale of the film: it’s very much in the blockbuster mould. The title of the film, at the bottom of the poster, is in a distinctive font, which glows with the same light blue as the spots on the character’s face, standing out against the dark background, and highlighting the key text which anchors the image: in comparison, the text at the top of the poster is much less clear.

Despite the unusual font, the block capitals help this stand out. In the bottom left of the poster is a the address of the film’s homepage, avatarmovie.com, giving the audience the opportunity to seek more information if they need it, and in the bottom right is the production information, letting us know the studio financing and producing the film (20th Century Fox) – again, we know that this is going to be a major film because of major studio involvement.

This Trailer analysis comes from the News of the World website (!) - the language is informal, but there is some good commentary on why things are as they are and the meanings of the trailer: use this to supplement your class notes.

By Robbie Collin, 29/10/2009

WHEN the Avatar teaser trailer was launched back in August, movie fans were split into two camps.

Those who were intrigued and excited by the possibilities of a brand new £120 million movie directed by James Cameron, and whinging idiots.

And now, surely, the naysayers will be silenced. Because this brand new three-and-a-quarter minute trailer sets out Cambo's stall more clearly than ever. There Will Be Robots. There Will Be Aliens. There Will Be Carnage. But most importantly, There Will Be Plot.

Convinced? No? Then read my shot-by-shot analysis - and, more importantly, watch the damn thing yourselves and savour the sweet, sweet blockbuster magic.
* Avatar is in cinemas on December 17.

New full length trailer for James Cameron's Avatar

0.03 "Are you Jake Sully? I'd like to talk to you about making a fresh start..."
The first thing we see is a pair of eyes, opening. James Cameron wants you to OPEN YOUR EYES and appreciate his new VISION. Do you see?!?!

Character

0.16 "I became a marine for the hardship. I told myself I can pass any test a man can pass. All I ever wanted was a single thing worth fighting for..."
Aha! Something about character. One of the few legit criticisms of the first Avatar trailer was there wasn't much more to it other than a means of introducing the film's rough plot and the Na'vi, the ten-foot blue cat people who make up about half the film's cast.

But Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington) is the star of the show and now we find out a bit about him. He's a wheelchair-bound marine who wants to get back in the game. And a mining operation on a far-off planet is going to give him that chance. How? Read on...

0.24 "Ladies and gentlemen, you are not in Kansas any more..."
Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) introduces the marines to the planet Pandora, where most (if not all) of Avatar is set. We get amazing shots of big colourful rhino beasts, floating islands and pterodactyl thingies.

"You should see your faces," says Michelle Rodriguez. Cameron will be hoping this applies to the audience too.

By the way, the first film reviewer to describe Pandora as "Jurassic Park on acid" WILL be fired.

0.40 "This is why we're here. Because this little grey rock sells for $20 million a kilo..."
The marines are on Pandora to harvest un-special-looking minerals that cost a fortune back on earth - maybe they create nuclear energy, or are endorsed by 50 Cent, or something.

Marines

0.45 "Their village happens to be resting on the richest deposit and they need to relocate. Those savages are threatening our whole operation..."
Whose village? The Na'vi's village of course.

The marines need to get rid of the pesky Na'vi in order to harvest their loot, so we get some shots of their impressive looking war machines rumbling through the forest, and the Na'vi waving their spears in the air and rolling in a move that's basically film shorthand for Noble Savages Who Will Not Be Oppressed. Ewoks did it. So did the Scots in Braveheart.

But it looks like before declaring all-out war on the Na'vi, the marines are mounting a last-ditch attempt to find a "diplomatic solution". (NB - judging by the end of the trailer, this is not very successful.)

Wait a minute, was that Sigourney Weaver, playing some kind of doctor who probably has a crisis of conscience about the whole operation? It WAS? Excellent.

