Lego Movie: Target Audience

Thursday 8th March 2018Lego Movie: Target Audience 

L.O. identify the target audience using demographics and psychographics.

The movie targets a FAMILY AUDIENCE

That could be split up into 3 groups:

• Young kids who played with Lego 
• Parents who played with it when they were young too
• Young adult cinema goers

How?

• Young kids who play with Lego = based around Lego, vivid colours, catchy song, obvious humour aimed at children, different worlds and characters, recognise the characters, and children would understand the basic narrative.
• Parents who played with it when they were young too = classic lego figures (e.g. Benny), Lord Business' relics, subtle adult jokes, family bonding at the end, big name actors (e.g. Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman), references to other films, message to get across the importance of creativity, more complex story line for adults.
• Young adult cinema goers = references to other movies, references to other movie characters (e.g. Superman, Batman), both childish and adult humour, supposed love story between Emmet and Wyldstyle, age of characters similar to cinema goers age.
• Both genders = mix of different characters gender, different worlds appeal to different genders (e.g. Middle Zealand or Cloud Cuckoo Land), humour appeals to both genders, love interest between Emmet and Wyldstyle.

Lego Movie Intertextuality and Target Audience

Monday 5th March Lego Movie Intertextuality and TA

L.O. to explore the intertextuality of The Lego Movie and the target audience; to apply Propp's theory.

Postmodernism

Postmodern films often contain the following characteristics:

• Challenged genre conventions: might be a mixture of many genres; challenge typical character roles etc.
• Pastiche: imitates other texts, humorous take on society/culture.
• Hyper-reality: makes the audience aware that they are watching a movie.

'Postmodernism questions what is real and what is absolute.' (Palmer 2014)

Explain how The Lego Movie is a postmodernist film:

• The Lego Movie is a postmodernist film because it is a mixture of genres. Some genres included in the movie is action/adventure, fantasy, romance, sci-fi and comedy.
• The Lego Movie also challenges character roles. For example, the hero of the film (Emmet) is not a typical hero and he is just an ordinary man. Another example of the movie challenging character roles is Emmet's sidekick Wildstyle, as she is not the typical female sidekick, she is an emo and is stronger than the hero of the movie.
• It also uses other films in a simpler form, like The Matrix.
• It uses pastiche to get across that society lacks in imagination.
• Hyper-reality is also used when characters break the fourth wall and speak to the audience.

Intertextuality

• The Lego Movie focuses on a character called Emmet who is just a regular man and a builder. One day Emmet falls down a hole and finds out he is the prodigy by Vitruvius and is given the piece-de-resistance. Emmet then meets a girl called Wildstyle who is Batman's girlfriend, and they travel through many different worlds to try and keep Emmet and the piece-de-resistance safe from Lord Business from his destructive weapon 'The Kraggle' (which is human superglue) that can end the world. Lord Business has locked the super-builders away to use their bran power for his weapon and then he locks up Emmet's friends as they are super-builders. The movie ends with Vitruvius dying and Emmet jumping out of Lord Business' top floor office window and into the real world. Then Emmet is a normal lego figure controlled by a boy and his Dad in their massive Lego city. Then Emmet manages to come to life in the real world and the human boy puts him into the tube which sends him back to the Lego world and Emmet saves the world from the Kraggle with Wildstyle and they fall in love.

• The main themes of The Lego Movie is that creativity and imagination in society is not as strong as it used to be. Another message is that you don't have to be a stereotypical hero to be a hero.

• The Lego Movie also references to other Warner Bros by using Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Dumbledore, Gandalf, Han Solo, C-3PO, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Lando and relates to The Matrix film. 

• Lego Duplo, Lego Ninjago and the different worlds are all different Lego products within The Lego Movie.

Propp's Spheres of Action

Vladimir Propp says that characters take up the role of narrative 'spheres of action'.

He identified character roles necessary to make up a narrative.

Promotion of Media

19/02/18

Promotion of Media

L.O. research the process, industry, bodies and regulators behind film.

• A producer produces a film
• A film is marketed by things like trailers and adverts
• A film distributed by making a license with a distribution company and they determine how many copies of the film to make.
• A film is exhibited in a cinema and eventually on DVD.

• A conglomerate is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet.

