Coming to America
(Comedy)
Dirty Dancing
(Romance)
Chicago
(Musical)
Costumes = The costumes seen within the extract from the film "Coming to America" don't really reflect on the title as they do not show any connection. The costumes worn by the actors seen within the extract seem to reflect a church type environment connoted by the hats, dresses and suits, there is also a connotation of there being a band within the extract as some of the actors are dressed in the same costumes while the costumes worn by the actors in "Dirty Dancing" do have some type of reflection on the title of the film. The female actors seen within the extract from the film "Dirty Dancing" are wearing dresses while some of the men are dressed in suits with others dressed casually wearing shirts and trousers, you would usually associate these costumes with the word "dancing" which is part of the title whereas the costumes seen within the extract from the film "Chicago" don't really have a connection to the title but have a connection to the era of when the film was set. "Chicago" was set in 1920s Chicago, the way in which the costumes connect with this era is that they are very sexy and seductive connoting the rough/raunchiness not only seen within that period of time but also seen within the film.
Lighting = Natural lighting has been used within "Coming to America" showing that there is not much of a connotation seen within the extract when it comes to the lighting however a mix of both high key and low key lighting have been used within the extract from the film "Dirty Dancing" connoting on the genre of the film as it creates a type of sultry effect within the setting again connoting on the genre as it is shown that there is passion between the two main characters. Again there is a mix of both high key and low key lighting used within "Chicago", at the beginning of the extract from the film there is high key lighting focused on the female character while low key lighting is focused on the other actors around her, this shows that there is a connotation of her playing a very important role within the film.
Actors = Most of the actors in "Coming to America" look a bit bewildered as to what the character "Randy Watson" is doing .i.e. the way he is singing which may connote that they either don't like him or may not like his voice whereas in the extract from the film "Dirty Dancing" the two main actors seem to have very good eye contact with each other as they look at each other the whole way through the extract, this connotes them showing how much they are in love with each other; this is also represented by their body language which shows them to be very relaxed with one another as they dance closely in each other's arms. It could also be said that there is good eye contact provided within the extract taken from the film "Chicago" as the blonde haired female character seems to be star-struck by the dark haired female character who is singing, this is connoted by the blonde haired female keeping her eyes focused on the dark haired female. At one point in the extract she imagines that it is her singing connoting the idea of her wanting to experience the stardom of which she strives for.
Make-up = Within the extract from the film "Coming to America" it looks like there isn't much make-up used giving off a real effect of it being based within a church type environment as make-up isn't something someone would necessarily need to wear when going to church whereas in the extract from the film "Dirty Dancing" you can tell that make-up has been used with the aim of this possibly being that the directors probably wanted the film to appear very passionate and amorous represented by the use of lipstick and eye make-up, not trying to take away from the genre of the film but then again not trying to over indulge it. You could say that an equal amount of make-up has been used in the extract from the film "Chicago" as the bright red lipstick and heavy eye make-up connote the flirtations between people in the 1920s as a basis of the females' make-up.
Props = There is a similarity between the props used within the three extracts as they all include chairs and tables (most noticeably seen within the extracts from the films "Dirty Dancing" and "Chicago"), these props show that the actors are performing to an audience which is also represented by all of them performing on a stage. Not as many props have been used within the extract from the film "Dirty Dancing" as we only see that chairs, tables and evidently tiny light bulbs have been used which can be seen on the stage where the two main actors are dancing; these have been used to add extra lighting to the scene however there is a clear similarity between the props used in the two other extracts. Within the extracts from the films "Coming to America" and "Chicago" there is clear use of musical instruments; for example, guitars, drum sets and microphones have been used in both to show that there are music bands incorporated within the films however the visible musical instruments used within the extract from the film "Chicago" such as a piano and a saxophone connote on the view of there being a Jazz band which is also portrayed by the music of which they play.
Setting = All three film extracts are shown to have a stage included within the setting connoting that there is a performance going on however each of their settings are very different to one another. When watching the extract from the film "Coming to America" the audience may come to think that it is based in a church, even though it is not an actual church it has a church like setting due to the costumes worn by the actors and the staging. The costumes worn by the actors and the non-diegetic sound heard within the extract from the film "Dirty Dancing" connote that it is a film set in the 80s also portrayed by the dancing seen within the extract. As said before the setting of the film "Chicago" is 1920s Chicago, from what I could see within the extract I would say that it is set in the type of 1920s nightclubs due to the music played and the environment focusing on the lengths that people will go to in order to get to where they want in life.
...Target Audience...
There is a difference between the target audiences of the three film extracts.
Based on the extract from the film "Coming to America" it is most likely that the target audience will be those aged 12-24 possibly going up to the age of 35 due to the content of the film as it based on comedy giving off the aspect of humour seen within the extract from the film, you could also say that it will appeal to both men and women therefore having a mixed target audience.
The target audience for the film "Chicago" seems to be a lot older than it is for the film "Coming to America"; this is due to the content shown within the extract from the film. During the beginning of the extract the female character is shown to be hiding a small pistol and washing blood off her hands connoting that there is some sort of violence which may be seen within the film, this also most noticeably connotes the idea of there being a murder within the film, due to this I would say that the target audience will most likely be those aged 18-35 with it appealing to women rather than men due to it being a musical.
The target audience for the film "Dirty Dancing" seems to differ from the target audiences for the two other films, this is because "Dirty Dancing" appears to have two target audiences; one being the primary audience and the other being the secondary audience. The primary audience for the film "Dirty Dancing" would most likely be women aged 18-35 and the secondary audience would most likely be tween/teen girls aged 12-17 due to the genre of the film however you could probably say that the film was produced mainly for adults as there were clear boundaries set as far as the make-up and dancing went seen within the extract.
