factual

1. Case Studies Guidance Notes
Factual Product
The Maze Runner Featurette – Dashner Walk and Talk)
Purpose
This featurette explores the set of the Maze Runner and the thoughts and opinions of James
Dashner, the writer of the 2009 Maze Runner novel, as he surveyed the location at Baton
Rouge, LA, in April 2013, which was discovered by the producers and would be the single
filming location for ‘the Glade’. The main purposes of this featurette are to entertain,
persuade, and promote the Maze Runner. The video provides entertainment as it gives
audiences a good look at the Maze Runner before its release date. It also gives them an
idea of what to expect from the film and does well to provide excitement. The video is also
quite persuasive; the producers clearly aimed to intrigue the audience with the content
included and the information provided. The video was made to look convincing so it could
encourage the viewers to watch the actual film and/or read the book.
The video also promotes the Maze Runner. The video clearly supports James Dashner’s
own statements made and was attempting to encourage the audience to watch the Maze
Runner. The video may have also been made in an attempt to advance the popularity of the
Maze Runner before its release.
Audience
This video clip from the extras of the Maze Runner may appeal to those who’ve read James
Dashner’s novel, which is the primary focus throughout. Therefore, this section should focus
on the target audience of the Maze Runner novel, which will determine the target audience
for this video which explores the novel. The 2009 novel will appeal to young males because
the primary focus is young adolescent boys who are stuck in the middle of a lethal maze,
and this specific type of audience can connect to the characters. It is shown that males
prefer violence and action compared to females who don’t, therefore this novel will appeal to
male audiences. There is a good chance that this book would appeal to teenagers due to the
nature and characteristics of the characters and the threat and mystery in the story.
The novel is unlikely to be suitable for children due to its harsh content. Also, it doesn’t seem
to adhere to any specific religion or belief, therefore no specific ethnic group is targeted and
the novel should be suitable for all types of groups. The novel could appeal to the following
psychographics: Achiever, Emulator, and Balanced. This is because Achievers aim to obtain
power and wealth and the book highlights individuality which is one of the messages able to
attract this particular psychographic. Emulators often desire approval from their peers, and
the novel provides messages about being more successful. Balanced/Totally Integrated aim
to ‘achieve’ and are also concerned with the effects of mankind on the world. The book could
attract this psychographic because of the concepts of succeeding and benefiting mankind.

2. The novel doesn’t appear to target a certain social class e.g. working class, middle class,
upper class.
Type of Product
This video is an interview product as it shows James Dashner, the author of the Maze
Runner novel, being interviewed by the makers of the film adaptation. In this video, James
Dashner takes a look at the set for the first time and expresses his positive thoughts and
opinions on the way it looks. Dashner is being interviewed throughout the video, and it is
obvious that he is the main focus. The video could also be a reportage product, because the
habits of Dashner and Ball are quite investigative; Ball discovered the location and
determined that it was suitable for filming, and Dashner was introduced later on to take a
look around. The video is quite observational as well; it looks a lot like it could be suitable for
an appearance on a TV programme.
Mode of Address
This video is shown to be directly addressing the audience as some of James Dashner’s
‘tweets’ that appear in the video are highlighted for the audience to read e.g. “They took me
to the Glade today... the most surreal moment ever” and ‘I’m stunned and in total awe.”
Another one of these tweets proves this particular mode of address: “You’re going to be
thrilled with this movie.” These quotes prove that this video is intended to intrigue the
audience. The language is formal and this could convey the message that the producers
know exactly what they are doing and are well-educated and intelligent. This also directly
appeals to the audience because it convinces them of how professional the film will turn out
to be.
James Dashner and director Wes Ball provide voiceovers throughout the video which
accompany the sequences from the film. These omniscient voices also accompany the
scenes featuring Dashner speaking in person to ensure the viewer doesn’t get bored during
the video; because if the featurette was to be composed only of people sharing their
opinions while being sat down in a conversation, it would not be very pleasing. Voiceovers
are used instead of this to make it seem more like the audience is being addressed rather
than Dashner himself by the producers.
Objective or Subjective:
This video appears to give the audience an honest idea of the Maze Runner. The primary
location of filming was shown, and James Dashner (the author of the Maze Runner novel)
and Wes Ball (the director) both made an appearance. The statements made by both can be
proved by simply watching the film; for example, (while referring to the first scene inside the
maze) the director states: “This is gonna be a pretty fun sequence”. In the end, this specific
scene was tense and fast-paced and was sure to have viewers on the edge of their seats.
The insertion of various clips from the Maze Runner was a positive decision for verifying the

