Case Study - Silent Hill Revelation 3D

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D

• Opened at number 5 in the box office.
• Grossed $8 million in its opening weekend.
• Filmed entirely in 3D.
• Plot overview: Silent Hill: Revelation 3D is a 2012 3D horror film directed and written by Michael J. Bassett and a sequel to the horror film Silent Hill. Revelation 3D stars Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Deborah Kara Unger, Martin Donovan, Malcolm McDowell, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Sean Bean, and is based on the survival horror video game Silent Hill 3 by Konami. Revelation 3D's plot follows teenager Heather Mason (Clemens) who discovers on the eve of her eighteenth birthday that her presumed identity is false and as a result is drawn to an alternate dimension existing in the fictitious American town of Silent Hill.

E - Media

• The film has its own Facebook page where people can 'like' the film's page and share it with other Facebook users, increasing the films notoriety.
• Michael Bassett has his own blog where he interacted with fans of the Silent Hill videogame series and even asked for suggestions of who should be cast as the protagonist.
• Online revies gave the movie extremely poor ratings almost universally:

- Rotten Tomatoes - 5% approval rating "Featuring weak characters, an incomprehensible plot, and a decided shortage of scares, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D is a mediocre effort even by the standards of video game adaptations".
- Metacritic - 16/100 "Silent Hill: Revelation fundamentally misunderstands the appeal of its source material".

Broadcast

• Two clips of the film were screened at the 2012 San Diego Comic - Con, this makes sense since the movie is based on a videogame series, an event such as Comic - Con which hosts all kinds of 'nerd' culture including videogames would be a great place to market a movie adapted from a videogame.

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• Empire Magazine verdict on Silent Hill Revelation 3D

"The first film was imperfect but solid as game-adaps go and fans revelled in its clammy shocks. No such luck this time out. Director Bassett oversees a vaporous horror sequel that rarely raises the pulse".

Movie Poster


The poster depicts hands emerging from cells attempting to grab the protaginist, this creates a feeling of claustrophobia and vulnerability, aspects that the Silent Hill game series is known for. This piques the interest of both horror fans and videogame fans. The feelings of being trapped and isolated are particularly prevelant in modern horror movies such as Saw, Hostel and Final Destination as well as classic horror movies such as The Thing and Evil Dead, therefore these emotions are staples of horror movies and will entice people. These emotions are also a staple of the Silent Hill series and fans of the videogame series will recognise this as an attempt to re-create the feelings experienced when playing the game and transplating them into the movie. The character in the background of the poster is 'Pyramid Head' a recognisable character from the videogame series and fans will appreciate the addition of this charactrer in the movie.

Case Study - Paranormal Activity 4

Paranormal Activity 4

• Featured numerous incidents of product placement for products and companies such as Macbook, Xbox Kinect, Smart Phones and Canon.
• Grossed over $91 million.
• Notorious for accidentally being screened to minors at a cinema instead of Madagascar 3, this was a popular news story and likely gained the film some more notoriety. 

E - Media

• Multiple trailers for the film are on YouTube, all of them have over a million views.
• Poor online reviews but seems to be building a cult following with some saying that people who liked the previous films will enjoy the fourth.

-  Scott Weinberg gave a positive review, saying that there was "some fun" to be had in the film, however also felt that the film would likely only be enjoyed by fans of the previous films. Fred Topel also gave a positive review, saying that the film included iconography from some classic horror films

- While it does manage to wring a few more screams out of the franchise's surprisingly durable premise, Paranormal Activity 4 provides fans of the series with dismayingly diminishing returns.

- Metacritic - 40/100

- Rotten Tomatoes - 25% approval rating.

Broadcast

• Commercials for the film were regularly screened on TV after 9pm showing when the film could be seen in theatres.
• The editing for the trailer was fast paced and every shot was incredibly short and usually showed a large room with one person in the room, likely to make the viewer feel more vulnerable.
• Dark, drab colours create feelings of unease.
• The ghost that haunts people in the film is never fully shown, the ghost is usually just a dark silhouette of a human which piques the viewers interest as to what exactly the ghost is, where it came from and why it haunts these particular characters.
• Another trailer for the film actually featured footage of people watching the full movie in a theatre, we get to see people getting shocked and scared which ensures the viewer that the movie is genuinely scary.

