1.4 Research for creating a guide to the Creative and Media scene in Southbank

This is another brochure that I picked up on a trip to the South bank when I went to view Despicable Me at the Imax cinema. The first thing that captures my eye is the quality of the visual imagery used in the brochure. On the front cover it appears as if the owl is flying towards you off the page this is strengthened further by the color scheme as it is set against a black background it makes the image more powerful as it looks like the owl is flying through the night. It also shows that this must be the main item of the brochure as it is the new blockbuster film coming out. The writing is set in white orange and black, which matches the colors of the owls shown in the brochure and adds a new element to the brochure the use of color composition is very interesting. The writing is spread throughout the brochure although most of it is on the back of the brochure but its balanced with an image of the Imax and a map of its location. Then in the middle pages they show the main film image which is the owls and then in a box on the next page they show other films with some information next to them that might also interest people.

1.4 Research

This is one of the brochures that I picked up during my trip to the south bank. The color scheme is simple as it is only 3 basic colors white, green and black I like it because it means the brochure is not to busy it looks clean sleek and professional. It also looks very fresh and different from a lot of other brochures as black, green and white is not a very common color combination. They work harmoniously together they don’t clash and even though the background is black it still manages to look bright. The layout of the flyer is also unique as it is strategically placed all over the page to create an interesting balance but still manages to look organized and easy to understand. The images used are well placed so it’s not just a bunch of writing. The images that are of artists that will appear to perform are in a portrait style and the two top images are landscape style. This makes the brochure more visually appealing. The lighting used in the images vary some have low key lighting so you see a bit of them but a bit of them is in shadow. And some images are in high key lighting so you can see everything. And some are monochromatic which gives it a classy look. The font style is bubble like writing but its very basic text easy to read and very clear.

1.3 Research on developing a personal critical response to the film 'Despicable Me'

Despicable Me (2010)

Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

Synopsis
A trio of orphan girls cause the normally deplorable Gru to rethink his plan to steal the moon.
Movie review
From Time Out London
Hollywood’s cartoon villains have always been more fun than their heroic adversaries, so it’s hardly surprising that two major animated movies this year have chosen to focus on the bad guys. But while forthcoming Will Ferrell/Brad Pitt vehicle ‘Megamind’ promises to be an all-out satirical assault on comic-book cliché, ‘Despicable Me’ is a cosy, old-fashioned affair, eschewing the current fashion for smug, ‘Shrek’-style cynicism in favour of a cockle-warming redemption story.

Steve Carell is the voice of Gru; a suburban super villain whose seemingly innocuous wood-frame semi sits above a vast underground lair populated by hordes of spiky, yellow and predictably braindead minions. As befits a family-friendly baddie, Gru’s acts of evil extend to freeze-raying passers-by and attempting to steal the moon rather than actual abduction or murder. Which means that when he adopts three adorable tow-headed orphan girls – for purposes of subterfuge too convoluted to go into here – it’s not long before their plucky charm and winning optimism begin to melt his cold, cold heart.

Characterisation is the movie’s strong suit: Carell’s bizarre mittel-European accent threatens to make Gru a tough sell, but when his three well-defined and loveable charges enter the picture this irascible, prickly exterior becomes more transparent. There’s solid support, too: Russell Brand goes full cockernee as techno-wizard Dr Nefarious, while Julie Andrews makes a brief but memorable turn as Gru’s domineering mother. What the film lacks, ironically, is a decent bad guy: Jason Segel’s preening, Bill Gates-inspired Vector is more annoying than evil, and while Will Arnett makes an impression as Mr Perkins, president of the Bank of Evil (formerly Lehman Brothers), his character is frustratingly underexplored.

As a US production written and directed by a team of Spaniards and Frenchmen, ‘Despicable Me’ has an agreeable, mid-Atlantic feel, its style sitting somewhere between ‘Bolt’ and ‘Belleville Rendez-Vous’. With visits to Paris, the Pyramids and the moon, the film’s plot may be a little overcrowded, but that doesn’t prevent ‘Despicable Me’ from being one of the year’s most likeable family entertainments.



Tom Huddleston

I am not a big fan of this writer’s writing style in my opinion it is a bit to formal for the type of film that ‘Despicable Me’ is and though he does give the film a few compliments such as ‘ One of the year’s most likeable family entertainments’ he is far more critical about the film than complimentary. I much prefer the writing style of Kim Newman it may be that the reviews were targeted at two completely different demographics but I’m still much in favour of Kim Newman.

1.3

In order for me to write a critical response on the film Despicable Me I had to research other film critics who had also reviewed Despicable Me and get an idea of the writing style they used and the type of language they use to keep the reader engaged in the review.

