Task 2 – Investigating a media product

Detailed Work Pack

STUDENT NAME – Chloe Allford

The name of my film is Johnny English Reborn

The purpose of the film is to recreate the James Bond kind of action movie

The genre of this film is action comedy.

The film poster for Johnny English Reborn looks serious because of the clothing the main character is wearing. However you can tell the film is a comedy because of the facial expression of the character. The flames in the background and gun in the hand suggests that the film is an action movie. Also the suit wore in the poster is the same sort of suit worn in the poster of “Skyfall” which shows that Johnny English Reborn is a parody of James Bond. The slogan of the film, “laugh at the face of danger” suggests to the target audience that the film is a comedy. To help show the audience what genre the film is the poster shows the name of the most popular actor in the film. This appeals the audience interested in the film as they know that Rowan Atkinson is known for comedy films. The colours used in the film poster are mixed between the light and dark colours on the colour palette. The date of the release of the film is shown on the poster to interest viewers in to going to watch it.

In Johnny English Reborn they use a lot of guns and other weapons to show the action genre. They also have a lot of weapons that are made out of everyday objects to show that the film is a comedy.

Lipstick used as a weapon.

Using guns.

Johnny English Reborn is an action film that is a linear structure. The linear structure shows the film genre because in action and comedy films there is only one storyline going on. This is normally to complete some sort of mission.

The main actor is Rowan Atkinson who is known for his comedy films so as soon as the audience see that Rowan Atkinson is in the film, they know it’s a comedy film straight away. In the film they use a lot of typical locations for an action film. For example they have a chasing scene on top of roofs which is very common. They also use other locations like on boats and in helicopters.

The music is very dramatic whenever there is a chase scene which shows the genre.

In Johnny English Reborn the props used are typical props seen in action movies. The props used were weapons like guns and knives. You would expect to see guns and other weapons in an action movie as there are loads of fight scenes. The costume is also iconic to the action genre as action movies often have spies in them. These spies often wear suits so as soon as the audience see that the characters are wearing suits they know it’s an action movie and expect to see fight scenes.

In a scene where Johnny English is being chased on a wheelchair there are a lot of long shots so the audience is able to see that Johnny is still being chased. The scene cuts between long shots, mid shots and close ups. The close up shots of Johnny’s face is showing the audience his facial expressions and making the audience feel the tension. Other close up shots are when the cars are halting to a stop, this could suggest to the audience that the chase is going to come to a stop. There is also a short birds eye view shot when Johnny is changing the settings on the wheelchair. In some parts of the scene there is 1st person views which are in view of Johnny and shows what he is seeing. All these shots link to the action genre as it shows the person who is in trouble’s point of view and builds up tension for the audience as they don’t know what is going to happen. This is typical for the action genre because everything is unpredictable and no one knows what is going to happen.

Close up of characters face which shows the facial expression.

Birds eye view.

In this scene the camera movement that is most used is a dolly.

During the chase scene on the rooftops, the lighting is high key. In an action film there is usually a mix between high and low key lighting. The high key lighting shows a positive situation and low key lighting shows a negative situation. The high key lighting in this scene doesn’t necessarily make the scene more dramatic but may suggest there will be a positive outcome.

In the scene where they are in the meeting room there is no music which helps show how serious the scene is. This is not necessarily typical for the action genre as there is normally really serious or dramatic music playing. The only sounds you can hear in this scene is Johnny’s chair and the people talking. The sound of the chair when Johnny breaks the handle is showing the comedy genre in the film.

In another scene where Johnny is chasing someone on rooftops the music is more dramatic which is more typical for the action genre. This kind of music builds tension and gets the audience wondering what is going to happen.