Film Constructs Reality

MY SISTER'S KEEPER

    The film My Sister's Keeper created a believable reality. What made the film believable was that they shows how the illness of one person effects so many relationships and people at one time. Also, the film constantly shows flashbacks to memories of the characters Kate and Anna to show their close relationship. As an audience the flashbacks allows you to see how fast things can change and to view their close relationship like you were apart of it. The film creates emotion for the audience. As leukemia is currently taking over thousands of lives, My Sister's Keeper narrows in on one case; showing a wide audience what it is like for someone close to you to have the disease. The audience gets to live the reality of leukemia patients and their families for two hours. The film creates a relate-able story, which makes it a believable reality.

THE HEAT

     The Heat did not do a good job in constructing reality. The Heat is a very entertaining movie, except it is very over exaggerated. The intense over exaggeration, allows the audience to find humor in the film but it is not a realistic reality. Character Shannon Mullins is a very rude, inappropriate cop. Even though she is the best cop that Boston has, the reality created for her is unrealistic because you would not find a disrespectful cop working in a government environment. Realistically, in events where the two agents harass their suspects, they could potentially get into some serious trouble if the suspects decide to press charges.

All Film is a Construction

STEPS & EXPENSES OF THE CREATION IN HOLLYWOOD FILM:

Steps

1. A Hollywood film maker reads a true story that triggers an idea but must include dramatic elements 

• interesting characters
• strong plot line 
• interesting locations 

2. Achieve certain rights/permission from the source/estates/survivors to use the story 

• $$$$$$$
• involves serious negotiations and offers 

3. Film maker is granted permission to create a movie from the book and the author receives money to continue writing 

4. A script is created and approved for the movie, which is done by either

• Professional Screen Writer 
• Film Maker  

5. Hiring of essential personnel, who hire their own assistants 

• Director
• Casting Director
• Cinematographer 
• Assistant Producers 
• Editor 
• Musical Director 

6. Find locations to film

• studio
• off location    

7. Actors shoot all scenes
8. Editing process begins

• work with Editors to turn shots into a film
• Music director create score to accompany film 
• Foley artists create sounds
• Actors called back to re-do certain lines
• special effects added

9. Promotion of the film

• Actors make personal appearances all over world 
• appear at talk shows, conferences 
• preview clips and posters created 

Expenses

• can easily cost up to 30+ million dollars due if have top notch special effects and cast 
• make millions from ticket sales, overseas marketing, video rentals, soundtrack rights etc.
• fee paid toward author so they don't market story to other film companies  
• pays high scale wages for professional screen writer 
• cover salaries of the number of people hired 
• pays that involve actor/actress contracts 
• pays for union crew members 
• transportion of crew, actors, equipment 
• film locations/sets
• promotions of the film all over the world

Concept #6 - The Source

The Source 

1. Twitter is a regular source that I use on a daily basis. What appeals to me about Twitter is that when something in my area is "trending" you can view all the tweets related to that topic. When a topic is trending on twitter it means that there are numerous people talking about that certain thing. Fortunately, when dramatic events happen, this allows for news to get out very quickly. Nevertheless, when I am wanting to look up something that interests me, all you have to do is search a couple of words, possibly with a hash tag and you will have a ton of information in a second. Even though some of the information is not true all the time, I can still get a basic idea of what is happening. Also, I follow certain news accounts, like CTV and CBC, so I kind of believe that those tweets have some sort of truth in them. The company has nothing to do with my liking. 

2a. John Dorsey was the creator of Twitter. Twitter was its own company in April 2007. It is owned by a larger company. For the moment Twitter is privately owned but in the next couple of weeks it could possibly be opened up to the stock market. Not able to find details about who owns the larger part of the company, the stocks and who is the overall parent company. 

b. Dick Costolo is the current CEO of Twitter. Costolo was also the former COO. In 1985 he graduated with a B.S. degree in communication and computer sciences from the University of Michigan. Costolo has experience working and creating web site designs. He has done various projects. Many have been bought by Google. Costolo worked for Google for some time until he left in 2009 and joined Twitter to be the COO, in 2009 as well. At first his CEO position was only supposed to be temporary, but then the other CEO couldn't return so his position became permanent. Business insider reported him as being "one of Silicon Valley's most impressive CEOs" and TIME magazine named him as one of the 10 Most Inferential U.S. Tech CEOs. 

c. With Twitter, if some commercial implications change, people will still realize that they are using Twitter as long as the little blue bird is symbolized somewhere. They can make money this way by other advertisements and commercials using this blue bird on their own ads so that the audience knows that they are on Twitter. But Twitter doesn't use ads to get money. 

d. The need to make money impacts the content of the source. Twitter has become one of the most popular on line social media sites. The amount of money that goes into owning the company is potentially a lot. Before the creator John Dorsey wasn't getting much value from the site, but the content for the site would benefit his ideas and the Twitter users. Unfortunately, when larger companies buy Twitter, they'll make decisions that won't necessarily benefit Twitter users. The content will be changed so that it benefits them more financially. 

                                 # # # HASH TAG # # #

Concept #5- "Tough Guise"

WORLD WAR Z- STARRING BRAD PITT

     Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is a former United Nations investigator who is forced to travel the world to find a way to stop a "zombie-like pandemic." Gerry Lane is the type of guy who would do anything to protect his family. Gerry is a family guy. He is very kind, loving, and funny. He acts like his girls are his world because he quit his job to be with them and to protect them. He is practically a full time stay at home Dad. Gerry constantly fights harder for survival and he never gives up. He is very determined to save his family and himself. His behavior changes when he becomes very worried and when he feels threatened. He gets very anxious and intense. Though he is still calm around his little girls so that they don't become scared. Gerry never lets his guard down and he is always on alert.