0.59 "The concept is to drive these remotely-controlled bodies called Avatars..."
And the film's key plot device gets explained in layman's terms. Jake Sully is one of a number of soldiers whose mind will be transplanted into a Na'vi body, so he can infiltrate their ranks. Sneaky.

1.13 "You get me what I need, I'll see to it that you get your legs back. Your real legs."

Colonel Quaritch gives Jake his reason to fight. This guy is going to relish the ability to walk unaided as an Avatar, but to be free of the wheelchair for good? That's his dream.

1.19 "Looks like you...this is your Avatar."

This shot of Sam Worthington's half-smile when he realises he's about to walk again was one of my favourite things about the entire teaser trailer. And it's back here. Because it's great.

1.30 Apparently when your mind goes into the body of an Avatar you get a brief glimpse of an early 90s rave video.

1.34 The first of many new special effects money shots to be previewed, we see Sully's Avatar cross a lake in a helicopter. I have no idea what a ten-foot-tall blue cat person would look like under the rotor blades of an army chopper, but this probably isn't far off.

1.51 "You should not be here..."

Introducing Zoe Saldana's character, Neytiri - a Na'vi who befriends Sully on his infiltration mission. Do you think they'll have some kind of forbidden romance? Probably not, eh.

2.07 "Outstanding..."

Lots of special effects shots that should look fantastic in 3D, most involving people jumping off high things. 3D films normally either go down the thrill-ride path (eg A Christmas Carol) OR the subtler, give-the-shot depth route (eg Up) but it looks as if Cameron's trying to have his cake and eat it.

Dramatic

2.15 "Did you forget what team you're playing for?"

And here's the dramatic bit! Once he's in his Na'vi body, Sully's torn between fulfilling his mission - and his ambitions as a marine - and defending the interests of the mysterious and weirdly sexy natives he's grown to love. It's a bit like Pocahontas! But in space!

2.19 "The strong prey on the weak..."

A lot of very impressive war scenes, as the Na'vi square up against the marines for the Final Showdown.

Clearly Quaritch just wants to wade in and knock the nine lives out of these dumb blue hippies, and it appears he gets his wish. But a small band of marines including Sully, and it looks like Michelle Rodriguez, are going up against him.

2.32 "We're going up against gunships with bows and arrows..."
But which is better? Gunships, or bows and arrows? There's only one way to find out...

2.40 FIIIIGGGHHTT!!!

Interestingly, the trailer namechecks ALL of James Cameron's biggest hits - Terminator, Aliens, T2, True Lies AND Titanic. The implication being, this is a film that will appeal to fans of all the above. So expect bad-ass robots, brilliantly-designed ET beasties, big action and a tender, candlelit scene where Sully draws Neytiri with her boobies out. Possibly.

2.50 The cup of coffee shot.
This is the single best shot in the entire trailer - it tells you everything about Colonel Quaritch that you need to know. Here is a man who will launch a missile strike designed to cause cultural genocide, and then take a delicious sip of piping hot java from the comfort of his deathbot's cockpit. James Cameron gold.

2.55 "We will send them a message...that this...is our land!"

FREEEEEDOMMMM!

3.07 AVATAR.

BICKETY-BAM! Sorry, but this is going to be freaking excellent.

Miss Carden Group - Writing the Proposal

This may also be useful...BTEC Unit 7 Writing the Proposal

Your Proposal…

STEP 1: Research your product.

Know everything there is to know about the product or service as well as its competition. Most importantly, figure out what might be uniquely different about the product. Look for that little "edge" to give you something important to talk about. Is it "better", "cheaper" or "new"?

STEP 2: Pick your medium.

Decide which advertising medium you will run the ad or commercial. Creating a radio commercial is very different from a print ad.

STEP 3: Define your target audience.

Focus here on the person or people most likely to want to consume your product or service. Define the target as descriptively as you can. Start with demographic terms such as young women 18-24 years old living in urban areas in the East and the West. Define their psychographics as well: are they trendy or conservative? Social or solitary?