The Big Six Hollywood film studies are:

• Warner Bros.
• 21st Century Fox
• Paramount Pictures
• Universal Pictures
• Columbia Pictures
• The Walt Disney Company

• The British Board of Film Classification (BFI) regulates films in the UK.

• The 2 main companies that produced The Lego Movie was Warner Bros and Animal Logic. 

• Dan Lin and Roy Lee produced the 2014 Lego Movie.
• Chris Miller and Phil Lord directed the 2014 Lego Movie.
• The Lego Movie was funded by the production companies.
• Warner Bros distributed the film worldwide.

Exam Practice

19/02/18Exam Practice

Question: 

Explain one way in which music videos use media language to differ from each other. Refer to one example of contrasting media language in two music videos you have studied to support your answer.

Media Language - location, camerawork, sound, editing, miss-en-scene and performance type.


One way that music videos can differ from each other is by using different editing styles and techniques. This can mean using different cut types, filters, length and speed, transitions and graphics. An example of two music videos that differ from each other by their editing is 'If I Were A Boy' by Beyonce and 'Uptown Funk' by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.

In 'If I Were A Boy', there are long cuts and clips that help tell the story of this narrative based music video. There are also no graphics in this video to help convey the seriousness of this song. Throughout the video, a monochrome filter has been placed onto it to also bring across a more serious theme. This can relate to the Laura Mulvey theory because Beyonce still looks glamorous and the simplicity of the video's editing makes the focus on her.

There are different editing techniques in 'Uptown Funk' that makes it differ from the other music video. The cuts are different in this video and are made to change clip along with the beat, whereas the other video changed slowly to tell the story. In this video, there is also a filter on it, but a filter where the colour looks more saturated to make the video look more retro and urban to match with the theme. This music video also has a different theory it can be related to and that is the Hebdige theory. This is because the editing has made the video look quite youthful and that they are all having fun.

Applying Media Theory

Applying Media Theory01/02/18

L.O. apply media terminology when analysing music videos.

If I Were A Boy - Beyonce

• Laura Mulvey's theory applies to this video because Beyonce is seen as very glamorous and feminine all throughout the video, even while being a police officer. This may be attractive for males as she has been represented for 'the male gaze'.

Uptown Funk - Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson

• In this video, there is a bit of Laura Mulvey's theory that women are represented attractively for males, this happens at the start of the Uptown Funk video.

• There are also some aspects of the Hebdige theory in the video because it looks like the people in the video are quite young and are having fun.

Music Video Analysis

Monday 22nd January 2018 (my birthday 🎉🎁🎈🎂😝🎊♒💛)
Media Language Analysis

L.O. to apply media terminology when analysing music videos.

• Roles Reversed

• Black and white video

• Beyonce looks glamorous throughout the video.

• Different camera angles

• Saturated colour
• 

Mock Feedback

Mock Feedback                                     08/01/18

L.O. review mock exam questions and make improvements.

1) Identify the target audience of MOJO magazine. (1)

• Gender - Male
• Age range - 20-50
• Social class - ABC1
• Interest in genre music - Alternative/rock

2) Explain how media language on the MOJO cover you studied represents and attracts the target audience. (4)

• Media Language - Masthead, cover lines, puffs, main image, colour palette, typography
• Correct terminology
• Representation - Stereotypes
• Specific examples - From the Dave Grohl cover
• Link to target audience

• Blue background represents males as a target audience.
• Main image is a popular rock star that target audience is interested in.
• Cover lines relate to rock/alternative music genre which target audience listen to.
• Dave Grohl is represented as a stereotypical rock star with long black hair and a black shirt, this will attract the target audience because they like rock music.

3) How does media language used in the Extract follow genre conventions and represent the target audience? (15)

• Media language - masthead, cover lines, puffs, main image, colour palette, typography
• Correct terminology
• Identify genre conventions - of rock/alternative music magazine used/subverted
• Link to target audience & representation

• His pose is quite powerful and masculine representing the mainly male target audience
• The blue background also represents a stereotype of male
• Cover lines are mainly of bands/singers/groups that are of the same genre conventions of MOJO and the target audience likes
• The bold letters of the masthead, main cover line and cover lines represent the male audience.
• The magazine also offers a CD of the same genre as MOJO's specialty which will appeal to the audience.
• Puff information will appeal to trigger audience.
• David Bowie is not a typical rock artist so it does not follow genre conventions.