OCR GCSE Sample Student Workbook

Lesson 3

The poster campaign for The Lego Movie has been chosen for representation and media language analysis as the campaign produced a variety of posters with a very strong brand image carried through coherent media language and representations. The characters within the film posters include knowing use of stereotypes but also attempt to reflect the contemporary context of greater gender equality. They must study at least 4 posters from the campaign including the main promotional poster – to develop their knowledge and understanding of how and why the media language and representations construct a brand image for the film.

The film The Lego Movie has been chosen for media industries analysis as it illustrates the industrial imperatives of blockbuster film production by media conglomerates. The concept demonstrates the importance of marketing in contemporary Hollywood with the strong synergy between the toy product and film.

There is no requirement for learners to textually engage with The Lego Movie. Learners should use the film as a case study from which to explore media industry issues such as, conglomerate ownership, convergence across platforms, funding, regulation, and the impact of marketing and industrial synergies on a media product such as The Lego Movie.

In Edusites Core Unit 4 Media Institutions we will be looking in much greater depth at the origins and structure of modern media institutions and industries. That work will offer useful additional depth to your work on The OCR set products and our current work on The Lego Movie.

When revising for the examination be certain to revisit this material at the end of the course when your ability to analyse these products will have evolved with the additional learning and your understanding will be so much greater

The Lego Movie was the first film produced by Warner Animation for over a decade.

• Released theatrically on February 7, 2014 through Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Village Roadshow to critical and audience acclaim
• The majority of critics praised its visual style, humor whilst audiences were attracted to the voice cast and heartwarming message
• It earned more than $257 million in the U.S. and Canada and $210 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of over $469 million
• It won a BAFTA for Best Animated Film and a range of other awards as well as nominations for Golden globes and Oscars

1. Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including a set of collectible figures
2. A website was opened up so fans could make versions of themselves
3. The company recruited a roster of global partners to a broad, multi-category licensing program to support the film Official Lego Brand Stores also scheduled events
4. Each week of January 2014, a new character poster (Wyldstyle, Batman, Emmet, Lord Business) came with every purchase of Lego