MS1: Question 1 40 marks

Analyse the film posters commenting on: Visual Codes Layout and design Genre conventions Exam tips: how do you make notes? Structure your analysis around the bullet points (usually three from the above) Mind map, spider diagram or columns whatever you find effective. Synthesise your notes: Purpose and effect In writing your analysis you need to explain why a particular form has been used; what the PURPOSE and EFFECT is. It isnt enough just to describe the text.

Visual
Costume: limited colour range, mostly plain, silky material, delicate, floaty scarf waves across women, stiletto shoes.

Main characters grouped together

Eyeline straight at viewer/ audience Low angle shot

Setting: Sand and sky, almost blank, very little detail

Purpose and Effect

Composition reinforces the selling point of the film the four female friends; emphasises their closeness, eyeline makes direct contact with the viewer this is an intimate, emotional film experience.

Costume is sophisticated and expensive looking; one of the pleasures of the film will be seeing the fashionable clothes the characters are wearing. Relative plainness of the costume means that the focus is on the recognisable faces of the four stars. Costume also reveals the muscular arms and shoulders of the women. The setting is in contrast to the title with its reference to the city; suggests a journey for the characters in keeping with the demands of a sequel.

Shaping your analysis Once youve made your detailed notes you need to write your analysis:

Structure the analysis around the bullet points but use formal essay style, not notes. Begin with a statement or overview of the text/s which shows you have considered the codes, purpose and effect. If there is something unconventional about the text/s this would be a place to start. Avoid starting with Im going to analyse the text with reference to.

Mode of Address: The way in which a particular text will address or speak to its audience.
News values: The values applied by a news producer in determining the news agenda.

Visual Codes: Colour in opening sequence : red, grey and white: gender neutral, serious and calm. Graphics: CGI, fast-moving , abstract shapes suggesting speed and urgency. Costume and body language of news reader: formal suit, upright posture. Iconography, props and set: glass and reflective surfaces, hard, clean lines, very large, curved desk, suggests latest technology (sci-fi genre?). Laptop, flat screen in wall, pen in newsreaders hand ready to record the latest developments.

Technical and audio codes: Music: recognisable theme tune, electronic, regular, intense beat; sound of chimes introduces each healine Voiceover: newsreader summarises each story over the images Each story summarised by images report, graphics, etc. variety of shot styles Mid-shots, straight-ahead framing dominates in studio setting

Genre Conventions: Credit sequence: music, graphics, sound Newsreader: recognisable presenter, male, middle aged, white Stories listed according to hierarchy of news values Narrative structure: newsreader introduction, report, two-way, newsreader, etc Narrative structure: domestic news, foreign news, sport, light story, local news, weather.

Develop your revision by posing and answering questions relating to the following concepts: Audience: Who is the target audience for News at Ten? What uses and gratifications are available for the audience? Does the audience accept news stories as true?

Representation: Gender: male dominant form? (presenters, reporters, editors), older male/ younger female pairing of news readers National identity: construction of the British identity through selection of stories covered Ethnicity: how are different ethnic groups represented in the news? How does the hierarchy of news values affect this representation?

Issues and debates: Has the news become another form of entertainment? (celebrity as news, etc.) Can the news be objective?

Now its your turn to have a go, make some notes

Analyse the film poster commenting on : Visual codes Technical codes Genre codes Structure your answer