1. GCSE – Film Studies

2. In this session, we will…  Consider CODES AND CONVENTIONS of superhero films  Look at the trailer for The Avengers  Analyse a scene from The Avengers  If we get time, look at the closing scenes from The Avengers

3. Exam – Paper 1  Exploring Film – Superhero Movies  1.5 hours  4 questions  Clip from Film (analysis) – 2 questions  Print Resources (creative task) – 2 questions  Total 50 marks (10,10,10,20)

4. What are CODES &CONVENTIONS?  The detailed rules of the genre (type of film). Things we come to expect  Codes and Conventions make it easier to understand the film and easier to make it

5. Question 2 – Conventions  Asks you to identify one convention from the sequence  You have to relate this to another Superhero film  Explain why the convention is used in other films

6. Avengers Trailer Avengers Final Scene superhero montage

7. CODES AND CONVENTIONS  Setting  Themes  Characters  Props  Narrative & Plot  Style

8. Conventions QuestionAnswer Which character types typically feature in the superhero genre?  Hero  Villain  Princess What is the typical setting of a superhero film? Often a major American city. Lots of crime. Hero will have secret hideout/HQ How do we separate the themes in superhero movies? Public / Private

9. Setting  Often American city  Place where crime happens  Big locations where things can go wrong!  Secret base or HQ

10. Themes  Public – things that affect everyone  Private – things that affect the main characters only

11. Characters Must be heroic Or a villain Or a damsel Or a victim/general public Hero’s are often recognisable as normal people Hero’s are also something people aspire to be – are cool Hero’s always want to do good, fight for truth and justice (and the American way?)

12. CONVENTIONS What term do we use to describe a significant object that the plot revolves around? MacGuffin What props would we typically expect to see in a Superhero film? Gadgets (Iron Man’s suit, Batman’s utility belt), Iconic Superhero weapon (Thor’s Hammer, Captain America’s shield) What is the typical narrative of a superhero film? Good vs Evil, Todorov (equilibrium, disequilibrium, equilibrium)

13. Props Significant items that we expect Macguffin = a significant object around which the plot revolves

14. Narrative & Plot  At its simplest; Good V Evil  Often a franchise (series of films)  Often starts with heroes origin story  Often High Concept (simple plot, big SFX and budget)

15. Style  Includes micro elements to build up a specific ‘look’ or ‘feel’  This may link to original comics, or stay throughout franchise

16. Marvel’s Avengers

17. Question 2 – Example  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP7qo EcHEd4 (The Avengers) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP7qo EcHEd4  Identify one typical convention of the Superhero film used in this clip  Describe how this convention is used in another Superhero film  Explain why this convention is used in superhero films that you have studied