Analysis for ‘Attack The Block’By Sarah

Introduction to the film

Attack the block is a British film directed by Joe Cornish, it is a hybrid genre with a mixture of urban comedy and sci-fi. The release date for the movie was 13th May 201. production companies for the film: Studio Canal, Film4 and UK Film Council.

Target AudienceThe film ‘Attack The Block’ is targeted and aimed at around 15-25 year olds. It is aimed at that specific age range as the characters from the movie can relate to the viewers watching the movie as the characters in the film are roughly around that age range (15-25), by having characters whom you can relate to, this makes it more interesting for the viewer. As ‘Attack The Block’ is a hybrid mixed with urban-comedy and sci-fi, this would also appeal to the audience as comedy is a good way of keeping the viewers entertained.

Different age range and ethnicities of characters, appealing to a larger audience

What is the purpose of a film poster and where might it be seen?The purpose of a film poster is to advertise an upcoming film, to let audiences know that a new film is due for release which raises awareness. A film poster provides a range of information on an future film such as; the name of the film, the release date, the stars/actors and actresses who are in the film and the BBFC certification., Which is important for viewers. This certain information attracts the audience, through naming who the stars are, as viewers may be interested if their favourite actor/actress is in a movie, as well as a catchy film title, and at the same time informs them of vital information they may want to know about the film, such as the release date and the certification, which will determine suitability, in such cases as an adult wanting to take a child to see a film. However, not only does the text attract an audience but the photos and graphics of the poster can suggest a particular genre and narrative that the film will follow which is an insight to what the film may be about and therefore helping them decide if they that is a film they may be interested in. Film posters can be seen in/on a variety of places such as: Billboards, underground posters, online and bus stops.

Genre Signifiers To show the genre of the film, on the poster you can see meteors falling from the sky, this indicates that this movie is sci-fi based, and this means viewers who are interested in sci-fi will most probably want to see this film. Also the tagline of the movie “INNER CITY VS OUTER SPACE” this too tells the viewers that, the theme of the movie has some what to do with sci-fi, attracting that type of audience. The tagline also suggest what hybrid genre the movie may be as it says, “inner city” this tells us that it is also a mixture of an urban film, this also brings another specific type audience, people who like that urban, city setting type film, the tagline and the image in the background all suggest this.

This (the poster) appeals to the target audience because, without having to even watch the trailer or see the film, you can already know what genre it is, this would appeal to sci-fi lovers just by looking at the poster. The tagline is also catchy as “inner city” and “outer space” are two completely different places, so by combining the two together it creates a good mixture, meaning it brings both sci-fi audiences and as it says inner city, we know that it is set in the city, bring an audience who like films set in the city/urban films, widening the audience

CharactersThe boys have been constructed to appeal to their target by firstly the way they dress. The boy’s outfits are the same how young teenagers would dress these days, they dress like this to appeal to them, so they can relate, and by seeing them dress in this certain way it is more likely for them to watch the film, also in the actor’s posture, the way they are standing. You can see that they’re ready for anything to come at them, like they’re not afraid, this is how most young teens seem to show themselves, like they’re not afraid of anything. Also, their ethnicity is a mixture, as these days, many different ethnicities are mixed together, so by having a mixture, many more viewers can relate. The props used in the poster are as you can is a bike and a samurai sword, the bike is used as many young teens ride around on bikes and use them a lot, this is also another way of trying to get the audience's attention.

The two older characters in the poster are there to also relate to a wider range of an audience such as the two older generation to also grab their attention, these two specific characters appeal to a specific type if audience, the women appeals to middle classed working 22-30 year old women, by using this character it helps to gain their attention, and by seeing someone, they can relate to, it more likely for them to find the film more interesting and watch the movie and by that, getting a wider audience. The male in the film appeals to middle aged men, and like I said above, it widens the audience and appeals that particular type of viewers intriguing them to want to watch the film as they have someone to relate to. Both these characters helps to broaden the audience appealing outside the main target audience.

These constructions appeals to the audience because the target audience is a wide range, its not only aimed at one specific type of group but more, this way it is not only good for the viewers but the filming company as well.

The secondary image allows the audience to identify the location of the film due to the buildings in the background, the buildings of the gherkin and tower 42 show and by showing viewers that, it tell us that the film is set in London, establishing the scene. The actual block its self tells us that the actual main scenes will be set in a council estate building giving us a sense of where the film will be set. This also attracts audiences who like urban based and city based movies.

This appeals to the audience because it shows and lets them know where the film is set, and people like to know where films are set as it intrigues them into watching it. Also for people who live in London can relate to it as it is also set in London.

Setting

Institutional promotion On the poster they included “from the makers of ‘SHAUN OF THE DEAD”, they have done this because, people who were interested and loved Shaun of the dead, may also like ‘attack the block as both films were produced by the same people, this is good for the audience because if they liked how “Shaun Of The Dead” was set out, viewers might like how “Attack The Block” is set out, also actor(s) who were in Shaun of the dead are also in this film, so viewers may also have liked him/her in the other film and may like to see him/her again on this film.

Promotional methods used on the poster are at the bottom of the poster, where it shows the movie’s Facebook, this is used as people who watched ‘attack the block’ are either teens or young adults and this age range mostly use and have Facebook accounts, so viewers could like their pages, get more information about the film or anything you want to know about the film. Making it more likable to the audiences.