Lego Movie

 14-9-21

L/O: To understand the narrative and characters in the Lego Movie

IPs in the film

• DC
• Harry Potter
• Lord of The Rings
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 
• Star Wars

promotional material

• NBA players

Summary of Narrative

Emmet an ordinary construction worker is thought to have nothing special about him, until he falls down a hole after seeing someone suspicious walking around the construction site. He finds the piece of resistance, a piece for the "prophecy" in which whoever finds it is the special one. He is taken by one of the villains of the film bad cop in which he is questioned and almost has the piece of resistance taken from him. Emmet is saved by a master builder called Wildstyle who has come as he is the special and saves him. They go to a different world which consists of desert to search for the person who spoke of the prophecy, they find him but are attacked by Lord Business the main antagonist of the film's soldiers. They flee to a different place and proceed to be attacked again, fleeing into the water. They then go to attack Lord Business but fail with Emmet then being shown as in the normal world, it is revealed everything is just a child playing with lego and that in reality he should not be touching the sets ax they are his fathers. The film ends with Emmet giving a 'motivational speech' to Lord Business and convincing him to stop being the bad guy which is mirrored with the child and his father.

 

Main themes

The film gives the message of no matter who you are you are special and if you believe you can achieve great heights. It shows a theme of determination in which the characters struggle reflects that of the child at the end who wants to play with his fathers lego.

Cast list of the main characters

All Warner Bros. characters and other Lego products

• Batman
• Superman 
• Green Lantern
• Wonder Woman
• Dumbledore 
•  2002 NBA Allstars
• Gandalf
• Aquaman 
• Barry Allen

Also references to Star Wars, Ninjago, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Duplo, Benny the Spaceman from old lego products in the 80s 

Industry Research 

L/O: To research the process, companies and regulators behind the film industry

1) Production is the raw footage of a film being recorded and then having visual, sound and image      effects added in after.

Distribution is the process of making a film available for viewing to an audience, whether on DVD in theatres or other digital media platforms.

Exhibition is the retail branch of a film, usually the screenings of a film in a place like a movie theatre, usually with a paying audience.

2) A media conglomerate is a company that owns numerous companies involved in the mass media enterprises. 

3) The BBFC or the British Board of Film Classification regulates films in the UK.

4) The Lego Movie had a U rating in the UK.

5) The Games Rating Authority (GRA) – which is part of the Video Standards Council – rates games using the PEGI system in the UK.

6) The Lego Movie Game has an age rating of 7.

7) Lin Pictures and Warner Bros. were the 2 main producers of the Lego Movie.

8) Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directed the Lego Movie.

9) TT Fusion produced the Lego Movie game.

10) Warner Bros. Pictures distributed the Lego Movie.

11) The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regulates advertising in the UK.

BBFC Lego Movie reasoning for U rating

1) Film regulation is important as it provides a standard for what is suitable to different levels of age groups. Makes sure people at a young age don't see things which will scar them or give them unneeded fears.

2) People may be against film regulation as to them they have the ideas of people will be less effected by contents of a film than others. For example what they find an average horror movie might have someone else shaking due to experience with what they have already seen. People also mature at different rates.

3) The BBFC changed it"s name to reflect it plays a larger part in classification than censorship.

4)  Film makers may worry about classification as if they want a larger audience they may need to go for a lower rating. Also say you make a horror film and it is given a low age like 12 or 15 you have probably lost appeal as people will assume it is not as scary as an alternative.

5) Warner Bros. were probably keen for a U certificate as it meant that the film would not be gated to anyone so people would bring their whole family including the youngest child to pay and watch the film. A larger audience means more money.

6) Receiving a seven rating on a game means parents most likely would by their child the game even if they 5 or 6 as a 7 is usually still safe for younger ages and people at 7 or 8 would have been the right age to get the game. If it was a 12 the prime demographic of the Lego Movie would have been to young to play and parents with kids around that age would have been less lenient if their child had asked for the game. 