STEP 4: Decide how the product or service fits into the lives of the target.

Are they current users of the product or not? Do they have a current perception of the product and will your ad complement or modify that perception? How and when will they use it? What will it replace? Are you introducing the product to them for the very first time?
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STEP 5: Be selective; focus the message.

You can't say everything there is to say about a product or service in 30 seconds or on an interactive banner. What is the most important, most powerful statement you can make about your product? No matter if you are creating a simple outdoor poster or a 60 second television spot, your message must be single-minded for people to understand, grasp and associate it with your brand.
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STEP 6: Involve the creative team early and often in the development of the creative brief.

Don't simply draft a creative brief and shove it at the team who is expected to work with it and create a brilliant ad. Get their input and "ownership" of the project during its development so they can have a hand in the direction.

STEP 7: Define the tone.

Is the ad expected to be humorous or straight? Informative or simply a reminder? Steeped in emotion or just the facts?

STEP 8: Give the details.

This is where you lay out the timetable for reviewing work, all necessary approvals and production. You provide the estimated production budget, format for the ad and any other specs for the assignment.

Year 10 BTEC Miss Carden - Creative Advertising Techniques

Creative Advertising Techniques:

Advertising techniques are tools. The tools you use to attract attention, engage minds, trigger emotions, and change what people think. All of which can lead to sales. Or votes. Or clicks.

Make a metaphor

Create a symbolic representation of the key idea you want to communicate by using two images or statements that are completely different, but when placed together create a new idea.
You can use words. Or visuals. Or both. You can create a metaphor to represent a characteristic of the brand. Or a feature of the service. Or a benefit of the product.
To create a metaphor, use one thing - a vivid statement or dramatic visual - to suggest another thing - your company, product or service.

Promise a benefit

Promise readers a compelling benefit that the product or service can deliver.
A benefit is something of value to the target audience. Ask, “What can this product or service do for me?” And the answer is a benefit.
The persuasive energy in a benefit ad comes from two characteristics. First is the importance of the benefit to the reader. Second is the specificity of the benefit.
A good example, the headline, “Introducing a washer so gentle it can actually help your clothes last longer."

Mention a problem

Problems. Everyone has them. And some products solve them.
A TV commercial opens with the kids screaming, “We’re hungry, mom!”
A headline reads, “Do you have enough money for retirement?”
This is a technique to grab attention, to engage people who have the problem. Or people who want to avoid getting the problem.

Get really real

Show what people really think. About the opposite sex, their job, or relatives.
Show how people really feel. About money, their spouse, or financial security in old age.
How people really dress and act at home. What people really think about at work? Like sex and petty insults. Depict the attitudes, jealousies, and insecurities that rattle around inside us all.

Create a character

Create a character that adds interest, story value or recognition to your campaign.
Could be an actor playing a role. Or a cartoon character. Or a dead politician. He, she or they are all "created" characters because you define the role they play in the advertising.
While a brand character must represent a characteristic or the personality of the brand. An invented character does not.

Inject dramatic conflict

Create a campaign that uses drama to focus attention, to heighten interest in your message.
The essence of drama is conflict. And that conflict can be between:
Husband vs. wife.
Molly vs. insanity, a struggle with mental health.
Dog vs. mailman.
Teenager vs. her conscience.
Creative Director vs. client.
Your hero should have a goal, an objective, something she really really really wants to achieve. Or has to accomplish to save the planet.
And you might need bad guys, bad creatures, bad luck, bad weather, bad relatives or bad aliens. Come to think of it, bad relatives can be almost identical to bad aliens. But don't use bad politicians or bad lawyers. There are enough of them already.
It's always nice to have a resolution to the conflict, you know, like a happy ending in the movies. But it's not necessary. Because dramatic conflict is essentially a way to engage viewers in your ad.

