Summary of Findings

Generic Codes and Conventions of a Comedy Film

This lesson and last lesson we watched members of the class present the codes and conventions that they noticed in the films which they analysed. I presented my powerpoint this lesson on the generic codes and conventions i noticed in the comedies which i analysed, it is displayed below throught the use of print screens.

Our group also decided that we would be trying to create a Teen Comedy, this would be the easiest type of comedy to create as we have the teenagers and the setting (school) avaliable. We will be trying to create a film similar to "St Trianians", "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging" and "Wild Child" which all are set in Britain. We feel that by creating a British Teen Comedy we would be filling a gap in the market as there seems to be a lot of American Teen comedies but few British Teen comedies, other than the ones mentioned.

Some information about Comedies in the powerpoint was researched from: Getting the Joke: Teaching The Comedy Film - www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/comedyfilms.pdf

Full film analysis

The Other Half

This film complies with Propp’s character theory as it contains many of the fairytale characters e.g. the Villain of the narrative is the man in Mark’s
head who tempts the hero into going to the games despite what he is risking by doing so, the Hero of the narrative is Mark who struggles against temptation and the Princess of the narrative is Holly. The characters of which are very stereotypical e.g. Mark is stereotypical working class English male who is obsessed with football and has no airs and graces about him. Holly is also quite stereotypically female; she hates football and loves sight seeing. The use of stereotypes helps the audience to relate to the characters as they are easily identifiable.
The narrative of the film is in a linear fashion but does use imaginary scenes in-between the narrative, such as Mark’s imaginary tempter. These scenes are clearly distinguished from the rest of the film due to the intense glow around the characters and the use of bright colours.
The main scenes in the narrative are: The introductory scene, Holly and Mark are the first seen in the storyline, represented in a two shot to show their relationship. A close-up on their hands reveals that they are holding hands therefore establishing that they are in a romantic relationship. The lighting is bright and sunny which connotes happiness and new love.
The next major scene which influences the storyline is Mark’s first conversation with the villain; this scene is clearly defined by the use of bright light and colours as imaginary or a dream.
The next important scenes are the ones where he actually finds a way to sneak to the football matches, the use of non- diegetic football crowd sounds cheering connotes his happiness in being able to go to the match.
Then the next important scene is after Mark has told Holly that her passport and cards have gone missing in order to go back to Lisbon where the next football match will take place. In this scene she finds that the cards were hidden in a bag in the closet, the lighting in this scene is dimmed which creates a tense atmosphere and reflects the emotions portrayed on Holly’s face through the use of closeups.
There is then the confrontation scene, the lighting in this scene is still very dim and in contrast to the first scene of the two, they are now shown in separate shots rather than in two shots. Holly storms out into the street and Mark loses track of her.
There is then the reunion scene where Mark and Holly ring Holly’s parents at the same time and they put them on the line together. The weather in this scene is sunny at both ends of the phone line in America and Lisbon which connotes the happiness in their reunion.
Throughout the narrative the characters are dressed casually which is reflective of the characters going on their honey moon and makes the film accessible to more people as their clothing is reflective of themselves. The use of football paraphernalia such as football shirts and painted faces solidify the film’s football based narrative.
The creators also have used computer generated animation in order to create scenes that would have been difficult to film e.g. going into the football stadium and watching the world cup match. The use of non diegetic football sounds creates the atmosphere of the game and the simple yet bold animation keep the part of the narrative interesting to the audience.
Football is referenced to throughout the film throughout the use of CGI, the film integrates the use of a scoring system between Mark and Holly. It also has a time played box in the corner exactly as you would see during a football match on television. The playful use of replays and slow motion replays creates a football atmosphere, also the use of two commentators as characters in the piece help to keep even the parts of the film that are not about football with a football sense.
This film is quite a good representation of the comedy genre as it has been successful in creating a romantic comedy which both men and women alike can enjoy. The film also complies with Bulmer and Katz uses and gratifications theory as many of the audience will be able to relate to the characters and see parts of themselves reflected in the narrative. However they are quite rigid stereotypes so not all people will be able to relate.