Vertical Integration

Vertical Integration can benefit a company in it's profits.  As an example the Lego Movie is owned by Warner Bros. who own TT Games, this meant Warner Bros. did not need to go to a third party when making the game and as the distributors they did not have to share profit with the game development company as they owned them. The game also benefited from having the same characters and actors as used in the film, the owned the rights to the Lego Movie

28-9-21 The Lego Movie Narrative Theory

L/O: To Explore the narrative and apply narrative theory to The Lego Movie

Postmodernism

Postmodern films often contain the following characteristics:

• Challenge genre conventions: might be a mixture of many genres; challenge typical character roles etc.
• Pastiche: imitates other texts, humorous take on society/culture
• Hyper-reality: makes the audience aware that they are watching a movie

The Lego Movie is a postmodernist film as in the film near the end changes from an animation into a live action. This shows an audience they are watching a film and what they have just seen none of it is real, the whole film is just a facade created by the imagination of a child and that you the viewer are not a part of this film. The film is a postmodernist film by breaking down the world it built up and showing an audience, this is not real. This is a use of Hyper-reality. The film also challenges typical genre conventions, making the protagonist actually have nothing to his name, he does not gain a over powered power, his is just average.

Todorov: Narrative Theory

Equilibrium:

The Lego Movie starts in a lego world where people go to work as normal, the main character lives a happy life and people follow instructions when they work. Similar to actual in real life.

Disruption: 

The main character Emmet sees a suspicious character walking around the construction site he works at, and when he looks for them he ends up discovering the piece of resistance, an item only able to be found by the special. Emmet is taken by Bad Cop and they attempt to take the piece of resistance, he is saved by Wildstyle. He finds out the truth about Taco Tuesday where Lord Business wants to freeze everyone with the Kragle.

Recognition: 

President Business imprisons the majority of the master builders leaving Emmet and a few other cast members to understand what will happen.

Attempt to repair:

Emmet and his friends proceed to try and save the master builders and stop President Business form using the Kragle against everyone. They infiltrate his facility and almost succeed but fail. Fast forwarding Emmet is the last line of defence in the city, he builds to have a last stand against Lord Business.

Equilibrium new:

Emmet gives a 'inspirational speech' to President Business and he decides to change his ways, things mostly go back to normal except for Emmet, who now has a changed life. 

Propp's Spheres of Action (character types)

The Hero - Emmet

The Villain - President Business

The Donor - Vitruvius

The Helper - Wildstyle 

The Princess - Wildstyle

The dispatcher - Vitruvius

The Princess' Father - Vitruvius

The False Hero - Batman

30-9-21 Lego Movie: Target Audience

L/O: To identify the target audience using demographics and psychographics

The movie targets a Family Audience 

That could be split into the following three groups:

• Young kids who play with lego
• Parents who played with it when they were young too
• Young adult cinema-goers
• Both genders

The Lego Movie appeals to young kids with its use of bright colours and familiarity. A lot of kids play with Lego so a whole film of it will appeal to them, also the use of characters such as Batman which kids would have a sense of familiarity to. The film appeals to parents partly through nostalgia and also through the themes. The theme of teamwork and how each individual person is special and unique are good lessons the parents will want their kids to know. Parents may also be interested due to the actors such as Morgan Freeman. Young adults (teens) would find appeal in parts of the humour, also teens would have played with lego when they were younger, meaning they would also feel nostalgia. The character Wildstyle also appeal to teenagers of 2014, goth/emo was still quite prevalent, bands like MCR only split a year before so their music was still popular with teenagers.

Some jokes about society or the message to not conform most likely would appeal to any audience outside of children.

14-10-21                   The Lego Movie: TV Advertising

L/O: To evaluate the methods used to market The Lego Movie; to link the methods to the target audience

Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/apr/17/lego-movie-content-marketing

1) The building blocks of success in the marketing for the film comes down to the common theme of having the main brand create useful or entertaining content targeted at consumers. This allows the company to be in a suitable position to pay for services and products. With The Lego Movie it needed to appeal to kids as well as being a film adults would want to take children to see.

2) What Lego did right was have the film appeal to adults alongside children, meaning that the adults would be more likely to purchase merchandise of the film or take their child to see it. Lego did this by bringing in Phil Lord and Christopher Miller who had fame from other comedic parts in media, this made the film actually funny.