Exaggerate

Take the basic idea you want to communicate, your concept, and then exaggerate it. Take it to extremes. Push it beyond reason, beyond reality. In the copy. With visuals. Or both.
Exaggerate the benefit. Exaggerate the problem. Exaggerate size, the physical appearance.
Just make sure to exaggerate your exaggeration. Because a BIG exaggeration is interesting, and a powerful way to get communicate your concept. A small exaggeration is simply a misleading ad.

Eye candy

Create a visual so luscious, unusual and striking that it leaps off the screen to grab attention.
Eye candy ads work the same way a Salvador Dali illustration works. These ads stop and engage readers with the look of "Wow. I've never seen anything like that."
Eye candy is the visual equivalent of "Let me show you something new and interesting."
Frequently, the product is the hero in an eye candy ad. But visually rich advertisements can communicate brand characteristics as well. Including a sense of style, an appreciation for fine design, that readers or viewers can associate with.

But usually the creative and persuasive energy lies in the look, the visual. Bang, it grabs and engages eyeballs.
The challenge here is not only creative, but you must also have a generous budget for photography, special effects or image editing.

Make it human

Give human characteristics to your product,
or to something that represents your service.
This technique - personification - can help you create ads that are more interesting, and relevant to viewers. More human and engaging.
You can literally turn the product into a person. Or give it human abilities, such as speech, thought or emotion.
Or go the other way, and blend something about the product into a real person. For example, to depict someone who is a heavy computer user or text message sender, you could show keypad letters embossed on finger tips - and fingertips in the concave shape of the keys.

Make an offer

Make the audience a compelling offer, and tell them exactly how to get it.
This is the essence of direct response advertising. "Hey, Mr. Viewer, Here's what you can get, and here's how to get it."
There are two characteristics that influence the effectiveness of your offer, strength and relevance.
Strength:
"25% off" is stronger than "10% off." "Win a new Toyota 4 Runner" is stronger than "Win a digital camera."
Relevance:
A free brochure offering "10 Ways to preserve the resale value of your new car" is more relevant to people shopping for automobile financing than, "10 ways to protect your good credit."
Be sure to get your offer up front - in the headline or subhead. Put it at the top of the mailer or email. And support it with photos and visuals.
You could save money

This is free.

Check here on the blog for the assessment task details.

GCSE Year 10 Coursework 1 - Music Videos

The first GCSE coursework task for this year is on Music Videos - you need to use your lesson notes to (a) create a storyboard and outline for a new music video for a genre of your choice, and (b) write an analysis of a music video. The coursework sheet I gave you is reproduced here, so make sure you go through it carefully.

May the Force be with you.

Mr G.

GCSE Media Coursework 1

The Coursework consists of two tasks:

• Analyse a music video. How does it appeal to its target audience? (500-700 words)

• Present you own ideas for a music video for a song aimed at a specific audience. Ideas should be presented in storyboard form using drawings and writing to represent what is seen on screen. It is important that this is a detailed and clear piece of work.

• Basic Details. Who is the artist/band, what is the name of the song, and when was it released? Who directed the video?

• What type of video is it? Illustration, Amplification or Disjuncture? How do you know? Explain, using examples.

• What is the narrative of the story? Give a brief summary of what you see on the screen. Don’t write too much here – your task is not to tell the story, but to analyse the video.

• What genre is the video? How do you know? What features make it fit into this genre?

• How does the camera work make the video appeal to the audience? What shots are used? What impact does this have on the viewer?

• How is the video edited? Is there lip synching/performance happening, or is there a completely separate audio track? What impact does this have on the video, and how does an audience respond to this?

• How important are the lyrics to the video? Print a copy of the lyrics to help with your analysis. Does the video relate to the lyrics directly or indirectly?

• Is there any intertextuality? (This means that the video refers to another video – perhaps taking ideas from a film or similar video)

• Your overall interpretation. What is your response to the video? How does it appeal to you? Do you think this is a successful video, and why?