Hot Fuzz

This film also complies with Propps narrative theory e.g. The hero of the narrative is PC Angel as he is the one who seeks to re-establish the equilibrium by finding out who is murdering the villagers. Danny who is Angel’s best friend is the helper as he tries to aid Angel on his quest. The Villains are the Elders who are secretly murdering those who do not comply to their rules and the Princesses are the unsuspecting villagers. The false hero is the police department who believe that they are doing their job when infact they are hindering PC Angel. There is also a use of stereotypes in this film, PC Angel and the other officers from the city are portrayed as uptight and straightfaced through both their appearance and manner towards the job, where as the officers from the countryside are depicted as untidy in appearance and laid back towards their job. The police officers are clearly given status over the other characters in their uniform and other character types are set up for example. The police officers who are rouges and rude where aviator sunglasses which connotes these kinds of tendencies, the reporter is quite stereotypically geeky with glasses and untrendy clothing.
There is also a clear definition between the two settings that the film is based in, the city is depicted as cold and clinical with dully lit interiors that aare boxy and plain. The countryside s a little more rustic whith picturesque scenery and historical landmarks, the lighting is bright and airy which connotes the seemingly “perfect” place.
The main scenes in this narrative are : The initial introductory scene, the back lighting from the street creates a dark silhouette in the background of the frame, the figure is central which gives the impression that this is the main character. The doors ahead of the character open swiftly, which gives the character intense dominance over the room. The intensified diegetic sound creates impact which immediately gets the viewers’ attention. The use of non diegetic police sirens signals to the viewer that the film is about police, but also that this character is a police officer. The drum beat as the silhouette approaches the doors gives a sense of foreboding. The use of voice over allows the character to introduce him self, and give the audience an insight into his background.
The editing is fast paced with a choppy representation of different angles of the same scene which is reflective of the action genre with which this film is a spoof of. The fast pace and editing with the non diegetic beat over it creates a sense of impending action.
The next important scene is the scene which influences the whole of the storyline, the one in which Angel discovers that he will be being relocated to a sleepy countryside village. The office is very clinical looking, and makes use of the colours blue and black. The lighting is very low which helps to create a sense of verisimilitude.
Initially when PC Angel gets to the countryside the lighting is very dark and the shadows of trees reflect onto the streets which gives a very eerie feel to the community. This creates a sense of foreboding events and makes the village seem very sinister.
Each murder is very important as they further make Angel look crazy as he continues to stress that they are murders not accidents as everyone else believes. Dramatic Irony is created in that the audience know and have witnessed the murders yet the characters don’t which hooks the readers as they want the characters to figure it out.
PC Angel seeing a murder for him self is also an important scene as it is the first time that he actually has his suspicions solidified. The lighting is very dull which creates a suspenseful atmosphere. The fact that PC angel sees the murderer fall over and cut his leg allows him to follow up on who the murder might be.
The next important scene is where PC Angel witnesses the Elders at their annual meeting, It is night time and they are all dressed in black hooded coats which connotes evil. They are all portrayed in a group shot around a large round table which shows their unity as a group.
The film makes use of film stereotypes in creating humour, recreating scenes from famous action films in order to do so.
I think this film is a very good example of the genre as it has ben one of the most successful British comedies to date. However, the film could be considered more of an action spoof than a comedy in its own right. It could very useful if we decide to create an action comedy ourselves, but even if we don’t we can still use some aspects of it to help us create a piece which will appeal to British female and male teenagers. This film also complies with the uses and gratifications theory in that the film allows audiences to escape into the film because they are unrealistic events.


