Straight Outta Compton- Film Marketing Case Study

-Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by F. Gary Gray, depicting the rise and fall of the gangsta rap group N.W.A and its members Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre. The members were involved in the production, including Ice Cube and Dr. Dre as producers, as was Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, while MC Ren and DJ Yella served as creative consultants. Ice Cube is played by his real-life son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., with Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre and Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E. Paul Giamatti also stars as N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller.

-Released on August 14, 2015, Straight Outta Compton made over $200 million on a production budget of $50 million, was chosen by National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2015 and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It inspired Dr. Dre's third studio album, Compton, which debuted at no. 2 on the US Billboard 200 album chart a week prior to the film's release. The soundtrack album, featuring music by N.W.A, debuted at no. 1 on the Rap Albums chart and reached no. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Heller filed a lawsuit against the filmmakers, protesting his depiction and claiming that parts were taken from his autobiography without permission.

-Straight Outta Compton grossed $161.2 million in the United States and Canada and $40.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $201.6 million.Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $91.1 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.

- The targeted demographic for the biopic is was primarily fans of N.W.A and a younger generation, however, Universal made many different trailers targeting smaller sectors of their demographic.

Link to the Official straight Outta Compton Global Trailer;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsbWEF1Sju0

Assassins Creed 3

Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation

Assassin's Creed III ; Liberation is a 2012 action-adventure video game that was  developed by Ubisoft Montreal.It was the fifth major instalment of the Assassin's Creed franchise which was also realised alongside Assassin's Cree 3 and was released worldwide on Playstation 3 and XBOX 360.Assassin's Creed III: Liberation was released on October 30, 2012, the same day as Assassin's Creed III. When released in Japan it was named as Assassins Creed 3 : Lady Liberation. Alongside Tomb Raider, this is one of the only games released that stars a female protagonist. This is a huge improvement in equality in the gaming industry as it was always full of predominantly male characters or a women character playing a minor role and not the avatar. The game has tackled representation of women in a positive light and are continuing to make women feel empowered and apart of a world which was male dominated. This has also befitted Ubisoft Montreal as it draws in a wider demographic of women gamers who want to play with a female protagonist. 

The plot is set in a fictional history of real world events and follows the centuries-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The game is set between 1765 to 1777 and also features the franchises first female protagonist Aveline de Grandpré.The main portion of the game takes place in Louisiana near the end of the French and Indian War, where France's defeat caused the city of New Orleans to be taken over by the Spanish Empire. The citizens were upset over the transition from French to Spanish control and Spain's new occupation within the city. However, in 1765, the French governor Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie made a negotiation with Templar Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer to stay as governor of New Orleans. This plot was later uncovered by Aveline, who infiltrated the governor's mansion and assassinated him.

Bandwagon Defintion

Bandwagon Defintion

Bandwagon advertising is a specific type of propaganda advertising technique that tries to get the target audience to jump on board, so as to not "miss out" on what everyone else is

doing.

News Analysis

David Beckham's Picture With His Daughter

On the 27th of November, David Beckham shared a photo on his Instagram of him and his daughter, Harper, sharing a kiss. Lots of people where criticising Beckham for this photo as it was deemed to be inappropriate and "weird".

BBC sport have reported on the matter and have addressed that for many celebrities , posting pictures with their children can be like " throwing yourself into a bear pit". Many celebrities have tweeted in support of Beckham's "controversial" picture and have even tweeted similar pictures with their children. Many news papers and some of David Beckham's fan base are seeing this photo as inappropriate because there is a stigma and representation that this is "pedophilloic". On the other hand it is seemed as normal to kiss a young child to show them affection and the majority of parents do this.

The report is set in an informal tone as the story is seen as soft news and not "important". We can not only tell this by the tone of this but also on how many other news companies have reported on this and only BBC Sport have reported on this matter. This could suggest that they only reported on this matter for clicks and for the adverts in the article.

On Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan insists and takes the unpopular opinion on the picture of Beckham and Harper and says its "weird". However he contradicts his views on sexuality by kissing Peter Andr.

Film Posters and Film Trailers Analysis

Halloween (2018) Trailer

I will be analysing the movie trailer of Halloween (2018).

From the outset of the trailer, we get to see a series of establishing shots , followed by a series of non-diegetic sounds. The quick cutting between shots is used to be a genre indicator, as the film is a horror/thriller film. The screen then goes black and we hear diegetic gunshots and the camera pans to a voice recorder which is playing the tape of the "Killers interview" which plays the words; "He was slaughtered by his own psychiatrist." this can be used as an audience hook as it gives a small segment of the narrative and draws the audiences attention in.

