section a exam response.
'Visuals effects are a main attraction for audiences'. How far do you agree with this statement?


All in all i generally disagree with this statement. Firstly i can use the film 'drive' as an example, the film was a huge success in 2011, making just over $75 million in the box office (having only spent $15 million in the films budget); the film never really employed many visual effects, past the scenes of violence and car chases, however the strong point for the film wasn't the grotesque scenes of violence, but the art-house style of filming that includes the likes of a particular styles of filming. In the case of drive, director Nicholas Refn opted for a neo-noir stylisation which is an uncommon genre for modern films at this time, i feel that the the main attraction for this low budget indie film in a scene full of big budget comic book films was that it brought something new to the table, something that allot of films nowadays don't do; normally it would be reboots of franchises long passed, or sequels to already existing franchises.
The fact that there is also a major film star, starring as the lead role of an indie film could also add to the attraction of the film, actor Ryan Gosling was and still is a popular actor for roles that would typically include a pretty-boy, teenage heartthrob type of role. Ryan Goslings popularity as well as acting ability in terms of accommodating darker roles in films such as 'Fracture" and 'Stay' would be a main attraction for audiences i feel.

On the other hand, we have the film 'john Carter' as an example of a film that accommodated a large budget and heavily relied on visual effects to become a successful film. However the film was a massive bust, having only just broke even with the colossal $263 million budget with $284 in box office sales. The film garnered many negative reviews with only a handful of positives and a rating of 51% on the site Rotten Tomatoes with it being said that there are many other films that do ust what John Carter did but better, and 'nothing really worked'; which is a clear indication that a film with a huge budget involved with special effects doesn't necessarily give birth to a masterpiece.

In my personal opinion visual effects is something that should be considered when going to watch a film, after all there have been so many fantastic films that do boast a plethora of visual effect. Just released recently was directors Wes Anderson's comedy film 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', whereby visual effects are used in a way to explore deeply emotional ideas. The film is a success having gained $174 million having only spent $30 million, in addition to many positive reviews that in short confirm that the film is incredibly pretty, and that it serves a general purpose in terms of the films narrative whereby it explores thoughtful themes as well as creating a generally charming setting for a generally comedic film. As well as a financial success it was also a critical success, having garnered a rating of 92% on Rotten tomatoes; a rating of 88 out of 100 on Metacritic and a raking among the majority as the best film of 2014. What this proves to me is that visual effects generally don't attract audiences, however there are films that i will go and see because of their distinguishable stylisation and their signature special effects, to be specific i will generally go and see any number of films directed by Neill Blomkamp because i am a fan of the style of visual effects that his film possess, and i know based on experience that most of his films do contain a message and a good narrative; in addition i will almost always take notice of films directed by Wes Anderson because they are renown for its visual style, quirky personality and good narrative.

aims and context for our film

- a complete short horror-thriller story
-target audience is 15 year old teens and up, for both male and female who are familiar with the horror genre
-applied use of editing techniques (parallel editing) learned in FM1 and a range of different styles of shorts, that were also learnt in FM1

4 film case studies

Django: unchained - US blockbuster
Budget: $100 million
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington
Genre: Black Comedy, Western, Action film
Box Office: $425,368,238
Production Company: The Weinstein company, Columbia pictures
Certificate: 18
Marketing: The first teaser poster was inspired by a fan-art poster by Italian artist Federico Mancosu. His artwork was published in May 2011, a few days after the synopsis and the official title release. In August 2012, at director Quentin Tarantino's request, the production companies bought the concept artwork from Mancosu to use for promotional purposes as well as on the crew passes and clothing for staff during filming.
Release date: december 25 2012 
Reviews: The film has been acclaimed by critics and has garnered a rating of 88% on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 245 critical reviews with an average rating of 8 out of 10. The site's consensus states: "Bold, bloody, and stylistically daring, Django Unchained is another incendiary masterpiece from Quentin Tarantino." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 81, indicating "universal acclaim".

