The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal)

The Bourne Ultimatum

Media Language

To begin with, the DVD cover for ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ clearly establishes the genre of the film.

The explosion in the background immediately alerts the audience that the film is possibly an action/thriller,
due to it being a clear trope of many movies of this genre. Also, the bright orange of the explosion clearly
contrasts with the darker colours surrounding it, predominantly being dark blue or black which creates 
contrast. This causes the DVD cover to appear instantly recognisable as an action/thriller to fans of the 
genre, due to how eye-catching it is. Other signs of damage in the background also help to establish the 
genre, such as the upturned car. Another signifier is the gun in Damon's hand which can be seen in the 
bottom left, which most importantly establishes the kind of character he plays within the movie. By being in possession of a gun, it is suggested that Jason Bourne is serious about his aim within the movie, due to the 
gun carrying connotations of violence and death, as well as crime. In addition to this, Damon is seen to be 
wearing a watch, which could indicate that time is an important aspect of the film, such as time running out. To add to this sense of seriousness, blood can be seen on Damon's head, neck and hand. The way this blood is positioned could be described as subtle, as it is easy to miss on first glance. This along with Damon's
confident posture could suggest Damon portrays Bourne as a character able to remain unfazed by injury, for the sake of a specific objective.

Representation

The only character featured on both the front, back and spine of the DVD cover is Jason Bourne, the 
eponymous protagonist of the film. Bourne is played by Matt Damon, who is a white man who appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties, of over average build. On the front of the DVD, he is shown to look 
bold due to his open stance, whereas on the back he is presented to be active and athletic, due to the shot of him about to run just after getting off a motorbike. Because of this it can be argued that Bourne is portrayed as the ideal for men or white men more specifically, by being in good shape, conventionally attractive and 
having a serious disposition.

Audience

Due to what Bourne represents as a character, it can be inferred that the target audience for this film is
specifically white men from the ages of late twenties to thirties. Because this group is one of the main 
target audiences for the action/thriller genre, it is almost guaranteed that The Bourne Ultimatum would be a successful film due to it's large potential audience. Conversely, it could also be argued that a portion of the
target audience would be women in a similar age range, as the conventional attractiveness of Bourne could
be a draw for heterosexual women.

Industry

This film was produced by MP BETA Productions, the Kennedy/Marshall Company and Ludlum
entertainment and was distributed by Universal Pictures. The Bourne Ultimatum was directed by Paul 
Greengrass, who has been noted as one of the most influential people in British culture, as well as having 
received a British Film Institute Fellowship. Because of this popularity, The Bourne Ultimatum would 
attract those who are fans of Greengrass' other works, leading to more success for the film.

Jaws (Universal)

Jaws - DVD Cover Analysis 

Media Language:
The most eye-catching object on the front of the DVD cover is clearly the shark, due to being
comparably larger than anything else. It is also brighter than its surroundings causing contrast, with the
use of low-key lighting illuminating it against the dark black/blue of the water. This also causes the
shark to appear menacing, and thus establishes the genre of the film, being horror/thriller. The use of
darker colours also sets the tone of the movie due to darker colours indicating possibly a darker plot.
Hermeneutic code is also established with the composition of the shark and the woman in the water,
as a size comparison can be made between the two, leading to the conclusion that the shark is
incredibly large, raising questions for the audience as to how it managed to reach that size. The
composition of the DVD cover also establishes a narrative, as the shark is clearly intent on reaching
the woman in the water. While simple, it gets the point of the movie across. The title for the movie uses a 
sans-serif typeface, in red. This carries connotations of danger and blood, which allude to the attacks that 
occur within the movie. The 'J' is also stylised to resemble a hook, or more particularly the end of a harpoon, which is used at the end of the movie in an attempt to kill the shark.

Representation:
Only one human is present on the front cover, being the woman swimming in the water. She is white,
and therefore only ends up acting as a representation of white people, or white women in general. Due
to the release of the movie being 1975, this was the typical kind of representation seen in most
mainstream films, and therefore is reflected in the DVD cover for the movie. The woman is also seen
to be naked in the water, though she is partially covered by the bubbles caused by her swimming. This
can be seen as a form of sexualisation, in an attempt to appeal to men, who are stereotypically most likely to be fans of the horror/thriller genre. While the woman on the front cover is not a main character, her death 
spurs the events of the film, therefore giving her reason to be there instead of the actual main characters. 
Even though this edition is the 30th anniversary version, the design of the front is almost completely the
same as it was at it's initial release, possibly due to the original cover being too iconic.

Audience:
As mentioned before, the DVD cover is designed to appeal to fans of the horror/thriller genre, through
multiple different techniques. Firstly, as mentioned before, the cover features a semi-naked woman and
therefore utilises voyeurism, in order to target a heterosexual male audience. Furthermore, this audience is 
also targeted through the colours utilised on the DVD. No stereotypically 'girly' or bright colours are used on the DVD cover, and instead dark blue, black and red are used to set the mood of the film, and clearly 
establish the genre as horror/thriller.

Industry:
The film was produced by Zanuck/Brown Company and Universal Pictures, and was also distributed by Universal Pictures. Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg, who directed many other successful films, like 
Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. Because of this, Jaws is able to draw in a younger audience due to the influence of Spielberg's more modern work, which could cause people to watch his older works, with 
Jaws in particular. However, the main target audience today would still be men, as the way of marketing the movie hasn't changed even after so many years.

Brief

BRIEF 3: Film marketing

Create print marketing materials for a new film and associated audio/ audio-visual or online material to promote the same film.

You should create a cross-media  production for a major film studio (either Columbia or Universal) targeting a mainstream audience of 30-49 year-olds with an interest in your chosen genre of film.

TASK 1: Set form in PRINT

DVD cover

Film poster for theatrical (cinema) release – portrait

Banner poster – landscape, e.g. for on side on bus


TASK 2: Set form online OR Audio-Visual/Audio

Create a new functioning website to promote your film to its target audience

OR

A sequence from an original mainstream radio or television breakfast programme to promote your film to its target audience.