Case study research tasks

SKYFALL ($200M BUDGET)-

The basics
1) What is the name of the film, the director and notable stars? When was it released?
The movie I've decided to do my case study research on the very successful Skyfall. Skyfall was released on October 26th 2012. The director of Skyfall was Sam Mendes who has directed many successful movies in the past. One notable star is the main character Daniel Craig acting as James Bond. Daniel Craig is an Iconic figure in the media seen as a very 'macho' man.


 2) What genre is the film? What are the generic conventions that tell you the film belongs to this genre?

Skyfall is an action thriller movie. It is clear just from the trailer that this movie belongs to this genre. The classic action scenes including violence and explosions suggest to the audience that it is an action thriller. Also if you look at the trailer it consists of short second shots and fast pace camera work which suggests it is an upbeat and fast movie containing fight and chase scenes which are typical conventions of an action thriller such as this one.

 3) What was the critical reception? What is the film rated on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes?
Skyfall is rated a 7.6 out of 10 from IMDB which is a very good and high rating coming from a very established and trusted movie reviewing website.

Broadcast

 1) Write a close-textual analysis of the trailer using the MIGRAIN key concepts of Media Studies.

The media language that is used throughout the trailer is very sophisticated and formal language. This is done because the narrative of the movie is a very complex one that requires the audience to pay attention. The genre is clear from the trailer. Skyfall is an action thriller and the fast pace action shots with explosions allows the audience to identify this. The trailer follows a very conventional narrative.  This can be linked to Propp's  theory because it is clear that there is a hero villain etc. For example, James Bond in this case is the hero this is a classic way to engage the audience.

 2) Does the broadcast promotion use stars to create interest in the film?

One promotion method is through Adele creating the soundtrack for the film, Adele is a Bafta star that is known internationally. Her fans may show interest to the film through her and also she tweets this on twitter this promotes the movie to Adele's many followers which is an imaginative and successful way to promote the movie through a popular star such as Adele.

Print
1) Read at least THREE reviews of the film and provide a quote from each one.
"It is not the breath of fresh air that was 2006's "Casino Royale," but it is nearly as satisfying."

"It's not just a terrific Bond movie; it's a terrific movie, period."

 

"Mendes has embraced the general super-ness of Bond and taken his inspiration from the best superhero flick of recent years: The Dark Knight."

 2) Find examples of print promotion (e.g. film poster, billboard adverts etc.) on Google images and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.

This Is a film poster for Skyfall and seems to promote the film in an effective way.  The film poster provides a quote review at the top of the poster stating that Skyfall is the best bond movie this review engages the audience because they trust what other people think and interests them in watching it. It also provides shorter reviews with ratings 4/5 which at the top of the groups.
  
 3) Choose ONE print advert and write a textual analysis of what it communicates to the audience.

This print advert is a very effective and successful one in communicating and sending the audience messages about the great Skyfall. The print advert consists of the famous code for James Bond '007' this is written across the poster and is the biggest text on the page which gives it significance and importance. This is the classic brand identity that allows the audience and people familiar with James Bond to identify his famous agent code. This is a promotion method to give Skyfall a strong link in its brand. Another effective aspect of this print is the central image of James Bond himself lying across holding a weapon(gun) This is effective because it creates a sense of excitement and adrenaline for the audience tempting them to watch the movie and this is the aim for the directors of the poster. 
 4) How is the film’s brand constructed? What does the brand connote? Does it remind you of any other brands or similar films?

James bond movies have a very high brand and reputation so the movie has already gained a very high target in audience and created expectations for the next Bond movies. This was constructed by many years of success in the past of Bond movies and this creates a strong and established Bond brand which allowed Skyfall to gain great success. This can be compared to Batman movies. Batman is similarly a very strong brand and has been constructing and building their brand name for many years which allowed the action movie The Dark Knight to gain great success similar to Skyfall.

E-media
1) Research the film’s presence on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. How does the film’s social media presence help promote the film? Can you find any examples of the two-step flow theory online – did celebrities or journalists tweet or post about the film in order to promote it to their followers?
Adele's fans may show interest to the film through her and also she tweets this on twitter this promotes the movie to Adele's many followers which is an imaginative and successful way to promote the movie through a popular star such as Adele. So one way that Skyfall is present in social media is through big celebrity tweets to promote the film.
Adele has a strong fan base and by her promoting the soundtrack by tweeting it this brought the movie publicity and gave it more recognition also seeing as that Adele's tweet received a very high amount of retweets which allowed the movie to spread across the social media platform so that more people are aware of the movie.