3) The Lego Movie lays down a path for future success by taking advantage of how children will desire to buy the DVD, or making more people see the appeal in Lego if they have lost interest.

Zesty

https://www.simplyzesty.com/insights/5-reasons-why-the-lego-movie-is-content-marketing-at-its-very-best/

1) The Lego Movie has heart, people watch films to feel and makes you feel emotional with a storyline that explores the meaning of love, partnership and humanity.

2) The film is al about you by making you relate to the questions it asks the characters which groups they fit into, questions many older people ask themselves frequently.

3) The Lego Movie knows its audience and shows this by having an appeal to the target market of kids, the people who will want to see the film and adults who will take their kids due to nostalgia or seeing appeal in the trailers. The film also has cultural jokes for teens.

In Dancing on Ice at 7.27pm on Sunday 9th February 2014, five days before the film launched, ITV broadcast a world first, an ad break made entirely out of Lego.

British Heart Foundation

Confused.com

BT

Premier Inn 

These were adverts all recreated with Lego frame by frame, they were ads which were as of the time frequently appeared on TV.

The Lego Movie had a 40 second trailer at the end of the ad break with a voiceover starting the ad break.

The Lego Movie marketing broke boundaries by making the film spread by viral impact online and through word of mouth. Using 4 current adverts which people would recognise and having the companies behind them pay for Lego versions of the adverts was an effective use of synergy. Being introduced as a special promotion of an upcoming film and then having five stings of the characters each 2 seconds long in between each advert made the ad break a clear promotion for The Lego Movie. BT, British Heart Foundation, Premier in and Confused.com were all known brands at the time.

21-10-21

Intertextuality

L/O: To explore the links of The Lego Movie and The Matrix

Neo - similar to Emmet

Trinity - Similar to Wildstyle

Prophecy in both Matrix and Lego Movie

Similar machines from Lord Business and the search and destroy machines in the Matrix

Intertextuality is where a piece of media references other texts as such

2-11-21

The Lego Movie: Trailer

L/O: To evaluate the methods used to market The Lego Movie; to link the methods to the target audience.

1) The Logos of Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Pictures are made from Lego which could show how the upcoming film is related to Lego. This also works as something to catch attention, the logos look slightly different and people would notice. Lego is a franchise and fits the theme of the film.

2) They wanted the Logos at the start as it shows who is making the film and that the trailer is for a film and not a random Lego set.

Equilibrium:

When the world and its characters are living normal average lives.

In The Lego Movie trailer the equilibrium is at the start with Emmet sitting in hiss house watching TV, Lord Business is on TV talking about his event Taco Tuesday, there is subtle foreshadowing of what Business plans to do.

Disruption:

When something breaks normality

In the trailer the disruption is when Lord Business is unleashing the Kragel. The lighting takes a shift to darker more sinister tones.

Recognition of disruption

Characters realise something is wrong

Vitruvius talks about there is one hope, Emmet asks if he is the hero. Also Batman is in a shot with a  line.

Attempt to solve

Characters try and solve the problem

Emmet, Wildstyle and Vitruvius are on top of a building being surrounded by Good Cop Bad Cop. Emmet and Wildstyle are running from the police.

 

Intertitle - the text used between shots in a trailer 

1) The equilibrium and disruption are shown quickly in the short length of the trailer. The film uses intertiles to separate events during the trailer, this allows for the trailer to transition between the events smoothly. It is important they are shown quickly as they are the main attraction the the film, the dark colour palette in the shot of disruption would catch the target audience's attention and this makes the viewer have a gras on what the film will be about. The equilibrium being shown quickly and at the start sets a pretence for the main character.

2) The trailer establishes a narrative with diegetic sound on the shots of the main cast when they are speaking, they show humour which appeals to the younger target audience. The non-diegetic narrator displays the narrative and captures the short attention span of a viewer.

The Lego Movie uses editing to make the railer constantly keep going and not lose momentum. The editing uses intertiles between cuts to make a smooth transition and as they are quick they do not break the flow or pace of the trailer. This use of editing is useful as it makes the target audience  of children not lose interest, as children have a short attention span constantly switching what is going on means they will not lose interest but still have an idea of what they are watching.

