Trailer for Slumdog Millionaire

This task will allow an understanding of how film trailers attract an audience for a film before it is shown in cinemas and will allow an insight into how producers construct an audience

· the ways in which audiences can be categorised

Consider gender, age, ethnicity, social & cultural background, advertisers' classifications

· how media producers and texts construct audiences and users

· how audiences and users are positioned

to do this you will discuss preferred, negotiated and oppositional responses to that positioning

· Apply audience theories such as the uses and gratification theory

The criteria above will become clear as you work through the tasks

You must watch the film trailer made for UK cinemas. It can be found on the DVD also.

All media texts are made to be consumed by paying audiences. They are, on the whole, commercial enterprises and the creators hope to make a profit from their creative production and to recoup the money spent making them.

Their success depends on how well they target an audience and can be measured in the amount of profit they make. A recent success in Summer 2011 was the film of the television show ‘The Inbeteweeners’. An unsuccessful production such as the film ‘Charlotte Gray’ can lead to the failure of the company who paid for the film to be made. In this case Channel 4 films.

You must de-construct the film trailers for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

You must complete an illustrated essay using screengrabs to illustrate your points

You must show an understanding of audience theories and apply Blumler and Katz’ ‘Uses and Gratification Theory

You must show an understanding of how audiences are constructed

You can discuss the task as a group and de-construct the film trailer in small groups

Analyse the original theatrical trailer and the posters for the film nd answer the following questions using the guidance on the web-log

How do the creators try to appeal to an audience ?

Who is the target audience for this film ?

· Age

· Gender

· Nationality

· Ethnicity

· Lifestyle

· Social and cultural background

Using Blumler and Katz ‘Uses and Gratification theory’ to discuss how different audiences may use this text to gratify their needs

What themes are there in this film ? For example, love or brotherhood. Explain which audience each theme would appeal to.

Analyse these technical codes and explain how their use targets an audience. Illustrate you points with screengrabs

· E Effects

· Pace and style of editing

· Use of colour

· Camera angles and types of shot

· Sound effects

· Voiceover

· Music

· Selection of clips

· Text / titles

Consider these further points ;

How does the film attract a global audience ?

Danny Boyle is the name used in the titles and he is the director rather than a star. Why is he billed but not the actors ?

Research the other films Danny Boyle has made and explain why they chose the Full Monty rather than, for example, Trainspotting

The film is billed as the ‘Feel good film of the Decade’ by the News of the World .Is this a fair representation of the content of the film or are the creators trying to construct a wide audience ?

The film has been classified as a 15 certificate. Does the trailer reflect this or is it aimed at a younger audience ?

Using Blumler and Katz ‘Uses and Gratification theory’ discuss how different audiences may use this text to gratify their needs

Further research could include showing the trailer to different audiences and asking if they would watch this film and why