My last post was all about Pixar, so this week I thought I'd follow that up with Dreamworks. Dreamworks are a more modern studio set up (in the 1990's) by director Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg (who used to run Disney) and music boss David Geffen.
Dreamworks' films are very popular, especially the three Shrek movies. Other Dreamworks movies include:
Madagascar (and number 2 - they like sequels)
Kung Fu Panda
Over the Hedge
Bee Movie
Shark Tale
They also distributed Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were Rabbit. This means that they paid to put it in cinemas and to advertise it. This costs a lot of money, about 60% again of the budget. So if a film cost $100 million to make (which is usual) then a studio may spend $60 million on advertising or MARKETING.
Dreamworks use a lot of famous actors in their films. This makes them more appealing to an older audience whilst still being attractive to children. Stars who have appeared in their films include; Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Renee Zellweger. Indeed they sometimes make the characters look like the actors (Will Smith in Shark Tale). This is something to look out for if you get a Dreamworks clip in the exam.
This month (March) they are releasing Monsters Vs Aliens starring Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Hugh Laurie. As well as releasing on normal screens, Dreamworks are distributing a 3D version (Disney did the same with Bolt earlier this year, Pixar are re-releasing Toy Story in 3D next year). This seems to be the new way that studios are getting people into cinemas (you can't download 3D or have a pirate 3D DVD - yet), and so you should expect more 3D films very soon. You could add this sort of info to a question about institution in the exam.
Go here for more information:
http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Pixar
Who doesn't like Pixar? I mean really? If someone says they do then there can only be one of two answers:
1. They're lying
2. They've never seen one of their films*
Pixar are a good example of a studio to analyse because not only do they make very popular and successful films they also have a definite style. I would argue that you can tell a Pixar movie even if you don't know that you are watching one. I'll explain:
Pixar films tend to have certain themes - childhood, innocence, growing up, friendships (think about which ones fit where, Toy Story 2 has them all and so is maybe THE typical Pixar movie)
They tend to have similar characters, especially the idea of the 'buddies'. This is an idea they seemed to have moved away from a bit but films like Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo are built around two characters who go an adventure together. One of these characters is usually more aware of what is going on than the other (Woody as opposed to Buzz, Marlin rather than Dory) and a lot of the humour comes from this friendship. This is representation and could easily be picked up on in a five minute clip (like in the exam).
They often sound similar, most of the music has been written by either Randy or Thomas Newman. This is a language feature of the films.
The design of their characters is also important. They are rarely realistic, especially the humans (if you've seen Wall-E, you'll know what I mean). This was seen at first as a weakness but is actually more to do with the style of animation they use. The characters often have large eyes (or eye in the case of Mike from Monsters Inc.), this helps them to appeal to children (they relate better to them) and gives them a more innocent look that appeals to older audiences.
The other thing to remember about Pixar characters is that they tend not to look like the actors providing the voices. Compare this to something like Shark Tale and Will Smith's character in that film. I would argue that this means that Pixar's films have a more timeless quality and that their characters are more memorable than most of Dreamworks' (apart from Shrek maybe - but that was based on a book donchaknow).
So, Pixar, and their 9 feature films are very successful. They've made more than $4 billion at the box office and show no sign of stopping (their next film Up is out this year). So what do you need to think about for the exam?
Pixar films deal with similar themes.
Pixar films have a certain style.
They appeal to both younger and older audiences (but in a different way to Dreamworks)
Go to www.pixar.com for more information (this page is really useful: http://www.pixar.com/howwedoit/index.html#)
Watch this and tell me you wouldn't like to work for 'em: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHPZMIAhpqs
Not sure about the shirts though!
And vote for your favourite Pixar film before you leave the blog.
* (or they may have no heart)
1. They're lying
2. They've never seen one of their films*
Pixar are a good example of a studio to analyse because not only do they make very popular and successful films they also have a definite style. I would argue that you can tell a Pixar movie even if you don't know that you are watching one. I'll explain:
Pixar films tend to have certain themes - childhood, innocence, growing up, friendships (think about which ones fit where, Toy Story 2 has them all and so is maybe THE typical Pixar movie)
They tend to have similar characters, especially the idea of the 'buddies'. This is an idea they seemed to have moved away from a bit but films like Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo are built around two characters who go an adventure together. One of these characters is usually more aware of what is going on than the other (Woody as opposed to Buzz, Marlin rather than Dory) and a lot of the humour comes from this friendship. This is representation and could easily be picked up on in a five minute clip (like in the exam).
They often sound similar, most of the music has been written by either Randy or Thomas Newman. This is a language feature of the films.
The design of their characters is also important. They are rarely realistic, especially the humans (if you've seen Wall-E, you'll know what I mean). This was seen at first as a weakness but is actually more to do with the style of animation they use. The characters often have large eyes (or eye in the case of Mike from Monsters Inc.), this helps them to appeal to children (they relate better to them) and gives them a more innocent look that appeals to older audiences.
The other thing to remember about Pixar characters is that they tend not to look like the actors providing the voices. Compare this to something like Shark Tale and Will Smith's character in that film. I would argue that this means that Pixar's films have a more timeless quality and that their characters are more memorable than most of Dreamworks' (apart from Shrek maybe - but that was based on a book donchaknow).
So, Pixar, and their 9 feature films are very successful. They've made more than $4 billion at the box office and show no sign of stopping (their next film Up is out this year). So what do you need to think about for the exam?
Pixar films deal with similar themes.
Pixar films have a certain style.
They appeal to both younger and older audiences (but in a different way to Dreamworks)
Go to www.pixar.com for more information (this page is really useful: http://www.pixar.com/howwedoit/index.html#)
Watch this and tell me you wouldn't like to work for 'em: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHPZMIAhpqs
Not sure about the shirts though!
And vote for your favourite Pixar film before you leave the blog.
* (or they may have no heart)
Monday, 2 March 2009
Animated Film Part 1
You might have started work on the first of this year's exam topics - animated film. Or cartoons as normal people call them. But we're not normal we are media students! To help you with this, I've put some slides on today's blog that contain some information on things like studios and so on. You might have seen some of the information in your lessons already but if not, I hope this helps. We'll start with some info on the main types of animation . Just click on the image for a bigger view.
Below is a bit of background information on some of the main studios who make animated films and also a list of the most successful films at the US box office.
Below is a bit of background information on some of the main studios who make animated films and also a list of the most successful films at the US box office.
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