HOTCHICK

This film also complies with Propp’s narrative theory, the Hero is Jessica, a cheerleader who takes her life for granted, the villain of the story is the thief or arguably the earring which the thief finds and puts in his ear. There are many helpers, most of which turn out to be people that Jessica has wronged in her life.
Teenage stereotypes are evident of nearly every character, the Goth – cast spells, curses, wears black, dark makeup and generally doesn’t fit in. The geek overweight, wants to be a cheerleader, gets picked on by the cheerleaders and the cheerleaders – pretty, popular, every boy wants them. These stereotypes allow audiences to relate to the characters and see a part of themselves reflected in the narrative which is a part of uses and gratification theory. The magical element of the narrative allows the audience to escape the mundanity of their own lives which is also a part of the uses and gratifications theory. The costume of the young popular girls throughout is very stereotypically girly, bright pinks and pastel colours, skirts and crop tops. The setting is in California therefore the lighting is continuously bright and sunny which connotes the “perfect” life that the main character has.
The story line is linear from a historical first scene about the history of the earrings and their power. This scene is Egyptian and the audience can tell this from the period costumes that the characters are wearing and the exotic colours and lighting give the impression of an exotic warm place such as Egypt.
A close up shot of the fireplace in this scene fades into the shaking of red pom poms and the diegetic sound of cheerleaders chanting and the crowd cheering acts as a sound bridge over this scene transition. This scene introduces the main characters. The first character to be seen is Jessica in a medium close up, the camera zooms out to reveal a group shot of Jessica on top of a pyramid of cheerleaders which immediately gives her status. The cheerleaders are wearing red glittery cheer uniforms. Thisgives them a glamorous edge, it also gives the impression that this is an important match. In contrast the geek is dressed in a dull green and grey cheer uniform which reflects how un-glamorous and unbeautiful she feels in comparison.
The next important scene is the meeting of the villain and hero, the villain is a stereotypical thief, his hair is dishevelled and his clothes soiled. Which in contrast to the girls in their shiny, brightly coloured car which connotes youthful vitality and spirit, he seems quite old. It is this scene which gets the plot moving as in this scene the thief finds one of the earrings on the floor, the earring has a glow about it which gives the impression that it is both important and magical.
The next important scene is the one in which after trying to deal with her new body and convincing her friends that she really is Jessica they finally find her real body. It is night time which reflects the evil things that the thief has been doing with her body such as robbing people. It is in this scene that they manage to trick the thief into switching bodies, the use of a group shot shows the deep connection that Jessica has developed with the girls she used to pick on in school.
This film is a good example of the comedy genre but I feel it will fail to appeal to both males and females and due to its American setting it would appeal far more to American teenagers. However we could still use aspects of the film when creating our own piece such as the humour used or the character types expressed as these appear across both societies and variations appear across Western culture.

The 15 certificate

As we are creating a certificate 15 film i researched what content a 15 film allows, we need to be sure that we do not exceed any of the restrictions in creating our piece, the BBFC permits:

Theme: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds.

Language: There may be frequent use of strong language; the strongest terms are only rarely acceptable. Continued aggressive use of strong language and sexual abuse is unacceptable.

Nudity: There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex: Sexual activity and nudity may be portrayed but without strong detail. The depiction of casual sex should be handled responsibly. There may be occasional strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.

Violence: Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain, and of injuries. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.

Imitable techniques: Dangerous combat techniques such as ear claps, head-butts and blows to the neck are unlikely to be acceptable. There may be no emphasis on the use of easily accessible lethal weapons (in particular, knives).

Horror: Sustained or detailed infliction of pain or injury is unacceptable.Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but clear instructive detail is unacceptable. The film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug use.

sourced from:

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/592478/index.html

Film Intro Analysis

Since our last lesson on Monday the 21st we have been viewing and textually analyising five 2minute Introductions to comedy films in order to get an idea as of how to start our own introduction. Below is my analysis of 5 film introductions, all the films that i used to analysed are certificate 15 or below.

HOTCHICK
Initially some Egyptian History is given which puts the future events of the storyline in context, the fire place from the Egyptian history part fades into the shaking of red pom poms which unifies the two times and creates a sense that the history has relevance to the people in this scene . The actual film starts after this; diagetic sounds and music of the cheerleaders doing their cheers come in over the shaking of the pom poms and continue, the cheers are upbeat and energetic. The initial shot is a medium close up of the main character who is dressed in cheerleading outfit which immediately gives the character’s personality away. When the camera zooms out we realise is standing on top of a pyramid of cheerleaders, indicating her high importance, she is top of the popularity ranks. There are shots of the crowd to reveal their popularity. The lighting is very bright and the colours of costumes and props are very vibrant which is reflective of the film’s youthful appeal. All the characters are introduced within the first minute. The main character (cheerleader) was introduced straight away. The geek wannabe cheerleader is then introduced being tormented by the main character. The geek is stereotypically overweight and plain looking; she is complete opposite of the cheerleaders. The comedy kicks in after this, slap stick comedy of the geek being hit by toilet tissue and then a toilet seat and falling over.
The next scene is a straight cut to a classroom scene, a two shot of the two cheerleaders playing patter cake shows a bond between the two, the song they sing as they clap hands is another source of comedy. More stereotypes are introduced; two chavy twins are introduced, stereotypically big earrings, revealing clothes and ponytail on the side of their heads talking colloquially. The Goth is then introduced as stereotypically wearing black clothes, black makeup, and unusual hair. The popular girls are stereotypically catty towards her and the Goth then begins chanting a curse over the popular girl.