    Compared to the "Tough Guise" video, I don't think that Gerry Lane follows their criteria. I feel like the part of Gerry Lane is almost the opposite. Brad Pitt is a very attractive actor but his body doesn't match the super sized muscles that are featured in the "Tough Guise" film. Brad Pitt does carry around a lot of weapons and performs a threatening stance but that is only for his personal protection. Gerry Lane does protect his family but it could also be because he has the most experience in that field. In the "Tough Guise" film they state how males put on the tough act as a role. But in World War Z, I think Gerry Lane does the opposite. He shows his charming side by being a kind, loving father. He tries to avoid the tough, violent side as much as possible. It's like he is playing the role of the loving father and husband to disguise the tough side. When really in reality, being a UN investigator would have caused him to see a lot of terrible things in the past. I think this would have created a sympathetic and compassionate side to Brad Pitt's character. Truly, I think his character shows males that it's possible to be emotional but it's also okay to use violence when your emotions are being threatened and your safety is conflicted.
   

Concept #4

Singer Adam Lambert poses with Pretty Little Liar's actress, Lucy Hale. 

     Adam Lambert performed two of his songs on Pretty Little Liars during the Halloween episode in 2012. He was providing entertainment at the party the show was taking place at. He performed his new songs, "Cuckoo" and "Trespassing." Adam Lambert has not been popular in the music world and by performing on the number one hit series of Pretty Little Liars he was trying to get his name back out into the industry. Due to Pretty Little Liars having so many plot twists, fans were unsure if Adam Lambert was the missing piece to the whole puzzle. Fans were anxious because not only did Adam Lambert sing he had an acting role as well. Adam was very interested in Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) and this led to a wonder of posts and tweets from Pretty Little Liars fans. In a short amount of time people were downloading Adam Lambert's songs off of iTunes and tweeting about him nonstop on Twitter. Even I was tweeting about the mysterious appearance of Adam Lambert! The target audience is teenagers, male and female. Adam Lambert's target audience is also teenagers, male and female. Adam Lambert's music is dark, mysterious and intense; which is absolutely perfect for a spooky episode of Pretty Little Liars.

     I think product placement is a great form of advertising as long as it's done well. It looks easy and can make other shows, films etc., interesting. I think this kind of product placement is very effective. Not only does it get Adam Lambert's music out on TV but it also gets his name out in the social media, news, radio etc. Adam Lambert and Pretty Little Liars would both win in higher earnings from this special Halloween episode.

Concept #1`- All Media Is Construction

     Before I knew what Photoshop was, I always believed that the photographer just had a really great camera to capture this amazing shot. Now I know that with Photoshop you can make one of the fastest creatures on earth look even more perfect. To begin, the "after" picture is more closer than the "before" photo. The black spots and especially the lines on the cheetah's face are darkened and more enhanced. The fur is more of a rich colour and looks brighter. The background of the cheetah is more bright too, which allows the cheetah's focus to be more appealing to the eye. Truthfully, I don't think it even looks like the same cheetah because the head is larger in size, with less of a curved body shape (mostly around the neck). I am very surprised by this photo. The cheetah is a beautiful creature to our world and should be shown for its natural self. 

     This photo could have a very negative impact on an audience. I never thought about using Photoshop to change the appearance of a car, I am surprised. It's very smart but also manipulating to the audience. If someone put the "after" picture of the vehicle on lets say Kijiji for sale, a customer would be very interested in the car. They wouldn't know that there could be a chance of Photoshop, especially if everything that is actually included in the car is written in the description. Photoshop allowed the photographer to repaint the car to a nice shiny and blue. The rust is gone and it looks like there is brand new tires on the car. The whole car looks very nice and appealing. The vehicle has a nice shape to it. 

     So...does this mean I am allowed to model too? This doesn't even look like the famous Jessica Alba in both pictures. In the "after" picture, Jessica Alba's hair is more shiny, brown and flowing. It has a nice glow to it. The hair also looks thinner and her part is defined. Jessica is looking straight at the camera and her lips appear to my more red and plump. Her collarbone, neck and arms are smaller and more toned. The space in between Jessica's shoulder and neck is smaller also. Her breasts are lifted and her waist is extremely pinched in. Jessica's thighs are also skinnier. Her skin tone is very bright and glowing. She looks extremely healthy. The background is also changed in the "after" photo. It seems like photographers take whatever they can get, with the quality that is available to them because they know they can always fix up the flaws later. I think this is quite unfortunate because I would want someone to take pictures of  my natural self. But this could also be why I am in an English Media class and not a modeling agency. 

Advertising

1. The first advertisement that pops into my head would probably be the new McDonald's Commercial that advertises their new breakfast sandwiches. This advertisement features Austin Mahone singing at the studio, recording his new song. Everything changes when he starts changing the lyrics for food.

2. It's very memorable because it features one of my favourite singers and songs. It's the very first ad I thought of because when I listen to the song "What About Love," I think of the new McDonald lyrics. Also, because I know who Austin is and I follow him constantly on social media sites, I know that he likes to joke around. He would do something like change the lyrics in his song just to throw everyone else off guard. Especially for a laugh. I feel that this whole commercial came naturally easy for him and that's what makes me naturally enjoy it.

3. I believe that that ad is directed at me just because I am a fan of Austin. The directors are probably thinking that if he will eat it, so will his adoring fans. I know other fans who would die at the chance of eating the same thing he would just for the fact that he ate it!