Final Project: Stay Awake- Mary Poppins Horror Trailer Recut

My project took a 1964 family movie, Mary Poppins, and twisted it into a trailer for a horror film. The process of remixing genres has taught me a lot about how each genre sticks to a specific kind of template in order to generate their tone. Additionally, I developed great respect for editors, as they hold a large portion of the responsibility for how a piece of media will be understood. Finally, it was most fascinating to explore how material can be manipulated to convey a meaning drastically different from its intended use.

While this project has been a lighthearted play on bending genres in unexpected ways, it brings about the serious cause that Brett Gaylor discusses in his movie Rip!: A Remix Manifesto. He reads his manifesto as: 1. Culture always builds on the past 2. The past always tries to control the future 3. Our future is becoming less free 4. To build free societies you must limit the control of the past. His argument is that culture builds off the progress made by culture before it, and when that ability to do so is inhibited, the past puts a limit on the progress of the future. He warns of the dangers to creativity and the development of culture that come from copyright laws today, and advocates for the free flow of media. In the case of my project, the movie I used to remake into a horror trailer was copyrighted and not available for legal remixing, an example of the past controlling the future. While the production of my video may seem like a silly pastime for entertainment, the concept of exploring genre could be an essential practice for those going into filmmaking and editing, and the laws surrounding the rights to most movies would not allow for this.

Television Programming- tbtv

1.

Program name: tbtv

psp16 – Programming

crabqueen – Social Media

natiliebennet – Advertising

2.

Monday- Survivor and American Idol

Tuesday- Pretty Little Liars and Orange is the New Black

Wednesday- Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill

Thursday-Wizards of Waverly Place and Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Hannah Montana and Drake and Josh

Friday- Full House x2 and Boy Meets World x2

 

American Idol Season 7 Finale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HNA6OyRBd0

 

4.

Post 1 (Thursday): The #countdown is over! @Disney and @NickelodeonTV night is finally here. Tune in at 8/7 c tonight for a #tbt! #getoutthepopcorn #girlsnite?

 

Post 2 (Monday): Do you love reality tv?! Tune in at 8/7 c tonight for a night of #competition and #drama. #bloodsweatandtears #winnerwinnerchickendinner

 

The target audience of these Twitter posts (and our network as a whole) is older teenage girls and young women in their 20s. These posts closely mirror those of real television networks aimed at this demographic, as they tend to have a lot of hashtags and often @ the shows that are being aired. The posts that I made are also like the posts of real networks for this demographic because they are a little cringey and try a bit too hard to attract people. But, they get the job done. The platform also helps to grab the demographic, as it is quite common for young adult women to use Twitter often to connect with friends and businesses.

5.

Companies for advertisements

  • Apple
  • Domino’s Pizza (or other food businesses)
  • Sephora (specifically for Tuesday and Wednesday)
  • XBox/PlayStation

 

The demographic of the audience that will watch programs scheduled for Monday, Thursday and Friday are people in their late teens and early twenties. This audience has grown up with developing technology and is always looking for the newest product. By advertising Apple products on these networks during these scheduled program will almost guarantee to grab this specific audience’s attention. They will be entertained by the nostalgic programming as well as being reminded they can be entertained by the technology in the modern day that they live in.

As for the programs scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday night, they are directed towards the same age group. However the shows are filled with certain drama and scandal that is most likely to grab the attention and views from an audience primarily of women. For this reason, targeting an audience of women in their late teens and early twenties, Sephora would be a company that would appeal to this audience. Some are nostalgic programs filled with adult content, and make-up can be considered to go along with this sophisticated theme.

Televisuality in Hell’s Kitchen Intro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vMOTPTzbfI

Hell’s Kitchen is an American reality show which pits two teams of chefs against each other in order to become head chef at a restaurant. The show is broadcasted on Fox and is in its 18th season since its start in 2005. The show is hosted by chef Gordon Ramsay, who is infamous for his unforgiving criticism of the chefs as they perform tasks to avoid elimination from the competition, giving the show it’s remarkable name.

Hell’s Kitchen sits at #13 on imdb’s list of top reality TV shows for 2019. While ratings have slowly begun to decline, the show has had a successful run in the 18 seasons it’s been on the air. It could be argued that the reason for this is partly due to the show’s distinct theme on a popular show format, and the televisuality that follows such theme. The intro to the show is the strongest example of the show’s distinct visuality which plays on the theme of the harshness and cruelty of Ramsay’s criticism. The 30 second clip is filled with striking graphics of a hellish kitchen and restaurant with shattering reflections, the set and contestants’ photos in flames, and even fire appearing in Ramsay’s eyes.

Taking a look at the visuals used in Hell’s Kitchen’s intro reveals that some television series today are continuing to use the tactic of flaunting and displaying a unique and flashy style in order to maintain viewership. In Caldwell’s article on televisuality, he wrote that programs will strive for “identifiable style-markers and distinct looks in order to gain audience share within the competitive broadcast flow”. The hellish twist on a common cooking show theme provided viewers with a program that brought unique aesthetic and conceptual components not seen together before on television. The intro provides an eye-catching and brief, yet exciting, look at the characteristics of the show to come, leaving the viewer intrigued and waiting for more.

Lauren Brown

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