STUCK ON YOU
The initial scene of the film sets the scene; a long shot of boat in the sea by a port lets us know that the film will be set in a port. It is sunrise and the scene is very picturesque and peaceful, which gives the impression of a perfect life. There is then a straight cut to an alarm clock and the music starts which is very upbeat. The clock changes to 7:00 and the diagetic sound of the alarm going off can be heard. The idea of an alarm clock creates a sense of normal daily routine with which the audience can relate to. This is until 2 hands reach out to turn the alarm off, we don’t see anything else which is humorous as the audience wouldn’t expect it. There is then a straight cut to the side of the bed two sets of feet get out of the bed at the same time but still the characters’ identity is kept secret as although the audience don’t know yet the main part of the story would be given away. Then two heads come up across the screen as they both do pull ups with one arm, as they pull themselves up it is then revealed that they are Siamese twins as the title “Stuck on You” comes up in between them, the words of the title are quite literally stuck together then pull apart which forebodes the events that happen later in the film’s narrative. The lighting and colours are quite dull which is not only a reflection of the time of year that the film is depicting but also the normality of the two’s lives. There is then a straight cut to a medium long shot of the two jogging in the snow, the daylight is bright but there is an impression of a “normal” day given. There is quite a bit of verbal comedy passed between the two as they jog around the small town and people say hello to them which reflects a close knit community. This is also mixed with slapstick comedy where there is a two shot of the two talking and jogging then a POV shot of a pole which they bang into. The use of a POV means the audience don’t see it until the twins see it which increases the humour.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY
The film starts with a voice over a black screen with credits, the set up of the scene is set as a woman explains about the background of two characters, and verbal comedy begins as Bruce argues about wearing a hairnet. The film then quickly fades in to the punch line of this verbal comedy, a medium close up of him wearing the hairnet and his facial expression. The future events of the storyline forebode as Bruce utters the words “God, why do you hate me?” under his breath. “we’re rolling” another man says as a side shot medium longs shot of a camera crew infront of Bruce is straight cut which reveals he is a reporter and puts what was being said in the credits in context. The lighting is bright but quite normal which gives the impression of a sunny perfect atmosphere. The colours of props and costumes are pastel which could be reflective of Bruce’s boredom with his seemingly perfect life. Visual comedy plays a key role in this film’s beginning as again while Bruce reports, behind his back one of the chefs is picking his nose, Bruce notices and goes on to make sarcastic jokes about it. A medium shot of the crew’s reaction also creates comedy as the audience can relate to the feeling being portrayed. The humour is also brought through in the comments the chef’s make when being interviewed which are not what you would expect and the way they outtake it. The audience are given a behind the scenes view at how the news is reported which engages them. The two chefs are very stereotypically Russian with strong accents, and not communicating in English correctly.


