Scott Pilgrim vs the media.

Scott Pilgrim is a series of graphic novels that have inspired a film and a video game, both of which take the name of the second graphic novel of Scott Pilgrim vs The World. When the film was released many websites were created to both advertise and admire the film and books.

The first part of the website is currently used to promote sales DVD and Blu-ray copies of the film, but before its release the website was used to show preview clips and hints about the film. A second part of the website is a lot more user interactive. It has a background soundtrack that is taken from the film and multiple menus which allow the user to navigate from everything from character biographies to download links. Using borrowed interest, the character Bios show the life stories of the actors playing the part of each of the characters, so that the fans of individual actors/actresses will find the website and the Scott Pilgrim franchise.

The website also features an "avatar"creator, which enables you to create your own character in the style of the Scott Pilgrim universe. I have created a small movie which is each step of the creation process.


Untitled from Lee Cooper on Vimeo.

The Scott Pilgrim franchise started off life as a series of digit sized novels. Each of these novels followed the life of Scott Pilgrim and his relationship with a girl named Ramona Flowers. The books were graphic novels, and were drawn in a style that combined a manga style known as "chibi" (where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads) and normal sized characters. This is to easily show emotion while giving the characters a proper "person" look. The characters are all very stylized which is probably enhanced the story for Scott pilgrim enabling it to become a huge success and create a full feature length movie for the mainstream film industry. 


A lot of revenue was made after the movie through the films sound track. The Character "Scott Pilgrim" is a member of a band (the Sex Bob-ombs) and their songs were released after the movie. a complete list of the music can be found here. Most films create their own soundtrack using one band for the entire film, however, With Scott Pilgrim a multitude of bands/artists were used to create a soundtrack that fits feel of the film. This also enabled the film to use borrowed interest as the Music fans would go to the film to hear their band play, whilst fans of scott pilgrim may look up the bands to hear the sings again after hearing them in the film. 



Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is also the name of the franchise's video game.  The video game incorporates a multitude of references and hints and spoofs of different video games, from being created as a retro game with pixilated sprites, to borrowing sound effects and power-ups from other games. This enabled it to get a wide audience through borrowing interest as it would entertain most types of gamer as it would remind them of the classic console games such as Sonic, Zelda and super Mario. For a review, Please click here. 

stereotyping & Representation

a (very) short prezi divulging the meanings of stereotypes and representation and an example.

Stereotyping. on Prezi

Denotation & Connotation

Denotation: The literal meaning of a word, image or phrase etc., as opposed to the meanings which are merely suggested or implied.

Connotation: The meanings implied or suggested by a word, image, phrase etc., as opposed to the literal meaning.

For example, in this image:

Denotation: The picture shows a man in a large fedora hat wearing a pinstripe suit with a white tie around his neck. He has a plain expression on his face and is looking directly at the camera. He has a slight stubble.

Connotation: The large fedora hat and Pinstripe suit and tie are usually signifiers of a mobster, therefore the man is shown to be part of the mafia. The plain expression and white background are extremely plain in comparison to the clothing showing that it is the clothing that is important.

signifier/signs

A signifier or sign is an image/sound/guesture that has meaning greater than itself. An important part of semiology, a signifier can change how the audience interprets the media, by connecting a meaning to the signifier.

There are many types of signifiers, for example, this STOP sign is in a red colour which signifies danger and warns you to stop. The shape is also a universal shape for STOP signs meaing that it will abe recognised by multiple cultures.

This image of a Femme Fatal, a stereotypical 

character from film noir, has multiple signifiers. The first is the hat she is wearing. It called a fedora, and the fedora is often worn by a gangster/mobster. Showing her wearing a fedora signifies that she is either a mobster, or in league with the mafia. She is also shown as smoking a cigar. This is two signifiers. The cigar is also a sign of the mafia, often shown with a Don or Mob Boss, signifying she is a powerful person. The fact that she appears to be smoking makes her seem dangerous and rebellious as smoking would not have been a normal thing for a woman at this period in time, as it is seen as a bad thing.

Semiology

Theories of semiotics.
My notes from my first lesson on semiotics, including a small summery of what semiology is.

In class we worked as pairs to look at the connotations of images of both men and women using denotations and semiology. The first sheet used images of 4 women. We looked at the colour of the background, their poses, and expressions. For example: The top right Image shows a young woman, who is known for working on the Disney channel. She appears to be smiling and the background is in primary colours. She is wearing minimal make-up and looks very natural. This could mean she is meant to be a good person and a good role model for small children, mainly girls. The bottom left woman is posing nude on a red bed, and is covered in tattoos. the red background represents lust and danger, but could also mean love. The tattoos signify that she is a rebel. Although she is not physically smiling with her mouth she is smiling with hr eyes, meaning she is very confident and happy with her body.

The images of the males had similar effect. The first image shows a well build, muscular man who is wearing his denim jeans low down. He is physically smiling and has very white teeth - most likely bleached. The fact that he is topless and showing off his body whilst smiling shows that he is very confident. he background is in very dark, masculine colours which are used to compliment his masculinity. 

My First Post.

This is my first post of A2 Media studies. This year I plan to work alone on the main project, in which I would like to make a small film using animation, mainly claymation (also known as stop motion) This blog will be the report of my research, planning, development and production of the movie, and the other projects that will support it. I will be creating at least 2 out of the 3 options that are:

1. A poster for the film - My first thoughts on this are that the poster will have to promote the film, most likely as a paper based advert.
2. A radio trailer for the film -Currently this is the least favorable option, as I  have little interest in radio, and therefore, I have no past experience with radio.
3. A film magazine review page featuring the film - This will possibly be a hard option, as I have currently not seen many articles featuring animated "shorts." I will have to research into this media.

I will post future updates on this project, as well as my theory and other relevant links, which will hopefully enable me to create the best short film from my abilities.