AA REVISION

8/7/2019 AA REVISION

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Action adventure films

Action pack

Activity 1

Watch the first ten minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark and complete the following table

Presentational

deviceExample

How it might make the

audience think or feel

Events: outline

the events in

this clip

Lighting

(including

colour,

brightness and

items in light or

shade)

www.teachit.co.uk 2010 14846 Page 1 of 12


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Action pack

Presentational

deviceExample

How it might make the

audience think or feel

Distance of

camera to

object (close-

up, medium

shot or long

shot)

NB: Dont try

to list ALL, just

note down

three that

stand out.

Editing (note

shots that linger

and those that

whip by as part

of a sequence).

NB: Dont try to

list ALL, just

note down two

that stand out

and when they

occur.

Sound (including

music, sound

effects and anyother sounds)



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Action pack

Activity 2

Watch the first ten minutes of Cliffhangerand fill in the Venn diagram below. Use the area where the circles overlap to note any

similarities between the two.


Event

s

Sound

Lights

Shots

Editing

Raiders of the

Lost ArkCliffhanger


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Action pack

Activity 3

Discussion questions:

1. Why do you think both films begin with dramatic, exciting and dangerous events?

2. What events would you expect later in Cliffhangerbased on the opening that you

have seen?

3. What events would you expect later in Raiders of the Lost Ark based on the

beginning?

4. Why do you think the makers would set up these expectations? What effect might

they have on the audience?

5. Can you think of another film that begins with an exciting action sequence?

Explain how it starts.6. Which beginning do you find more interesting/exciting/captivating? What

presentational devices give you this experience?

Activity 4

Mini-essay question:

Is the action-packed opening characteristic of action adventure films well

structured to capture an audience, or is it a worn-out formula that no longer

delivers? Explain using specific film examples and refer directly to media

language.

Suggested plan:

Begin by making your opinion clear. For example: I think the action-packed opening

is

Then write about three general reasons why you think this.

Now think of a specific example from one of the two films you have looked at tosupport each of those ideas.

Lastly, sum up your ideas and relate them to action adventure films as a whole. E.g.

In conclusion, the action-packed opening is

Remember that this is a Media Studies essay, so you can include stills from the films and

annotate them if you want to.

Activity 5



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Action packHave you ever heard the term blockbuster? What does it mean to you?

Consider following films that have recently been called blockbusters. List five traits

that most of them have in common. (You may need to do some research on the films to

complete this task!)

Spiderman 3 The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest

Iron Man 2

Shrek the Third

Alice in Wonderland

Toy Story 3

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Now add at least two other films to the list.

Look at the following criteria set out by the AQA exam board to help define action

adventure films. List films from the above list next to each quality.

The narrative is central to

defining the action

adventure genre. It is filledwith excitement and

danger, building up to a

dramatic ending. It

generally involves a conflict

between good and evil with

the former always

triumphing in the end.

At the centre of this

narrative is a heroic andresourceful character

(usually male) that has

some sort of mission/task

to accomplish. Naturally,

the hero always overcomes

all kinds of perils and wins

against the odds.



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Action pack

The narrative involves

tense and exciting scenes

which often involve

spectacular action

sequences such as chasescenes, fights, battles,

explosions, rescues etc.

Settings tend to be exotic

or on a grand scale.

Examples may include

deserts, mountain ranges,

underwater locations,oceans and tropical islands,

glamorous cities etc.

Activity 6

Watch the trailer for Casino Royale and list any elements that you think might appeal to

the following groups:

Men Women

Teens Adults

British viewers American viewers

1. Look at your notes above in which two categories do you have the most

annotations?



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Action pack2. Which two categories have the least?

3. Do you think the makers of the film and trailer intentionally tried to involve the

top two groups you identified and alienate the bottom two groups? Why or why not?

4. Look at the following figures about Casino Royale. Do they support your ideas

above? Why or why not?

Location Gross

World Wide $594,239,066United Kingdom $105,932,056India $9,000,930United States $167,445,960

5. The Bond franchise as a whole is often accused of sexist portrayals of women.

How might this affect its potential audience?

Activity 7

List ten things you think of when you hear the term hero:

Which of the following definitions do you agree with?

wins against the odds

heroic and resourceful character

usually male

has some sort of mission or task to accomplish

overcomes all kinds of perils

One of the central features of an action adventure film is that the main character has

the qualities of a hero. Pick one of the films listed below that you have seen and

explain which hero qualities are used.

Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace

The Mummy

The Mask of Zorro

Lost in Space

The Fifth Element

Stardust

Rambo

Robin Hood

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

The Dark Knight

Iron Man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mummy_(1999_film)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Man_(film)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mummy_(1999_film)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Man_(film)


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Is John McClane a hero?

As we watch the final scenes of the film Die Hard, think about the qualities you

associate with a hero. In the table below are listed the qualities set out by the AQA

exam board, by mythology and finally a quality you personally feel a hero should have.

Write a couple of sentences about how the character, John McClane matches these

qualities.

According

to

Quality of a

hero

Does this character match these qualities?

Why or why not?

AQAexamboard

heroic and

resourceful

character

has some sort

of mission/taskto

accomplish.overcomes all

kinds of perils

wins against

the odds.

usually male

Mytho

logy

has qualities

that represent

their societys

valuesmakes

personalsacrifices for

othershas a foil or

villain who

contrasts with

the hero.

M

yown

o

pinion

Activity 8


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Define each of the following terms, in your own words:

Man:

Male:

Masculine:

Manly:

Woman:

Womanly:

Female:

Effeminate

Feminine:

Girly:

Which of the words above do you think have positive

connotations (meanings)?

Which of the words above do you think have negative

connotations (meanings)?

Are any of the words neither positive nor negative?

Which of the above words might people associate

with the term hero? Why do you think this is?

Essay question:

Some critics argue that action adventure films feed into

sexist stereotypes about the roles and men and women.

To what extent would you agree or disagree?


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Activity 9

As a group, find copies of the film posters for the following using www.imdb.com

Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) The Fugitive (1993) Gladiator(2000) Avatar(2009)

For each, explain three things you see on the poster that would suggest it fits into thegenre of actionadventure.

Discussion questions:

Which poster seems to fit most neatly into the genre? Why is this?

Which is the hardest to define as action adventure? Why?

As a group would you say these films appear to have more in common or more

that makes them different? Why?

Activity 10Using these posters as a starting point, try and come up with three subgenres you can

identify within the action adventure genre. A subgenre is a smaller type within the

larger label of a genre. For example horror films can also be split into smaller subgenres

like slashers, creature features and gorno. Taking these four films as a starting place

and some of the other films weve discussed, make an argument for three subgenres

that you will name and define yourselves.

Name Major features of this subgenre Example films
http://www.imdb.com/http://www.imdb.com/


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Here is the list of subgenres as defined by the AQA exam board:

Action adventure Swashbuckler

The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, Pirates of the Caribbean

Action adventure Disaster

The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Airport, The Day After Tomorrow

Action adventure Fantasy

Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Superman, Avatar

Action adventure Quest

Raiders of the Lost Ark, Romancing the Stone, King Solomons Mines

Action adventure Thriller/suspense

The Fugitive, The Thirty Nine Steps, Die Hard, Cliffhanger, the Bond franchise

Action adventure Historical: big adventures set against backdrop of history, legend

and folklore

Braveheart

To what extent do they resemble your own subgenre categories?

Is there anything about this way of categorising films that surprises you or might be

unexpected?

What about it seems logical to you?

Some film theorists feel that this type of categorisation is not a helpful way to

understand films and the way audiences consume them. Would you agree or

disagree? Why?


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Production task:

Pick one of the AQAs subgenres and imagine that this genre of film has been very

popular in cinemas recently. You are a producer who owns the rights to a film that

would fall into that subgenre. Now all you need to do is create some materials to aid

your pitch to the studios to get the funding you need to get this picture off the ground.

Work in a group to produce the following three key items for your pitch:

1. A plot synopsis: This is a short piece of writing that will begin with the film title

and explain briefly what the film is about. Imagine it as being a bit like the blurb on

the back of the DVD. You will want to write about the plot and characters in some

detail, using description and positive terms to make it sound like an interesting film.

2. A storyboard of an exciting opening scene: This should establish character and

narrative. The storyboard will be a tool to demonstrate how you will bring that story

from the synopsis to life. It must show the kinds of media language expected from

your genre of film and an understanding of how the opening sequence sets up eventsand characters to allow the audience to anticipate later events.

3. A teaser website: This should appeal to a clearly defined audience. While you

clearly want EVERYONE to come and see your film, you know it is more likely to be

popular with a certain group. Define this group and use what you know about their

likes and dislikes to appeal to them through the films website. Create a still image

of the website (preferably on a program like Microsoft Word or Publisher) that

includes images, links and information.

Documents

AA REVISION