HAROLD AND KUMAR GET THE MUNCHIES
The scene is set, a long shot of an office block on a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. The office is rigid and generic looking which gives the impression of long hours and tedious work. A straight cut to the interior of one of the floors reveals the main character in a medium shot working at his station, he is stereotypically geeky with glasses and a straight cut hair style. The office is a stereotypical office block, dull colours and every cubicle looks the same but outside the windows the sunshine is bright which reflects the eagerness of employees to get out. The time is set by a conversation between two business men dressed in black suits, which gives them status; they are talking about the impending weekend. The one man is very stereotypically masculine; he talks about drinking and women, convincing the other to dump his work on someone else. The man then approaches the main character and a low angled shot of the main character reveals his status towards the other man giving the impression that he is the main character’s boss; he is also sitting whilst the boss stands over him which reflects the main character’s low status in comparison. He dumps his work on him, the pace of editing speeds up as we see the two business men leave and drive off in their sports car which reflects the excitement of the two. The camera then pans up to a medium long shot of the main character in the office window stuck in the office which reflects how trapped he is. The comparison creates humour. There is a straight cut to another man who is the main characters’ opposite, he is dressed casually with messy hair which reflects his free nature seated in an elegant looking room full of bookcases which indicates intelligence. It becomes apparent he is in an interview the interviewer is a stereotypical upper class white man who talks in the queen’s English, is dressed smartly, humour is creating in him trying very hard to be politically correct. The colours are brighter in this room than the office which implies life is better for the second man than the first. Humour continues as the second main character begins doing and saying things you wouldn’t in an interview: answering his phone, and having a phone conversation about partying and taking drugs.


JUST FRIENDS
Music starts over a black screen with the words “1995 New Jersey” the music is slow and romantic (“I swear” By Boys II Men) which gives the impression of a romantic film. The film fades in with someone writing a note and a voice over “Dear Jamie…”. There is a straight cut and a pan down of a board of photos with the words “Chris and Jamie friends forever” and lots of pictures of a teenage boy and a teenage girl. The voice over continues as he lists romantic things about her in a childish voice. This immediately sets the storyline when the music, the photographs and what he is saying are combined; he has an obsession for Jamie.This occurrence is a typical teenage boy/girl experience therefore teens can relate to the narrative. Visual comedy starts when the photos are panned, a picture of them both looking in love pops out to reveal another man in between them and he tries to re-stick it, this further tells the storyline in indicating that he cant have her. The camera straight cuts back to him writing in the book as he reveals “hoping to be your boyfriend, sincerely Chris Brander, BFF!” we then realise that this is her year book as the camera fades into a page with her picture. When we finally see the boy’s face he is stereotypically geeky, he is overweight, has retainer, his hair is large and curly. He sings the words of the song into the mirror until he is caught by a little boy who starts mocking him who we assume to be his brother as he shouts “mom!” when Chris tells him to get out; this reflects also his low social status as even his brother mocks him. A medium close up shows him taking out his retainer and eating which is stereotypical of overweight people to binge when upset. The lighting in the room is warm and homely which gives the impression that it is his home and his bedroom. There is then a straight cut medium long shot to a dark peaceful road which gives the impression of suburban living. He is on a bike which further aids the stereotype of a geeky boy. A voice over enhances him muttering the words he is going to say to Jamie over and over which gives the impression he is going to go see her.

The films do seem to have a lot in common in the first 2minutes, the main character(s) is introduced straight away in the first scene, and they are usually the Hero of the narrative. The first 2 minutes try to give as much detail as possible about the main character(s) by using stereotypes e.g. the connotations of the way they are dressed/look and the way they interact with others. The introduction also tries to set out the background that the narrative leads from e.g. Hotchick and Just Friends both give information as to events that happened before the film began.

Powerpoint on findings and actions

Powerpoint

In Today's lesson I began creating a powerpoint detailing the findings of the Questionnaire through the use of barcharts and pie charts.

We also established our Profile audience as :

n Female

n Aged 16

n Her favourite film genre would be comedy

n Her favourite film would be Hot Fuzz

n And she would watch most films with a 15 classification

Knowing our Profile audience will enable us to successfully create a piece which will appeal to this type of person.

In the next blog on Monday i will post print screens of my powerpoint.

Looking Good

Hi Lauren

Firstly, well done for getting this baby up and running. Secondly, make sure you are using this to reflect on what you have done rather than simply posting lost of your research. It is essential during this unit that you reflec ton everything you do and consider why you are completing tasks and how they inform your practical work.

Questionnaire results

Consumer trend questionnaire results

Below are the numbers of people who gave each answer

About you:

Age:

Under12 0

12-14 4

15-17 14

18-20 3

21-30 2

31- 40 2

40+ 4

Gender: M: 11 F :19

Occupation:

Student 20

Other 10

Nursery Manager 1

Gardner 1

Probation officer 1

Sales assistant 4

Assistant care manager 1

Senior residential social worker 1

Other 1

If student, what subjects are you currently studying?

