HW due Friday 19th November

1. List five key ways in which we identify genre?

Style, Setting, Narrative (Theme), Props/Costume and Character's.

2. Describe the typical setting for either science fiction, action or horror.

In the genre of horror the department of Setting is a key renown attribute. Horror environments are singled out from other genres because of its distinctive aura. The original horror more often then not would be set in the night, accompanied with the urban isolated locations which have made the genre so thrilling. In some films the director might utilize the chance to film in a spooky House giving it the effect of it being haunted.

3. Discuss three ways in which genre is used by an audience.

It is an important factor with film that the audience use genre. Audience analyse film just by watching it. For example the audience use genre to determine weather they would appreciate a film or dislike it. The audience use genre to be able to subconsciously understand and respond to the clues and conventions within the film. They also use genre to determine weather one film would be similar or different from another.

4. Why is genre important to the film-maker?



Genre is extremely important when it comes down to the film-maker for the film maker use genre as a simple and effective way to sell their films to a target audience however this can be a crucial and unedifyingly risky part of creating a film because they must ensure that popularity of the genre stays intact or gets re-invigorated. This is were the genre itself gains interest because every film maker intends to put its own mark on his or her film. Sometimes they like to subvert the genre, suprising the chosen audience by turning the genre inside out or upside down. Genre must contain certain rules and vocabulary with which to organise meaning, they must also add codes and conventions set out for the audience to witness. These attributes are exceedingly important when it comes to clearly viewed genres such as horror.

Film GCSE: I Am Legend Section 2

I Am Legend originated from a 1954 science fiction/horror novel by American writer Richard Matheson. It was influential in the development of the zombie genre and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and now as we know it I Am Legend in 2007. The screen play for I Am Legend was implemented by Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich.

The director Francis Lawrence was born in Vienna, Austria on March 26 1970,   

Before Lawrence went into the world of directing he was a co-director specializing in music videos serving under one Mike Rosen. Lawrence shot his first music for Michael Blakey President of Atco Records with the band Tidal Force which became a great success. Soon, Lawrence became known for his original and imaginative music video scripts and visual directing style. He eventually joined a major new production company and his successful career as music video director, having worked with stars like Britney Spears, Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's Child. In 2005, his feature film debut was Constantine based on the Hellblazer comic book, starring Keanu Reeves.

In 2007, he then went onto directing I Am Legend (based on the Richard Matheson novel), starring Will Smith.

Francis Lawrence has been the director of two films in his directing campaign however Constantine in 2005 was not of big renown.

He also has two films to come, Water for Elephants is being filmed and The City that Sailed is in Pre-Production.

There are 4 main characters within I Am Legend, these four characters consisted of;

the main actor Will Smith (1968) taking on the role of Robert Neville.

Sali Richardson (1967)

Alice Braga (1983)

and Willow Smith, Will Smiths daughter (2000)

I Am Legend was made by 4 studios, Village Road Show Picture, Weed Road Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment and Heyday Films. All of these studios have been noticed in today's latest motion pictures, however, Heyday Films is most noticeable for producing  the well known Harry Potter series. The other studio that caught my eye is Overbrook Entertainment because the production company was created by Will Smith between 1997 and 1999 around the time when Will Smith featured in Wild West. Since then it has served as Will Smiths main production company releasing films such as I Robot, Hitch, Pursuit of Happiness, I Am Legend and Hancock. The Title of this company, "Overbrook" is derived from Will Smith's high school in West Philadelphia, Overbrook High School.

Budget: 150,000,000

Akiva Goldsman decided to move the story from Los Angeles to New York City to take advantage of locations that would more easily show emptiness. Goldsman explained, "L.A. looks empty at three o'clock in the afternoon, however New York is never empty . . . This makes it a much more interesting way of showing the windswept emptiness of the world." However, the Warner Bros rejected this request because of the logistics.  Francis Lawrence was determined to shoot on location to give the film a natural feel that would benefit from not shooting on sound stages. Lawrence persevered and at last gained this advantage.

Filming began on September 23, 2006.

The scenes that i was most intrigued in was the flashback scenes in which the New York civilians evacuated. This scene contained the view of the famous Brooklyn Bridge. This scene took six consecutive nights in January and consumed $5 million of the film's reported $150 million budget, which was likely the most expensive shot in the city to date. The scene, which had to meet requirements from fourteen government agencies, involved 250 crew members and 1,000 extras, including 160 National Guard members.

Film GCSE: I Am Legend Section 1

I Am Legend is a 2007 science fiction film directed by Francis Lawrence. Here is a short synopsis of the film.

It is the year 2012. In the ruins of New York City. Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a military scientist unable to prevent the cause of an incurable man-made virus. Immune, Neville and his trusted dog, Samantha are now the last survivors in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages in his desperate attempt to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague - The Infected - lurk in the shadows... watching Neville's every move... waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Neville is perhaps mankind's last, best hope, and he is driven by only one remaining mission, to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered and quickly running out of time.

One of the reasons that i pursued this film more than any other mainly revolves around the fact that Will_Smith is my favourite actor, i believe that in any given situation he can perform at a standard of uppermost excellence.One of the other attributes of the film that captured my interest was the plot. I believe that this is a thrilling plot because of the sense of realism, that it is possible for this disaster to take place. It is frighteningly exhilarating knowing that as technology skyrockets the possibility of this event will increase by a significant amount. Because of this reason i found the storyline gripping and exiting. 

The sequence of the film that i believe to be most powerful and effective is the first scene based on the fact that it is instantaneously interesting and from the start the viewer feels an apocalyptic Aura. A sense of devastation and disaster. The footage for this scene is shown below.

Link in case footage does not show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEKF80fCpjo