The trailer also makes a good use out of mise-en-scene with the characters outfits. The colours of Wildstyle would appear more to a slightly older audience such as young teens, she has a vague emo style in clothing and colour. The use of the variating colour palette allows for the shots which are representing disruption to have darker tones of red and black. This shows children the tone of the film.

The use of sound attracts an audience by having loud, recognisable effects which jump out to a child.

The Lego Movie: Video Game                                                                                                 16-11-21

L/O: To explain how vertical integration benefits companies; to analyse using Uses and Gratification theory

Developer - TT fusion

Publisher - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment 

Release date - 7 February 2014

Genre - Adventure, action, lego

Platforms - PS4, PS3, XBOX 360, XBOX One, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PC, Mac

The gameplay put players in control of characters from the film, environments are completely made out of Lego pieces. Has 2 main character types.

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Lego Star Wars III:44 The Clone Wars

The LEGO Batman movie game

Vertical Integration - When a company owns the supply chain for its products

In the trailer for The Lego Movie Video Game it uses entertainment gratification to pull in its target audience. The main audience of children would find the humour in a scene such as Emmet saying "Can you say that all again I wasn't listening," as funny and immersive. In these scene Emmet is at a long shot centred on the screen on his own.

The trailer also features people sitting on a sofa, 3 children which is a use of social interaction gratification. This shows an audience they can play the game socially.

The Lego Movie: Video game analysis                                                                             30-11-21

L/O: To analyse using media terminology. To identify elements of media language and representation in a text

Explain how the Lego Movie video game cover is constructed to appeal to the target audience. (7+ age rating)?

Point: Identify the Media Language used 

Evidence: Describe the element in detail 

Explain: Explain WHY it is used: the effect or the message given. (Connotations)

Link: Link this to the appeal for the TA

Specific props are used to convey ideas about the narrative. In the foreground, Emmet is holding a large blue spanner. A spanner has connotations of building, fixing and creating. The large size also suggests that this idea is important. This would hold appeal to those people in the target audience who value creativity and suggest this would that they would have to build or create something in the game.

 

 

In the Lego Movie cover the layout and placement of character images conveys the ideas about where characters stand in the narrative. Lord Business is placed in the background, he has the largest image and it is above all the other characters. This connotes that Lord Business is the overarching antagonist of the film, his image being the largest also suggests that he is the biggest threat to the protagonist. Emmet has the 2nd largest character image but as he is in the foreground he stands out more. The appeal of this to the audience is the idea of being the main character and overthrowing a villain. As a 7+ year old there is the appeal of role play and wanting to be the hero, and in this cover it is clear that you play as the protagonist and go against the antagonist who is behind you.

The colour palette used on certain characters is conveying the ideas of how in the narrative characters like Wildstyle are different to the normal. Wildstyle has their image next to Emmet's but her colour palette is a contrast to Emmet's. The black, purple and blue is representative of her goth, emo aesthetic, this costume falls under mise-en-scene. This is used as it suggests a breakaway from the stereotype of girls being the princess character and makes her appear as a strong, independent character. This is appealing to a female demographic as it is a strong female character who they can resonate with. Also this appeals to the younger demographic of boys a they may want to start seeing themselves in a situation with a girl like Wildstyle.

To a 7+ year old there is entertainment towards being the protagonist. It also can be related to personal identity because a 7+ year old will still be trying to work out who they are and with this cover there is a wide range of characters for them to identify with. 

14-12-21

The Lego Movie: Poster Campaign

L/O: To explain the effectiveness of the campaign; to analyse the representations on the poster campaign

Denotation of Dr Strange image - Man stood with a serious expression, has a red cloak with a blue shirt making strange signs with his hands.

Connotations of Dr Strange image - Red and blue are colours commonly used by superheroes, face shows he is probably doing something which requires concentration (the way his lips are tight and eyes facing straight ahead shows this), hands suggest he may be trying to use or cast a power.

Denotation of The Dark Knight - Building with either fire or explosion in the shape of a bat symbol, man stood in black alone with dark skies and dull weather above.