Media 8

English 14

Health and social care 1

Art 2

Geography 3

French 4

Science 1

ICT 3

Design Tech 1

RE 2

PE 1

Business 4

History 2

Photography 1

Maths 1

Psychology 3

Drama 1

Politics 1

What is your favourite genre? Tick more than one for subgenre

Action 13

Adventure 9

Comedy 19

Crime and gangster 7

Drama 7

Historical 1

Horror 11

Musical 3

Romantic 12

Sci-fi 2

Thriller 10

War 2

Western 2

Other- please specify 3

Cult Classics

Dance

Teen flicks

What is your favourite film?

Matilda 1

Shawshank redemption 1

28 Days later 3

Saw 1

Titanic 1

Mean girls 1

Van Helsing 1

Love actually 2

Dirty Dancing 1

Wicker park 2

Forest gump 1

Man on fire 1

Fight club 2

Hot fuzz 1

The green mile 1

The notebook 1

Dogma 1

Blade 1

Bridget Jones 1

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind 1

Angus thongs and perfect snogging 1

The Hurricane 1

What character types are in this film?

Villain 18

Hero 18

Flirt 12

Good Wife/Husband 7

Rogue 10

Airhead 3

The clown 5

Popular boy/girl 8

Other 6

Please give an example and the film that this character was in?

Character:

Brad Pitt

Tyler

Bridget

Blade

Jason Bourne

Matilda

Van Helsing

Zombies

The clown

Forest

Amelie

Prisoner

Ruben Carter

Protagonist

Butch

Lennie

Regina

James Bond

Creasy

Josh Harnett

Lindsay Lohan

Film:

Fight Club

Step up

Bridget Jones’ Diary

Blade

Bourne Identity

Matilda

Van Helsing

28 Days Later

Love Actually

Forest Gump

Amelie

The Green Mile

The Hurricane

Fight Club

Pulp Fiction

The Beestel

Of Mice and Men

Mean Girls

James Bond

Man on Fire

Wicker Park

Mean Girls

Do you only see films that conform to this genre?

No I vary my choices 18

Yes I only consume films of this genre 3

I prefer this genre, but I am happy to view other films 8

What age classification are you mostly likely to watch?

U 3

PG 4

12A 4

12 8

15 23

18 17

R18 5

How often do you go to the cinema?

Weekly 2

Once every few weeks 10

Monthly 17

Never- skip next question 1

Do you prefer to go to the cinema when there are promotional offers on at the cinema? E.g. orange Wednesday

Yes I only go when there are promotional offers 2

No, but I prefer to go when there are offers on 14

I am happy to go any time and I am not influenced by these offers 14

Which do you prefer?

American films 12

British films 16

Foreign language films 2

Other 0

No preference 7

Would you be persuaded to make a special effort to see a film if a particular actor/actress was in it?

Yes I would 9

Depends whether I like the look of the film 13

No I wouldn’t 7

If yes, please give an example

Hugh Grant

Johnny Depp

Daniel Craig

Will Smith

Tom Hanks

Jeremy Sisto

Denzel Washington

Elijah Wood

50 Cent

Do you favour a particular institution? E.g. working title

Yes 8

No 20

If so, which institution (s)?

Universal Pictures 5

20^th century Fox 4

Disney/ Pixar 4

Film Four 1

DreamWorks 3

Other (please specify) 1

Momentum Pictures

Which do you prefer?

Independent films 9

Arthouse films 2

Blockbusters 24

Other (Please specify) 0

How likely are you to purchase a film on DVD/bluray/video?

Very likely 14

Likely 13

Unlikely 3

Very unlikely 0

Have you ever downloaded/owned a pirate or illegal film?

Yes 16

No 14

Analysis of Questionnaire results

We brought the results of our Questionnaires together to establish trends, what our target audience should be and what we should include in our film in order to appeal to them. The analysis we wrote up as a group is pasted below.

Analysis of Data

The majority of people we asked were between the ages of 15-17, this would have influenced the trends of our results as people of this age group have similar interests in films. Looking at our results we will target our product to this demographic.

