Below is the link to the final film website for Sicarius:
Website
Dreamweaver
In a tutorial I have learned the basics of how to construct a website on Dreamweaver, a programme that I have never used before. To start with I found it quite difficult to use Dreamweaver because I haven’t used codes/coding before so that was new for me and confusing. But after a while and going through the instructions again I began to understand how the codes work in design view and what they do. I also learned what some of the codes mean and how to use Dreamweaver in general. This will help when constructing the website for our neo-noir film ‘Sicarius’.
Terminology:
HTML – Hyper Text Mark-up Language (readable in any browser)
CSS – Cascading Style Sheet (can develop a website and put it in html)
Index File – Website goes straight to this
Splash Page – Initial page to enter website, introduces website (stereotypical convention of film website, not typically used in normal websites)
<br> – Break (tells browser to move down one line)
<br/> – The end of the command
<p> – New paragraph
Into The Woods Website – Textual Analysis
The loading page has a plain black background which makes the website look classy and professional. The film is distributed by Walt Disney which is a successful and well-known organisation and so it would be typical for their website to be very professional. The loading bar is in the shape of a tree branch which reflects the film and its setting and also fits the theme of ‘the woods’ that is used throughout the website. This makes it easier for users to make a link to the narrative of the film and understand the main concept.
The colour palette for the website is quite simple – white, gold/brown and a range of dark colours. The dark colours and shadows in the background image of the woods (long shot, straight angle) reflects the setting in the film because it is set in the dark woods, which is also a typical convention of fairytales (the film is based on fairytales). The title of the film has its own specific font that is different to other text that is on the website. The title is gold/brown to connote the forest and also the magical tone of fairytales. Also, the font is styled in a way to resemble tree branches to emphasise the on-going ‘woods’ theme that used in the website. The font of the links on the side navigation bar is a joined-up handwriting font which has mystical or magical connotations and this reflects the fairytale/musical genre of the film. The font also resembles the typical font used for Walt Disney which is iconic and recognisable as Disney (the film is distributed by Walt Disney). There is contrast between light and dark in the images – the darkness of the forest compared the high key lighting on the actors and actresses and different coloured costumes (e.g. Little Red Riding Hood’s bright red cape). This indicates to the audience that even though there is a dark mysterious wood, the narrative is light-hearted as it is rated PG and so is a family film for both children and adults to enjoy.
There is instrumental music playing on the homepage, which consists of classical string instruments (orchestra). This music is quite dramatic to emphasise the fact that it is a fictional film and it resembles the music that is in the film (the genre of the film is a musical). Users can decide whether they want to stop the music player via the small sound symbol. They can click on the symbol to the mute the music or let it play and this gives users more choice making their experience at the website more enjoyable. The are images of the actors/actresses in banners and the interactive nature of the website in enhanced through the movement of the images. The pictures become larger when the mouse hovers over a character and has the actor/actress’s name written above and a quote from the character including the character’s name below. Information about the character appears on the side when they are clicked on and the image appears larger and is the only picture on the page (there is also an ‘x’ symbol to exit the character profile). This gives the user more of an insight into the characters in the film and their role in the narrative without having to be transported to a completely new page. This makes it a lot easier for users to navigate.
It is clear that Meryl Streep’s character is the main character because a close up of her is placed first on page and uses direct address. Her character is the only one that gives eye contact to the camera so that it appears that she is staring at the user, whereas the other characters gaze into the distance. However, Jonny Depp’s character ‘the Wolf’ also uses direct eye contact but is partially hiding behind the tree conveying that ‘the Wolf’ may be a villainous and sneaky character in the film. The images have stereotypical representations of the characters that make it easier for audiences to distinguish between the characters and act as prompts for the users because most people are familiar with the characterisations of certain characters from particular fairytales. For example, there is a close up, high angle of Rapunzel (Mackensie Mauzy) who wears a pale pink dress and lies on the ground as if she were a damsel in distress which is a typical way for princesses to represented in classic fairytales. The high angle conveys that she is a weak character. There is a mid shot of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) who wears dull, ragged clothes that most people will remember from the Cinderella story. There is a mid shot of The Prince (Chris Pine) who has neatly swept back hair and an extravagant light blue costume which is imagery you would associate with a prince in a fairytale. Also, the colour blue is often associated with males and in fairytales there tends to be an exaggerated difference in the way males and females are presented.
Typical conventions of websites are seen in the official website for ‘Into The Woods’. These include: URL (web address), navigation bar, links to internal sites (which is an example of synergy), images, distribution company logo and legal/regulation disclaimer. There are also links to popular social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr) to promote the film on different media platforms which is a form of convergence and also symbiosis as they are external links to different companies. It allows users to access the details about the film via social networking which is widely used now and users can also promote the film themselves by sharing it.
There is a quote from the film below the pictures: “Be careful what you wish for” gives an indication of what the narrative is about. The word “wish” is often associated with fairytales as it usually plays a central role. There are links to two different external ticket websites (an example of symbiosis) under the heading “Get Tickets”. Movement is seen here again as when the user moves the mouse onto the “Get Tickets” link, it changes into the logos for the ticket websites ‘fandango.com’ and ‘movietickets.com’. A credit block is also present at the bottom of the page that features the names of actors and actresses, producers etc and the logo of the distribution company, Disney. There are also other links such as ‘Contact Us’ and “About Us” and links to legal and regulation disclaimers such as “Terms of Use”, “Legal Notices” and “Privacy Policy” which are typical features of websites that provide more information for the users to feel more informed and protected.
Into The Woods Website Analysis – Annotations
To deepen my understanding of features of official film websites, I have analysed the official website for the recent film musical by Disney, ‘Into The Woods’. This task was useful and essential for me because as part of my A2 media coursework I will have to construct a website for my team’s neo-noir film ‘Sicarius’. Therefore, I will need to know how to construct a website and include relevant features that will reflect the nature of the film and attract the audience.
Anna A2 Media 