Connotations of The Dark Knight - Being in black is representative of a villain but it is known well that batman is more of an antihero so to an audience it more likely connotes he has not changed. An audience knows that Batman is usually set in Gotham so the city buildings in the back suggest that this film is still set in Gotham City. The Bat symbol being molten could connote danger or change. The clouds covering the sky and making the lighting low-key is representative of more negativity and sadness/anger.

Genre codes & conventions 

Hybrid - Spider Man 2, romance and action

Iconography - Gun and hat shown - western genre

 

 

 

The characters being lego visually and having a plastic flat colour design shows visually this is a lego film. The bright light suggests action as it could be interpreted as an explosion.

Stereotype - a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

In the teaser posters for Emmet and Wildstyle the stereotypes between male and female characters are clear. Emmet is wearing a builders outfit fitting the stereotype of men being harder working whilst Wildstyle seen in casual clothes fitting the stereotype of girls relaxing and being less hard working. The stereotype of females caring about beauty is shown by Wildstyle having makeup. The stereotype is broken by Emmet having a scared face unlike the ideas of men being brave and fearless.

Gender is represented by the poster campaign for the Lego Movie. They reinforce the stereotype of action films having male protagonists and dominantly male casts. 4 out of 5 posters show men with the main poster having Emmet at the front , fitting the stereotype of having a male hero. He is shown as a hard worker from having construction related clothing, this shows him as the stereotype of males being the harder working. This is how gender stereotypes is reinforced by the Lego Movie posters.

The way the posters represent females is partially by subverting the expectation of a girl character being weak and needing to be saved. Wildstyle represents this by having a grin on her face compared to Emmet looking scared, shows she is stronger than Emmet and an independent women.

Wildstyle subverts the stereotypes of women by being stronger than Emmet and being more respectable than Emmet.

The Lego Movie: Representation                                                                                11-1-21

L/O: To analyse the representations throughout The Lego Movie promotional campaign 

Do now:

• Girls wearing dresses
• adventure which is stereotypical ofd kids fantasy films
• Bright colours - for kids
• All look happy
• Main character is female - subverts
• Girls wearing makeup

Gender

Emmet portrays the male gender by being the main protagonist, this is stereotypical. Emmet being the hero represents the idea of men being strong and being able to save everyone no matter who they are. The fact he is a construction worker shows the idea of men being stronger and hard workers. He also is not the typical hero, being shown as less  brave than Wildstyle, in comparison Emmet is a coward.

In one of the trailers Emmet asks to go home, subverting the stereotype of men being brave. Wildstyle is shown as being more brave. In the poster Emmet is also shown running away, screaming, terrified of the danger. 

• Brave, Dominant - In the poster for the game she is seen grinning and front on which is confrontational showing bravery
• Feminine - She wears makeup and has dyed hair which is a more feminine trait

 

Ethnicity

Vitruvius is named after an ancient Roman Engineer, he is a wise and noble wizard.

He has darker skin compared to the classic yellow, he is also visibly older.

He subverts media stereotypes of ethnic minorities being troublesome as he helps Emmet.

Age

In the poster campaign age is represented with the contrast between young and old. Emmet is shown as having less care/responsibility, he is scared and as the hero h shouldn't be showing that. Vitruvius is shown as calm and relaxed, this implies like the old he likes  being in control and has the situations under control. This could also being a sign of elderly stereotypically having more experience. 

The Lego Movie: Put it all together                                                                                          25-1-22

L/O: To explore exam style questions and how to answer them effectively 

Regulatory bodies for:

Film - BBFC (British Board of film classification)

TV & radio - OFCOM

Advertising - ASA (Advertising standards authority)

Magazines and newspapers - IPSO & IMPRESS

Video Games - Video Standards Council

Question 1

1 mark question - Will ask for a simple fact-based answer showing knowledge of film, advertising or video games. It is most likely to be on Media Industries, but could be on any area.

 Production is the raw footage of a film being recorded and then having visual, sound and image      effects added in after.

Distribution is the process of making a film available for viewing to an audience, whether on DVD in theatres or other digital media platforms.

Exhibition is the retail branch of a film, usually the screenings of a film in a place like a movie theatre, usually with a paying audience.

 A media conglomerate is a company that owns numerous companies involved in the mass media enterprises. 