Also we asked more females than we did males therefore our trends show that the majority prefer the genre of romantic, comedy and action showing stereotypically the male preference. This was backed up by our results, which showed the majority of males tended to choose action as one of their favourite genres. We have decided to develop our piece conforming to the comedy genre, as this was given as a favourite genre consistently, but we are undecided as to which sub genre of comedy to do.

When we looked at the occupations of the participants, it became apparent that the majority of them were students at varying levels of education, and the majority were studying at A level standard. This will affect our product because we need to be aware that typical students are often stereotyped as having low incomes and so their ability to go to the cinema, and purchase DVD’s etc. 

By asking their participants about their hobbies and interests, we were able to see that the most popular hobbies and interests for females were, shopping, socialising, and watching TV. Their hobbies appear to be mundane, and so they may be more prone to comply with Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory of audiences needs to escape into the world of film. This could influence our product, as we need to be aware that our targeted audience are more likely to be interested in watching fictional and unrealistic films.

Also the fact that many of their hobbies involves social interaction again fits in with the uses of gratification theory, in which the audience is believed to want to relate and interact with others. The hobbies are quite stereotypical for our participants gender so we should use stereotypes in our product in order that they can relate to the characters. Therefore our product should something that they could discuss, it has to be something they can identify with e.g. realistic situations to their age range and gender.

The majority of students we asked were studying media studies and English. This means they are liable to be interested in films of a fictional nature with a more creative nature. It is also possible that they were more interested ion independent and art house films, however this theory was contradicted by our results that show that the significant majority preferred blockbusters. This could be because the institutions who produce the films because they tend to produce films that they believe will be the most successful and blockbusters usually fall into this category. The fact that 8 of our students said they study media, which was the second most studied subject from our sample.  People studying media studies are more likely to be aware of the nature of our questionnaire and so are more liable to be affected by demand characteristics and so are more likely to answer in a way that they believe we want them to.

When we analysed the character types that were reported to appear in participant’s favourite films, it became apparent that villain’s and heroes are the most common. This complies with Propps theory that all narratives contain specific character types, so we should follow Propps theory when developing our piece and include character types such as the hero and the villain.

 The question we asked about character types which our participants preferred could have been worded much better as people especially who didn’t study media studies didn’t understand the question and gave us the actors name rather than the characters name. It might have been a good idea to give an example answer from them to model theirs on.

From our second questionnaire we found that when asked who their favourite actor and actress was the majority of participants chose popular Hollywood actors and actresses who star in blockbusters which were of the romantic comedy genre e.g Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon, Britney Murphy, Jude Law and Hugh Grant. Johnny Depp was also a frequent answer given to this question, he has recently starred in a lot of blockbusters such as Pirates of the Caribbean.  

Following this we asked the participants if they would be persuaded to make a special effort to see a film if a particular actor or actress was in it and the majority of the participants said that it would depend whether they liked the look of the film therefore we should use stereotypical characters which particular actors portray. This therefore is not relevant to the development of our piece.

Over half of the participants we asked said that they vary their choices of the genre of the films that they view and the minority only viewed films that conformed to their preferred genre. This works to our advantage, as we are free to choose from a number of different genres and still appeal to our audience.

From our results we can see that the majority of people tend to watch a film with an age classification of 15 therefore we think that we should model our film on this, including the same content that is consistently seen through films of this classification.

When asking our participants we found that the majority preferred British Films so we should make our film including the attitudes and values consisting with the British public and popular British films. We can use research from companies such as working title’s films when developing our product to make it more typically British to the audiences preference.

The majority of the people we asked said that they didn’t favour a particular institution suggesting that it isn’t of any particular importance to them however these people we asked didn’t necessarily know which institutions their favourite films were made by therefore couldn’t answer the question appropriately so we should have informed them more clearly.

Looking at the responses about institutions we can see that linking to the hypodermic needle theory the participants that favoured a particular institution also favoured a particular genre. Each institution could inject particular ideas into the viewer influencing their choices.

Some participants however did favour institutions in particular; these could have been the participants who were students and studying media. The two favoured institutions were Universal Pictures, 20^th Century Fox.

Reflecting on our questionnaire we could see that the question we asked about downloading films wasn’t necessary to develop our product.