A2 Media Studies

1. Viewing journal: Media Studies A2
Date Film Comments Info
5/10
The Bounty
Hunter
(Teen Movie)
This is a good example of a
light hearted film that modern
teens would watch. The
premise of a bounty hunter
chasing down his ex wife is
different compared to other
teen films. The history of the
relationship between the two
main characters adds a it of
romance to the film as well,
creating a hybrid genre. A lot
of the film is set in daylight and
colours are bright. One
technique I found in this movie
is when a montage of a
sequence is shown, a popular,
upbeat track is used as a
soundbridge for the montage.
Darker themed scenes in this
film tend to be dark in
cinematography by having
more shadows and low key
lighting in the shot. Good
examples of these scenes are
the strip club and the unused
storage facility (both near the
end of the film.
Year: 2010
Age Rating: 12A
Genre:Action, Comedy, Romance
Director:Andy Tennant
Plot: A bounty hunter learns that his
next target is his ex-wife, a reporter
working on a murder cover-up. Soon
after their reunion, the always-at-
odds duo find themselves on a run-
for-their-lives adventure.
Characters:
- Milo Boyd, A bounty hunter
- Nicole Hurley, the bounty
hunter’s ex wife
Setting: Modern America
Visual Style: Realistic, mostly light
coloured.
12/10 WarGames:
The Dead
Code
This film challenges the ethics
of allowing a supercomputer to
take fully control of discovering
and destroying terrorism. At
the beginning of the film, we as
an audience are introduced to
the supercomputer known as
R.I.P.L.Y. and her technique
into discovering terrorists
(which is online gambling war
games). Then we are
introduced to Will, who takes
part in R.I.P.L.Y.’s war games
to win money and is so good at
it, that the supercomputer
marked him as a terrorist. This
part of the film shows how
computers do not always make
the right judgment when it
Year: 2008
Age Rating: 12
Genre:Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Director:Staurt Gillard
Plot:The United State’s Department
of Homeland Security is led to
believe an American teen hacker
playing a terrorist game online is a
real terrorist out to destroy the U.S.
Characters:
- Will Farmer, teenager,
hacker enthusiast
(Protagonist).
- Annie D’Mateo, teenager,
Will’s ‘sidekick’ and love
interest.
- R.I.P.L.Y, a supercomputer
that the homeland of security
uses to tackle terrorism, but

2. comes ethical judgement on
unknown human beings. Later
on in the film, Will’s mum is
arrested by Homeland Security
as R.I.P.L.Y. suspected her to
be involved with biological
weapons, yet her day job is
producing cleaning products.
At this point, some members of
Homeland Security are starting
to question R.I.P.L.Y’s
judgement. As the film
progresses, we as an
audience get to see the full
extent of R.I.P.L.Y’s control
and power over anything that
is electronic (CCTVCameras,
traffic lights, powerplants etc.)
which she once uses to kill a
member of Homeland Security.
This film however involves a
computer wizz-kid named will,
who is seen as the main
protagonist in the film. My film
would have similar character
but different film premise.
Which is useful as I know have
a few ideas as to how I will
portray this character.
soon targets Will and
becomes the Anti-
protagonist.
Setting: Modern day America, high
school, Will’s bedroom, Homeland
security department, Old Montreal
Visual Style: Modern, thriller,
Cyber-world, Computing
19/10 Nova: Rise
of the
Hackers
This documentary explores the
world of cyber-warfare
between the Hackers and the
members of the computing
industry. At the beginning of
the film, we as an audience
learn how hackers can use a
chain of loop-holes from
different websites to hack into
people’s Apple ID. It shows
how clever and dangerous
hackers are, and questions
whether our personal online
data is safe. This film was
useful as it gave me a better
understanding of current
issues that we face due
technological advancements
and how we take these
technological advancements
Year: 2014
Age Rating: TV-G
Genre:Documentary
Director:Kate Dart
Plot: This documentary shows
examples of how hackers attack
their targets using different
techniques.
Characters: Members of the
computing industry and scientists
who explain the computing world.
Setting: Hacker’s ‘base’, public
areas (for interviews), offices and
industrial plant (for reenactment)
Visual style: Documentary,
Biography, mature

3. for granted.
26/10 Secrets of
Her
Majesty’s
Secret
Service
This documentary has given
me a true insight into the
history and role of Her
Majesty’s Secret Service. The
things that I have learnt from
this documentary would help
me understand and represent
the idea of spies in a more
realistic way. What I found
interesting about the
cinematography of this
documentary. Was that the
reenactments were darkened
in colour. This was probably
done to make it look like a
memory, but to also make the
mise en scene to look more
dark and dangerous.
Year: 2014
Age Rating: TV-G
Genre:Documentary
Director:Kasia Uscinska
Plot: This documentary spotlights
more than 100 years of operatives
and operations in the U.K.’s secret
service, the world’s oldest
intelligence agency.
Characters: Members and ex
members of MI6 who explain the
history of the secret service and their
duties.
Setting: London, Public places (for
reenactment), cafes and quiet places
where interviews are held
Visual style: Documentary,
Biography, mature