Tent Pole - a big-budget movie whose earnings are expected to compensate the studio for its less profitable movies.

Vertical Integration - when a Media Company owns different businesses in the same chain of production and distribution. ... When a company expands its business into areas that are at different points on the same production path, such as when a manufacturer owns its supplier and/or distributor, this means the company gets all the profit rather than having to go to outside companies.

passive - What makes it “passive” is the fact that the information only flows in a single direction. You consume the media by reading the content, but it does not actively require you to engage with it like other types of media. Passive media is generally informational, and the audience takes it in, reads it, absorbs it.

Passive is when an audience accepts a message without question and by doing so would be directly affected by it.

Active - when an audience is engaging, interpreting, and responding to media messages and are able to question the message. 

Audience - The people who are viewing the media content

Franchise - also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game.

Promotion - Advertising and publicity

Question 2

4 Mark question - Likely a give reasons why question which shows knowledge and understanding of a film, advertising or video games.  2 marks for an explanation and 2 marks for a detailed example. Most likely on Media Industries.

E.G - A company would release a video game and a film to advertise each other and create profit.

 

Question 3

10 Mark Question - Short essay question and be expected to support ideas using The Lego Movie as an example. Most likely to be on Media Audiences, but could be any area

Personal Identity - Identify with characters 

Information - Audience get more/new info

Entertainment - Interesting + fun

Social Interaction - Contact with people 

Blumler and Katz talked about how Personal Identity, Information, Entertainment and Social Interaction are uses and gratifications for an audience of video games.

Video Games provide a sense of personal identity. This is shown in The Lego Movie Video Game from it having a wide range of 90 playable characters providing variety. These characters provide variety and numerous unique personalities for an audience to resonate with and feel some form of identification with them. This also provides the idea of being someone else, like the target audience of children being bale to play as and see themselves as a hero (Emmet).

Games also provide entertainment, having interesting and fun mechanics. The Lego Movie Video Game supports this by providing its audience with action filled levels they can play through, alongside the interesting storyline the audience will engage and enjoy. 

This shows how uses and gratifications such as personal identity and entertainment are present within video games.  

Question 4

10 Mark Question    

In the Lego Movie poster campaign genre codes are used to appeal to a family audience. The main character is Emmet as seen in the posters from him being at the front and being the largest image. Emmet has a shocked face in his poster, holding appeal to kids that the film is funny and inclining adults to want to take their child more. This follows genre codes by having a male as the protagonist and in a child's action film that holds appeal. Having a strong female character follows the genre convention of having a love interest for the protagonist, she also appeals to the female demographic who want to see The Lego Movie. Having the main antagonist in the posters clearly visible will hold appeal to an adult as they can see it as a relatable character, this also follows genre codes of having an older male as an antagonist.

The Lego Movie Intertextuality                                                                                               8-2-22

L/O: To explore the similarities between The Matrix and The Lego Movie

 

Intertextuality - The relationship between texts, especially literary ones

Locations: 

Matrix and The Lego World are both fake and the real world is outside of them, main recognisable place in both is a city

Characters:

 Emmet-Neo both chosen ones, Vitruvius-Morpheus,Trinity-Wildstyle sidekick with more skills at the start, Lord Business or Good Cop Bad Cop-Agent Smith

Messages/Themes:

A person going from being the average nobody working a boring job and then becoming a hero who people respect. There is messages of becoming who you want to be and following dreams. Both the Matrix and The Lego Movie hold these themes of no one becoming someone with the help of others. They both have messages of everyone being special.

Narrative:

Both start with a worker who meets someone who pulls them into a rebellious group against the main antagonist. Neo is already a hacker but not  a hero whilst Emmet is just a standard construction worker. They both meet important side characters/love interests who are stronger than them but also support them through the beginning. Are guided by an older/stronger character, in The Lego Movie it is Vitruvius and in the Matrix it is Morpheus. Morpheus has a more direct impact on Neo whereas Vitruvius is more of a side character who brings people together rather than teaching Emmet for the most part. When both Emmet and Neo are given a demonstration Neo has to fight Morpheus and jump from a building whilst Emmet is shown his mind. Both Emmet and Neo go tot heir worlds and proceed to go up against the antagonist, Agent Smith for the Matrix and Lord Business for The Lego Movie Both Win at the end.  