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• Paranormal Activity 4 poster:

This poster makes its narrative very clear from the camera perspective of this shot. We can tell that this movie is a "hidden camera" movie, first popularised by 'The Blair Witch Project', this style has been copied by a number of horror films since then. "Hidden camera" films have become very popular in the last decade, the makers of the Paranormal Activity series know this and market the film in such a way that moviegoers know what to expect, fans of "hidden camera" movies will recognise the format and be interested in the film. Often people enjoy seeing the same film they've seen before but with different characters, setting etc and will prefer to watch a film because they know what to expect rather than to see an original film where they may be dissapointed.

Another example of smart marketing is the way that the ghost is depicted in the poster; an omionus, dark silhouette of a human being. In many ways this is much scarier than depicting a full human being with clear facial features, arms, legs etc because a darkened silhouette inspires curiosity, the poster leaves people wondering who the ghost is, why it haunts this house and these particular characters and what destruction will the ghost cause.

Case Study - The Final Destination

The Final Destination

• According to USA Today and Newsday, Final Destination 4 debuted at the top of the North American box office, beating Rob Zombie's Halloween II, by earning $28.3 million during its first weekend.
• First movie to be filmed in high definition and 3D.
• Box Office earnings - $186,167,139

Broadcast

• The film was marketed specifically towards young adults and teenagers, videogames such as Saint's Row 2 and Skate 2 featured in-game posters advertising the film.
• The HD and 3D capabilities of the film were greatly empasised in trailers, 3D is a huge part of film marketing nowadays, especially when it comes to big budget blockbusters such as The Final Destination. HD and 3D are mostly targeted at casual moviegoers, in the film world many movie aficionados denounce 3D and HD as marketing gimmicks however to the casual moviegoer who is less informed of this debate HD and 3D may well be effective ways of persuasion to watch a movie.
• The theatrical trailer on YouTube has over 1,300,000 views.

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• Review of The Final Destination from The Guardian "Time, once again, to set the nail-guns teetering on a high shelf, perhaps in a classroom full of six-year-olds. This, incredibly, is the fifth Final Destination movie, and we might not be finished yet. Never has the first word in a title been more inappropriate. Fans of this franchise know precisely what to expect, and the film delivers it with wit and flair. The Final Destination movies are like inspired Kentucky Fried Movie sketches, but also like deadpan satires of a particular sub-genre they invented in the first place. As ever, the idea is that a bunch of attractive young people, plus one or two hilarious oldies and uglies, somehow escape dying in a spectacular accident and then Death, furious at being cheated of his bounty, picks off the survivors, one by one, in a series of bizarre freak accidents. This being a 3D movie, there are loads of sharp objects flying directly out of the screen. A group of youthful interns are employed at a drab office, presided over by a managerial nerd, adjoining a factory shopfloor. (So to the list of American institutions indirectly influenced by Ricky Gervais we can now add the Final Destination movies.) They go off on a team-building "retreat" on a coach, but just as they drive over a suspension bridge, one of their number has a vision of everyone dying as the bridge collapses. He gets most of them off before it happens, and this collapse scene is quite spectacular. Things progress from there. This film will do nothing for those people intending to have laser surgery for short sight".
• The Final Destination poster

The Final Destination is another movie that knows its audience and markets the film very specifically. The image of the human face being shot at through glass is an accurate representation of the gruesome and graphic ways that people die in Final Destination movies, nobody ever dies of natural causes or an everyday occurence, instead peoples deaths are caused in ridiculous and impossible scenarios, like an incredibly violent variation of the game 'Mouse Trap'. The poster makes it clear that the this will be a typical Final Destination movie with over the top death scenes so fans of the movies will recognise the iconography and want to see the latest installment of a franchise that they enjoy.

E-Media

• Two trailers for the movie are on YouTube, one has 1,300,000 views, the other has nearly 3 million views.
• The film has a fan site: Final Destination Wiki - http://finaldestination.wikia.com/wiki/The_Final_Destination
• The website includes a plot summary, trivia and information on characters and the actors who played them.
• The website also has a large community aspect with links to blogs about the movie, people can also vote on Top Ten Lists such as 'Top 10 Best Death Scenes' and 'Top 10 Characters Who Shouldn't Have Died'.
• Online review sites rated the movie mostly poorly or average.  

-IMDB -5.0
- Rotten Tomatoes - 30% approval rating - "With little of the ingenuity of previous instalments The Final Destination is predictable, disposable horror fare".