Its not until 38 seconds in that we see a glimpse of the main character and its only the mask he uses for a disguise. This breaks conventions of a stereotypical movie trailer as we normally see the protagonist in the first 10 seconds. The camera then cuts to the ident of Universal Studios, this can be seen as a more subtle "promise of pleasure"& "mark of quality" and make some segments of the targeted demographic become more interested in the film as they may have seen previous  films made by them.

From that moment on, the films infamous soundtrack is played throughout the different scenes flipping between being diegetic and non-diegetic. This plays as a hook and draws the audiences attention into the trailer but it also acts as anchorage to the antagonist; "Michael Myers".

From the first glance of the poster, the audience can already tell the genre of the movie from the genre indicators, some of these include low-lighting, dark shadows and minimal information. The juxtaposition of the presumed "protagonist" and the "antagonist" assume that there is going to be some type of conflict. Across the top strip of the poster, the creators use a mark of quality with the actors name Jamie Lee Curtis. This will draw a wider demographic in as it is a promise of pleasure to those who like her previous films.

Analysis Of Adverts

Advert Analysis

In Maybelline's colour sensation print based advert, the marketers use demonstrative action and iconic represntation to portray the uses of the product.

In the advert, the female model is breaking conventions by not giving the camera direct address.This sets the mode of address to a more seductive and sexual tone.

The colour palette for the advert is black and red this portrays the romantic feeling towards the advert.


The unique selling point of the advert is the slogan "Colour sensational", this makes the consumer associate the product with this slogan. Through out the advert, the colour red is an anchor to the product, the sleek black background is interrupted by a red rose which is assoicated with a sexual tone.

Maybelline have used a close-up to show the demonstrative action of the product, the camera angel also reflects the sexualised manner in which she is presented in. The advertisers use the theory " The male gaze" to reflect the way the camera is used in a male's sexual viewpoint which reinforces the sexual manner in which the product intended to be used.

Taylor Swift - Case Study

Taylor Swift;

You Belong With Me

Overview;

Genre; Country Pop/Pop

Released; April 18th 2009

Recorded; October 28th 2008

Album; Fearless , Taylors 2nd Album

Nominations; Grammy Award For “Song Of The Year”, “Best Female Voice” and “Record of the Year”

Inspired by; Taylor heard a male friend and his girlfriend arguing over the phone and Taylor begun to develop the narrative.

Narrative;

In the music video, Taylor Swift is selling us the “perfect" lifestyle; Boy meets Girl and falls head over heels in love with her, despite already having the "Perfect" girlfriend. This captivates the targeted demographic, stereotypically young female, teenagers as it places them into the fantasy world of the video itself.

Throughout Taylors music videos, she seems to mainly follow the stereotypical “Love Story” , normally her starring as the love interest and another well known person or celebrity as the Hero. (Propps Theory.) 

Representation;

From 38 secs - 49 secs, Swift is shown to be looking at her reflection in the mirror whilst trying multiple different looks on, after 4 different looks ( and four different looks of disappointment), Swift changes back into her original look whilst sing "What you've been looking for has been her the whole time". This contradicts the normal “ stereotype” that women/girls have to change how they act or dress to please the “man”.

Cinematography;

Through out the music video, the lighting plays a massive part in telling the narrative through implications rather than being specifically obvious.

In the last minute/ minute and a half of the video, the “Hero’s” Ex girlfriend appears as he is walking over to Taylor ( the love interest/princess)

Convergence;

 Print Based Product Advertising;

In the "Enchanted Wonderstruck" print based perfume advert, Taylor Swift is placed in an outdoor, plant filled area. The plants could be used to convey the ideology of a fantasy world that Swift is known for selling and living in her music videos and will continue to sell to her fan base through the perfume as they will feel that they can identify with Taylor and possibly feel like they have a connection to the star.

The red colour of the dress , which connotes passion and desire, that Swift is wearing juxtaposes the green plants that surround her, which convey innocence, jealous and ambition.

First Political Interview ;

Swift broke her silence on her political stance to boost her star persona and impress her target demographic as the majority of them are pro LGBTQ supporters, women rights supporters and racial equality. This would also of shocked a lot of her fans as she has always kept her political views private and separate to her fame. The contrast of Kanye & Taylor is becoming clearer by the day as Kanye is repeatedly mentioning his controvesial political views and upsetting his fan base.