Despicable Me (U)

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Plot
Super-villain Gru (Carell needs to steal a shrink-ray from rival Vector (Segel), to secure a loan from the Bank Of Evil. He adopts three cookie-selling orphans to smuggle shrink-ray-stealing mini robots into Vector’s lair. But the responsibilities of parenthood cause him to question his evil priorities.

Review
Gru (Steve Carell) protagonist of this good-natured 3D CGI ’toon, is a master-villain out to steal the moon. Though slimmer and beakier, he’s close to Grimly Feendish, a Brit comic great (“The Rottenist Crook In The World”) created by Leo Baxendale in 1964. Like Grimly, he is bald, has a long black coat and starry eyes, rubs his hands in malevolent glee, is more ambitious than ept, relies on minions who let him down, and enjoys petty wickedness as much as grand Blofeldian schemes.

Grimly and Gru resemble Charles Addams’ Uncle Fester and are parodies of pre-Crisis Lex Luther — when Superman’s arch-enemy was a pudgy scientist, not a crooked tycoon (if you get this, you pass through the Gate Of Geek Wisdom to join the Hallowed Masters Of Comics Trivia, aka Empire Online). Even unranked US comic characters get big-budget films — seriously, Jonah Hex and the Green Hornet, ha! — yet Brit comic meisterwerke don’t get a look-in (bar St. Trinian’s). But if we can’t have a big-budget Grimly Feendish, Despicable Me is more than sufficient. It’s, you know, for kids… but grown-ups will find they won’t experience the drill-through-the-skull effect caused by Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel or Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back.

Though it covers the evil side of things rather than super-heroics, it also descends from The Incredibles. Oddly, Gru’s world — which includes a mad Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), his uncaring mother (Julie Andrews!) and cloned yellow, nuggety minions (Toy Story aliens meet Fantastic Four’s Moloids, with a mass persona) — is unguarded by heroes, so his rival is a villain, Vector (Jason Segel), with an unethical inside track to the Bank Of Evil. The film keeps up the inventive sight gags, often using 3D to amp them up, but finally gets emotional when Gru takes three orphans — sceptical Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), enthusiastic Edith (Dana Gaier) and unicorn-loving Agnes (Elsie Fisher) — into his lair as part of his Grand Evil Plan.

In a story, which almost writes itself, Gru is terse and manipulative but warms to the girls and is soon torn between his moon stealing and their ballet recital. Cinema used to bungle cute orphans, but this trio are truly appealing. The process of Gru becoming a parent allows for hilarity and surprising poignancy. Naturally, there’s a trip into space and a spectacular near disaster, but it’s the heart which makes Despicable Me effective.

Verdict
It’s no first-rank CGI cartoon, but shows how Pixar’s quality over crass is inspiring the mid-list. Fun, with teary bits, for kids; fresh and smart for adults.Reviewer: Kim Newman

Source for review

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=136811

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing technique of Kim Newman I found it to be humorous and engaging. She told us the background story to the movie without giving away the ending but ensuring you know enough about the film to decide weather you want to go watch it or not. Newman also discussed many good points of the movie, writing “It’s the heart which makes Despicable me effective.” However, she still managed to be critical about the film.

1.3 A) A personal critical response to the film 'Despicable Me'

After conducting the research into other critics reviews on Despicable me I then had to write my own it was easy for me to get into it and I managed to develop my own personal style of writing.

Review on Despicable Me

On 15^th of October I had the amazing opportunity to go to the IMAX cinema to watch the newly released Despicable me. The IMAX is located along the South bank, which is the centre of Creative & Media activity. The IMAX was built by the BFI in 1999 after a generous donation from the Arts Council of England’s Lottery Fund. The building is a multi-storey glass enclosed cylinder situated in the middle of a roundabout designed by award winning architect Bryan Avery. The IMAX screen is more than 20 metres high (approximately the height of 5 double-decker buses), and 26 metres wide. It has 11,600- watt digital surround sound system so that the audience can be fully engrossed in the film.

The first thing I noticed about the IMAX was the enormity of it. And as I walked in I found that the interior was just as impressive as the exterior the inside was something that you would expect from a hotel not a cinema the carpet was plush, the decorations were sleek and sophisticated I particularly liked the fact that the stairs looked very classy as they were red carpet adding a sense of glamour to the cinema. Unlike other cinemas the lightening of the IMAX is very low – key, which instantly sets the scene for any movie and it, added an element of mystery that made you feel as if you were in a different world and gave off a mystical atmosphere. The IMAX even has a bar filled with a variety of drinks for the more indulgent of cinema – goers. The only thing that gave it away as being a cinema was the ticket bureau located near the entrance. The service offered by the IMAX was exceptional all the staff were friendly and helpful one member of staff in particular Charlie Brooks was so kind as to give us a tour of the Imax and tell us a bit more about the IMAX and the history of it’s construction.