Do You Believe That The Media Is Responsible For Continuing To Create Stereotypical Representations Of Class

I believe that the media does create stereotypical representations of class, I believe that one of the reasons they do this is to give people a common enemy, for example it is easy for an upper class person to dislike the characters in the TV show 'Shameless' because the characters play up to the cultural stereotypes of the working class and inner city citizens as uneducated criminals. An upper class person would likely not enjoy 'Shameless' because they would view the characters as unruly and stupid, on the other hand a working class person may look past these characteristics and identify with other aspects of the show such as living in poor/dangerous area and not having much money or material goods and may enjoy the show for being an accurate representation of their surroundings. The creators of 'Shameless' clearly know their target audience (in this case the working class) and appeal to what they know and what their experiences of life are.

Another reason for these stereotypical representations is escapism, a working class person can watch a show such as 'Made In Chelsea' and fantasise about their own lives being similar to the lives of the characters in the show who are rarely shown working and instead often shown socialising and partying. Often people require outlets such as TV shows, movies and videogames to escape the tedium of their own lives which they consider boring and unstimulated, a show such as 'Made In Chelsea' allows people to forget about their regular lives and experience a totally different lifestyle that they find more interesting.

Often class differences are exploited for comedic effect, an older example of this is the cult classic 'The Young Ones'. In this show we are given two characters who are polar opposites, Vyvyan and Rick. Rick is a self obsessed hypocritical member of the middle class, desperately looking for attention and trying to associate himself with left wing political ideology, a topic that he has a very poor grasp of. Vyvyan is a typical working class punk rocker who is constantly wearing denim and has dyed orange hair, much of his behaviour borders on psychopathic as he regularly physically abuses his own friends for minor indiscretions and enjoys annoying people for no apparent reason. Although the class differences in 'The Young Ones' are often greatly exaggerated they still represent a vast cultural, political and social chasm between the two characters. Rick is obsessed with his own image and desperately attempts to study communist politics to be viewed as a 'left-winger', for example in one scene we see Rick asleep and clutching a copy of Karl Marx's 'Das Capital' apparently having fallen asleep while attempting to read it. Rick's actions and personality play up to the stereotypes of an upper/middle class person, an attention seeking yet largely aloof person with little understanding of how society functions.

In conclusion I believe that the media is responsible for creating class stereotypes, the media creates these stereotypes for a number of reasons, escapism, identification, comedic effect and to repulse people with a lifestyle that they are not used to, the reason for this stereotyping is to appeal to certain target audiences and repulse people who are not a member of that target audience.

Identity Questions

Identity Questions

4. If you are different from the norm, people will label you as something specific.

I agree with this statement as I believe people feel a need to stereotype and label certain people for a variety of reasons. People like to pigeonhole certain groups so they can ridicule that group of people, either for their own amusement or to fit in with other people who like to ridicule that group. Some people go out of their way to differentiate themselves from what is considered the norm, often with the sole intention of being labelled as a certain stereotype (i.e. Goth, Punk, Nerd etc.). Sometimes these stereotypes are intentionally achieved because people like to feel part of group or to sublimate their true personality which they may be unhappy with.

5. There is no longer one representation of either gender.

While I believe that there are still representations that we associate exclusively with either men or women, I believe that there are many more representations than there have been in previous years and that what constitutes feminine and masculine behaviour and appearance is much more open ended and accepted by the public in general. Women are no longer looked upon as homemakers and child bearers, now it is commonplace for women to take on high stress jobs that were previously the reserve of men; women are now much more likely to go to college and other forms of higher education. Men are no longer expected to be strong, stoic independent people who are always in control of their lives, men are now much more open about their thoughts and feelings and don’t have to be stereotypical masculine men. Men are now expected to take better care of their personal appearances and often use a range of hygiene products; just a few decades ago this would be looked upon as habits reserved exclusively for women. It is now commonplace for women to wear jeans and other clothing that was previously considered un-feminine.

More Violence In The Media

Black Ops 2 Tariler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3tedlWs1XY
Evil Dead 2 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6mEiJRiXqc

How Do These Clips Represent Violence?