Prometheus- UK production
Budget: $130 million
Stars: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron
Genre: Psychological Science fiction thriller
Box Office: $403.4 million
Production Company: Scott Free Productions
Certificate: 15
Marketing: Prometheus '​ marketing campaign began on July 21, 2011 at the San Diego Comic-Con International, where images and footage from the film were presented by Lindelof and Theron; Scott and Rapace participated via satellite contribution. A segment of the footage showed Theron performing naked push-ups, which attracted much attention. A teaser poster was released on December 14, 2011, with the tagline, "The search for our beginning could lead to our end." A bootleg recording of an incomplete trailer was leaked online on November 27, 2011, but was swiftly taken down by Fox. The trailer was released on December 22, 2011.
Release Date: June 8th 2012 (UK)
Reviews: The film garnered a 73% approval rating from 269 critics—an average rating of 6.9 out of 10—on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, which said, "Ridley Scott's ambitious quasi-prequel to Alien may not answer all of its big questions, but it's redeemed by its haunting visual grandeur and compelling performances—particularly Michael Fassbender as a fastidious android." Metacritic provides a score of 65 out of 100 from 42 critics, which indicates "generally favorable" reviews. CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "B" on a scale of A+ to F, with audience members under 25 rating it the highest at A-. Reviews frequently praised both the film's visual aesthetic and design, and Fassbender's performance as the android David received almost universal acclaim. However the plot drew a mixed response from critics, who criticized plot elements that remained unresolved or were predictable, tempered by appreciation for the action and horror set-pieces.

Drive- US independent
Budget: $15 million
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar isaac, Albert Brooks
Genre: neo-noir arthouse action crime thriller
Box Office: $76,175,166
Production Company: Bold films, Oddlot entertainment, Motel movies
Certificate: 18
Marketing: Originally planned as a blockbuster, Drive was eventually re-labeled as an independent film. Prior to principal photography, Refn went to the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in an effort to sell the rights to Drive and released promotional posters for the film. In November 2010, FilmDistrict acquired North American distribution rights. The owners were so eager to get their hands on Drive, they started negotiating to buy it before seeing any footage, believing it could appeal to people who enjoy a genre movie, as well as the arthouse crowd. The film had a release date of September 16, 2011, in the United States.

Release Date: september 2011 

Reviews: Drive received critical acclaim upon its release in 2011. Critics lauded Refn's direction, the cast (especially Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks), Martinez's score, the visual style and action sequences, though some critics thought the violence was off-putting. To date, the film has a 93% “fresh” rating and an 8.3 average rating onRotten Tomatoes, based on 234 reviews. From the Rotten Tomatoes' consensus: "With its hyper-stylized blend of violence, music, and striking imagery, Driverepresents a fully realized vision of arthouse action." It has a 78 score onMetacritic, based on 43 reviews. It was one of the highest-ranked and most-featured films on critics’ year-end top 10 lists. It ranked as fourth best film of the year, behind The Tree of Life, The Artist, and Melancholia on Metacritic's tally of top 10 lists. On Movie City News’ tally it ranked third, behind The Tree of Life and The Descendants.


     

The Raid 2: Berendal- World Cinema
Budget: 4.5 million
Stars: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo, Alex Abbad, Julie Estelle, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kenichi Endo, Kazuki Kitamura 
Genre: indonesian martial arts action crime thriller
Box Office: 6,534,381
Production Company: P.T merantau films, XYZ films
Certificate: 18
Marketing: A teaser trailer was released on Twitchfilm at 6 November 2013. The Hollywood Reporter said, "the images unleashes more action than most Hollywood blockbusters." Followed by a longer Indonesian trailer later in 31 December 2013.
The film made an appearance as part of the official selection at the Sundance Film Festival this year in 2014.

Release Date: 11 April 2014
Reviews: The Raid 2 has received positive reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 79% "Certified Fresh" rating, with an average score of 7.4/10, based on reviews from 153 critics. The site's consensus states: "Although its high-energy plot and over-the-top violence may play better with genre aficionados, The Raid 2 definitely delivers more of everything audiences loved about its predecessor". The film has a score of 71/100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favourable reviews", based on 33 critics.
Extra points: Upon its release in cinemas across the world, The Raid 2 only received light for just one week before being pulled off due to low returns. in terms off success, statistically The Raid 2 didn't make a goliath amount of money on top of its production cost, but as a director Gareth Evans has shown the ability to make good quality movies with the limitations of a low budget, however the first Raid film made around 14 times its production cost (1.1 million- 14.1 million in box office), which makes the Raid 2 somewhat of a failure in statistical terms.