   

DIRT Lego Movie Assessment                                                                                            15-3-22

L/O: To review and reflect on the unit assessment and set personal targets 

Total for assessment 20/25

Question 6 - 1/1 marks

Warner Bros. 

Question 7 - 4/4 marks

vertical integration - Where a single company controls both the production and distribution of a product

• Vertical integration can help to increase profits through not having to share revenue with outside companies
• It can make the production process more efficient as nothing is outsourced at different stages and teams can collaborate easily
• It can help increase the exposure of one brand or franchise as it will be promoted at each stage of production and distribution and exhibition\
• It can help conglomerates to increase power in an industry as profits can go straight back to producing better quality films

Question 8 - 7/10 marks

 

Target audience: 

• Kids - fun, love lego, action, know the characters
• Teenagers - game, nostalgia, action
• Adults/Parents - take kids, nostalgia for lego and characters like Batman or Benny

Promotional campaign:

• Trailer - adults and teens 
• Video game trailer - teens
• Posters - kids and adults for the actors
• TV ad break - teens and parents 
• Merchandise and happy meal - kids

What do you need to do?

• Show an in-depth understanding of the promotional campaign
• Mention at least 2 different products from the campaign
• Give specific examples from hose products
• Show understanding of the different sections of the target audiences and how they are appealed to through techniques used in different promotional material e.g Humour, intertextuality
• Use accurate and relevant media terminology

In the Lego Movie promotional campaign multiple promotions were used to appeal to the different target audiences. There was a Lego Movie ad break aired on a Sunday during dancing on ice. The timing being on a Sunday evening was purposeful as the target audience for this advert was adults and some teens. Dancing on Ice was a popular show so massive amounts of people would have seen this ad break in which they recreated well known adverts of the time in lego, doing this with 5 stings of some characters allowed for people to understand the film better. The adults would have been more enticed to take their child to see the film after seeing the ad break as it would have allowed them to know what they were getting into and that they may even enjoy it themselves. People also talked about this on social media allowing free publicity and social interaction, this also meant more people saw it.

The Lego Movie promotional campaign held appeal to the primary target audience of kids, using merchandise and posters. The bright colours of the poster campaign would entice children and the characters allowed for personal identification as kids could see themselves as Emmet or Wyldstyle. Due to the gender and ethnic diversity in the posters they  hold appeal to a wider part of the target audience. The merchandise would have held appeal to children as well because for example if a Macdonalds happy meal had a Lego Movie toy in then the child may want to see where the toy originally comes from. This is how the Lego Movie promotional campaign appealed to its target audiences. 

Question 9 - 8/10 marks

What is the question asking?

• Look at the main poster and the character posters
• Analyse the representation of Males and Females
• Explain whether stereotypes are reinforced or subverted 

Males:

• Emmet - subverts stereotype by having a close up of a scared face, normally men are shown as brave
• Emmet - reinforces stereotype by having a construction outfit on showing how men are meant to be the hard workers dong physical labour

Females

• Wyldstyle - subverts stereotypes - looks brave, confident and independent which is a juxtaposition on how Emmet who is next to her looks fearful
• Wyldstyle - reinforces stereotypes with having hair and makeup done which is traditional in media for females  

In the Lego Movie poster campaign there is the representation of the male gender fitting the ideas of a of a patriotic society. Lord Business being used for a poster looking angered reinforces ideas of a male dominated society in business. Vitruvius also reinforces a similar stereotype being a leader figure who is an older male which is stereotypical. Emmet subverts stereotypes from looking shocked and scared which is untraditional for a male and even less normal for a male main character. This subversion changes the representation of males in the overall poster campaign.  

Revision    5-5-23

Q6) Fact based question - 1 mark

Q7) Show knowledge and understanding of film industry - 4 mark

Q8) Show knowledge and understanding of film or video game - 10 mark

Q9) Analysis of media language in Lego Movie trailer, video game trailer, or posters - 10 marks

Ad break - British heart foundation, Confused.com, BT internet, Premier Inn. Plays trailer at the end. 