The two trailers show two very different sides of violence in the media. The Black Ops 2 trailer is much more serious in tone, war is portrayed as gritty and dramatic, a portrayal that fans of the franchise are used to. The setting is also clearly very modern, with stealth bombers and realistic weapons and camoflauge outfits to give an accuarate portrayal of a modern war. In contrast the Evil Dead 2 trailer parodies the explicit 'slasher' genre of horror movies that were popular in the 1980's. The violence is incredibly over the top and intentionally silly with decapitations, a woman getting attacked by a tree possessed by an evil spirit and a re-animated corpse stabbing itself with a chainsaw and spewing blood over the set. All of these ridiculous occurences are designed to make viewers laugh at how explicit and silly the violence is as much as horrify them.

Do You Believe That The Media Promotes Violence?

I believe that neither of the trailers promote violence. The Black Ops 2 trailer is merely a depiction of war, it neither glorifies nor condemns violence. There are no actions that make war or violence in general look like sometghing that you should aspire to re-create, if anything the trailer is a detterent from violence since people are shown dying and buildings explode, it is a very accurate depiction of war. Most people would probably see the trailer and think that the game looks entertaining but they would never want to re-create this situation in reality for fear of losing their lives. The Evil Dead 2 trailer is so over the top and ridiculous that no sane person would think that these actions would be possible in real life. The violent events in the trailer are clearly not capable of happening in the real world which is where the movie derives most of its humour, the fact that the occurences in the movie are so unrealistic. People would definitly realise that this move is a parody of excessivly violent films and would respect the use of Evil Dead 2's own excessivly violent context since it is used to comedic effect and to make fun of other horror movies.

Violence in the Media

Violence in the Media

Do You Believe That The Media Promotes Violence?

I do not believe that the media promotes violence. I believe that most people are intelligent enough to differentiate between violence that they see in a media text such as a movie or a videogame and violence in reality. Often the violence in a media text is so over the top and ridiculous that people natural instincts will tell them that what they see on screen is not possible in reality, an example of this over the top nature would be the movie ‘Crank’ which is intentionally written and directed to be as ridiculous as possible with excessive use of car crashes, blood and gore. The film is so silly that people would likely view it as what it is; an over the top action blockbuster with no real meaning. Tests have been conducted such as the 1961 ‘Bobo Doll Experiment’ that allegedly prove that children will act violently when they regularly view violent media. Personally, I believe that this is normal human behaviour, the children in the experiment were left in a room with nothing but the doll, they really had no other option than to start beating the doll since there was nothing else for them to do in the room, when confronted with such an odd situation they just carried out the only action that they could do in that situation. I would argue that it would be extremely counter-productive for the media to encourage violence. The companies and corporations who make violent media texts (i.e. video game developers such as Capcom and Rockstar Games) are ultimately producing these media texts to make money not stir up controversy. In the past creators of violent media texts have removed excessive violence from their texts so that it doesn’t anger the public; in 2001 Rockstar Games removed the ability to kill children in their game Grand Theft Auto 3 because some game retailers were refusing to stock the game, this is just one example that shows ultimately, providers of violent media want a steady source of income, they don’t want to infuriate people as this could easily get the media texts that they produce banned.

Does the Media Promote Violence in Young People?

I definitely do not believe that the media promotes violence in young people. Violence in media texts appeal to young people because it is fake violence that does not harm anybody; you get the joy of defeating an enemy in a videogame or watching a villain get killed in a movie all the while knowing that nobody was actually harmed. All DVD’s, Blu-Ray’s and videogames carry an ESRB warning that warns parents of the explicit contents that a media text contains. A child cannot buy certain media texts without the approval of their parents, for example a 12 year old child would not be able to buy an 18 rated movie without at least one of their parents in the store to approve the purchase. This shows that media content providers are cautious about who they market certain texts to. I would argue that if a parent complains about a violent videogame influencing their children to be violent then it is the parents fault for buying the game in the first place, the content provider gave plenty of warning as to the violent nature of the media text, the parent(s) should have had the insight to see that this could influence their child.

Why Do People Play Videogames?

I believe that the main reason that people play videogames is escapism, videogames are a great way to relieve stress and get away from the daily tedium that life often offers. When people immerse themselves in these fictional worlds there is a huge variation of possibilities, for example they can be a famous musician in ‘Guitar Hero’ or a street racer in ‘Need For Speed’, things that they would probably never attempt in reality. People argue that media texts influence people to carry out what they see on screen in real life but I would argue that the opposite is true, people know that they could never win a street race or kill someone in real life because they are not a sociopath or an expert driver but they could carry out these actions in a fictional world and have the satisfaction of winning a street race or carrying out an assassination without the repercussions such as prison or death.