Despicable me is a computer- generated 3D family comedy about a supervilian called Gru. Gru adopts 3 young girls in the hopes of using them to steal a shrink ray gun, essential for his evil scheme, from a rival supervilian named Vector. However, he soon begins to grow fond of the girls and realises that they is more to life than evil. This is the first CGI feature produced by universal.

The film has a star-studded cast of Steve Carell as Gru, Jason Segel as Vector, Will Arnett as Mr Perkins, Russell Brand as Dr Nefario, Julie Andrews as Gru’s mother, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher as Margo, Edith and Agnes.

My early ideals of this film were that it was going to be long and odious, even though I am a big fan of animated films I prefer the more traditional options of Cinderella and Snow White and Toy Story I also believed that the storyline would be childish and the jokes so immature that they would not make me laugh. However, my ideals were changed as soon as I began to watch the film not only was the quality amazing but the 3D computer animation was ingenious. It works by superimposing two images onto the same screen.  The 3D glasses work by restricting the light that reaches each eye thus creating the illusion of three- dimensional images. I enjoyed the film’s storyline, which was fun and believable and made me laugh at every moment. However, the only issue was that there were not a lot of things jumping out if the screen at me so I would not say that it is a 3D film. It would have been just as good as if it was a 2D film. No appeal would have been lost.

 

1.2 Written Report on the Creative and Media employment roles and requirements in London

Creative and Media Employment

Summary of roles and requirements


There are many jobs that can be done within the creative and media. Throughout the course I met a variety of people from different jobs all within the creative and media sector and learnt about the four major creative areas. These are Art &Photography, Performing Arts, Film and Music. This report will be about the research that I have conducted into these roles and the requirements that come with it.



Creative Areas
I conducted research into the different areas of Creative and Media. I looked into the South bank, as it is a hub for creative and media activity under the four major creative sectors.

Art and Photography
I took a trip to the south bank and looked at the Hayward Gallery, which showcases contemporary artists and their art. It is very forward thinking and futuristic when it comes to making choices in the picking of the artwork to showcase. If your interested in art it is a great place to work if you want to be a curator or if you want to showcase any of your artwork there and gain some exposure as an artist.

Music
I visited the Royal Festival hall where people go to watch musical performances and to just look around it is a great place to work if your interested in being a singer as you can get a band together and perform there or you can work in the administration side of the festival hall.


Film
I visited the Imax and it is a good place to work if your attracted to films and anything to do with films so you can work there maybe in the projection room if your interested in how films are shown and set up to be viewed.


Performing Arts
The Globe theatre, is also great place to work if you enjoy acting you can work in the globe theatre and act in any of their numerous productions.

People I met

One of the first people I met was Akala and Chanelle Newman. Akala is a rapper who owns his own independent label called Interstate records and is in partnership with Chanelle Newman who used to work with Sony. Together they jointly own Hip Hop Shakespeare; an organization for young people aimed at getting the youth off the streets and putting their energy into something positive like singing or rapping. He spoke about taking inspiration from the littlest of things and using that to inspire you. There is no standard training for rappers and singers but some do a degree in music and usually learn an instrument.

Then I met Paul Mardles who is a journalist for the observer who started his career as a journalist by editing music magazines and interviewing musicians he said what a tough industry it is to work in as it is very competitive and you have to be prepared to work without pay for a while. Its good to have a HND as a basis for a journalistic career you can also do undergraduate courses in journalism and or media. Having experience in writing for local newspapers and magazines is also a good basis for a journalistic career. Other skills you need to possesses are:
- Excellent writing skills
- Proactive approach to investigating and good research skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
- IT skills and familiarity with commonly used software e.g. Photoshop, Java, InDesign and Quark Xpress.

I also met Victoria Warwick who had her own Internet radio programme that she presents she studied media and started of doing work experience before getting a chance to do radio. Having a qualification in media and communication skills is useful other qualifications you can chose from include:
- Drama/performing arts
- Journalism
- Media/Communication studies
- Media Performance
- Music Technology

Some of the skills you need to demonstrate include:
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
- Performance skills and a clear voice,
- Good research and interviewing skills
- Ability to take the initiative and make quick decisions under pressure
- Team working skills
- Creativity and problem-solving skills