Aimed at the adults more than children, parodying the usual adverts

Aired on Sunday February the 9th during dancing on ice - went viral online from teenagers and adults. 

Video game released at the same time, aimed at the teenage audience. 

Posters aimed more at boys. 

Lord Business meant to seem like Donald Trump. 

Synergy - when releasing a film alongside a game in order to promote one another 

Vertical integration - all done by the same host company e.g own the publisher, producers, distributors and editors 

Horizontal integration - when the company can make the film, game, promotion 

Both have the same benefit of not having to share profit with a third party. 

Playing  the game is active, watching the film and not commenting on it is passive. 

1) Had to reflect the iconic Lego bricks and the cultural impact from the past Lego has had on society. 

2) The company went down from 20003 onwards and saw failure in the Lego Universe, needed a new staple in the digital looks as had previous failures outside of games such as Lego Star Wars. 

3) Lego Universe flopped in 2010

4) Caused partnership with Warner Bros and TT fusion for digital media. 

5) Was the first big digital success as well as with games, proceeded to make different lego games.

6) TT Fusion  

9-5-23    Lego Movie Revision 

Film - BBFC

TV + Radio - OFCOM

Advertising - ASA

Magazines and Newspapers - IPSO and IMPRESS 

Video Games - Video Standards Council 

The Exam

Q6 - 1 mark Fact based

Q7 - 4 marks Knowledge and understanding of film industry 

Q8 - 10 marks knowledge and understanding of film or game

Q9 - 10 marks Analysis of media language in promotional 

Audience consists of Young Kids (especially those who play with Lego), Parents (mainly those who used to play with Lego) and young cinema goers (teens and young adults)

1) Bright, exciting colour palette, show both the Lego and childish nature of the film. Has characters running from an explosion, depicting action and adventure. 

Comedy - Mise-en-scene, facial expressions 

2)Placement of characters

3)Skyscraper - city landscape for action

Villain - large, red, intimidating 

Helicopter 

4) Batman present, alongside DC characters such as Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. Also Benny the spaceman and the green ninja from ninjago 

Emmet - Reinforces stereotypes with building clothes, depicts him as a strong man fitting men doing hard, physical work

Subverts in his fear as men are stereotypically calm or brave rather than screaming in fear

Wyldstyle - Reinforces with her makeup and pink/blue highlights, usual feminine traits in stereotypical media

Subverts in her expression, seeming calm and composed almost eager for the action 

The game trailer

Personal Identity - 'become a master builder'

Entertainment - action, slight comedy 

Information 'play as over 90 characters' shows gameplay 

Kids playing game literally blown away by excitement 

The Lego Movie game trailer would leave the audience with the use and gratification of personal Identity. The trailer states there are over 90 characters, that you can become a master builder, and shows an inclusive audience being blown away by the game. Having kids of both genders play the game allows both genders to feel included and with 90 characters there is enough characters for anyone to identify with, with some such as Batman having lines like 'I only work in black' which can identify with an audience member. 

The Lego Movie Video Game trailer provides entertainment towards the audience through a use of action and humour. The trailer contains the derailing of trains, fighting as well as explosions, for a younger audience this action is good entertainment an paired with the humour of the robots printing their rear on a photocopier it displays a sense of humour and action. This makes the trailer have a variety of entertainment within, appealing to the audience. 

Film trailer

1) Several close up shots are used in the films trailer in order to show off the stereotypical outfits of characters who have not yet appeared, as well as establish them as people alongside the intertextual references of characters such as Batman. 

2) Non diegetic sound is used to be lowed an fast pace at intense action moments in order to create atmosphere, with calm more upbeat used on atmospheric occasions. 

3) The cuts in the trailer are fast and the trailer is short, allows for a lot to be displayed in a short period of time with characters and  locations. 

4) The costumes convey stereotypes of the characters, e.g Emmet is in masculine construction worker clothes whilst Vitruvius is in traditionally wizard gear. 

Ad break

TV ad marketed the movie by parodying iconic adverts whilst also showing the trailer at a popular time during TV viewing. Attracted adults who knew the advert and kids who were watching with the family who may have simply liked the lego. 

Theory