3. statements made by the writer and the director and for giving the audience glimpses of the
hard work put in to make the film a success.
These clips also do well to back up the fact that lots of effort was put into production and
post-production. Overall, the statements made in the video are easily proved by certain
elements throughout and are not just based on personal opinions and interpretation.
Structure and Content
This featurette includes lots of different content that is combined together to intrigue the
viewer. There are lots of video inserts throughout; the manner of these easily connects with
the manner of the voiceovers. The video inserts feature Dashner, Ball, and other operators
walking around the filming location, surveying the forest, man-made huts etc. There are no
interviews shown (discussions between an interviewer and interviewee). They are implied to
either have already taken place or being due to take place following the visit. The video also
features clips from the Maze Runner film to accompany the other video inserts. These clips
also connect with the manner of the voiceovers. This featurette also explores how the Maze
Runner film adaptation dramatizes the key events of the novel in an effective way.
The producers will have used this combination of content to ensure the video intrigued the
audience effectively as it turned out to be an exciting, short featurette about James
Dashner’s personal opinions on the Maze Runner film adaptation in the end. They would
have also wanted to keep the audience hooked throughout the video.
Throughout this featurette, the producers employed technical elements including mise en
scene, visual aspects, body movement, lighting, camerawork (angle, shot, movement etc.),
editing, and sound. These technical codes all rely heavily on each other in terms of creating
meaning.
Mise en scene encompasses everything in a single scene, from setting and location to
performance and movement. This featurette takes place at Baton Rouge, LA where the
Maze Runner is set. Filming was to be taking place in this location. It is clearly in the
countryside; there are no buildings or houses to be seen and there are trees and wide
expanses of green. Huts and other structures made from branches and twigs have been built
for the set. The setting is quite peaceful. James Dashner and Wes Ball present the set to the
audience. They seem calm and confident as they discuss the aspects of the location and
what they plan to do. The way everything is set out suggests skill and accuracy within the
producers. The sophisticated manner of both the writer and the director also suggests skill
and accuracy as they walk around, impressed by what has been done so far.
The people behind the Maze Runner hint that there is more to come, and that it will only get
better. This implies their desire to be successful. Also, the peaceful nature of the location,
and the confidence of the presenters, suggests calmness. The presenters have an
appropriate tone of voice. They are dressed appropriately and they use gestures whilst
speaking. Their facial expressions indicate how focused they are. The presenters have a
positive attitude and they approach the situation in a confident way. There are a variety of
different camera shots e.g. long shot, medium shot and extreme long shot, all of which have
clear motives; for example, an extreme long shot could establish the entire setting of a film.

4. This is quite effective in displaying the “Glade”, where the film is set, to the audience in a
single shot.
Both high and low key lighting are employed in this video. High key lighting creates a natural
look to a certain scene. This technique is shown during the daytime within the film, and it
does well to suggest what time of the day it could be. Low key lighting is shown during the
sequence when the characters are trapped in the Maze at night. This technique leaves high
levels of shadow and contrast, which convey a menacing and dark atmosphere. This works
well with the nature of the scene: the maze is very dangerous at night and deadly creatures
are most active at this time. During this featurette, different scenes, each featuring an
example of high and low key lighting, are shown one after the other to provide juxtaposition.
It is easy for the audience to highlight the differences of the peaceful and calm nature of one
scene, and the dark and menacing mood of the other.
High and low angle shots are used during this film to convey meaning. A high angle of the
main character is shown when he is standing alone within the walls of the Maze at night.
This camera angle is used to convey weakness and vulnerability. The character is indeed
vulnerable and one of the ‘maze creatures’ is implied to be lurking above him, and he isn’t
aware of it. A low angle shot is shown of the other main characters looking down into the
freight elevator in which the main character has arrived in. This angle suggests power within
the other characters, and as the camera looks down at the main character, weakness is
suggested within him. He is shown to be vulnerable while the others are shown to be
stronger.
A tracking shot is used to follow one or more subjects as they are surveying the Glade or
walking through a forest. A tracking shot is also used on the presenters, following them at
close proximity. The camera is positioned so that the presenters are shown in a medium
shot, which makes the audience feel as if they are looking at the whole subject even though
not all of his body is shown on screen. Footage from the Maze Runner is cut and assembled
into a short video. There are rapid transitions from one shot to another and the video follows
an uninterrupted, continuous flow of action. Simple straight cuts are used in the transitions
and each shot has a different duration. Longer shot lengths ensure nothing is missed by the
audience, who are given enough time to focus upon facial expressions and body
movements.
Various shots and sequences from the Maze Runner are shown in rapid succession; this
works well in terms of showing specific detail within a certain context. Both diegetic and non-
diegetic sound is used throughout the featurette. Diegetic sound includes dialogue by the
presenters, sounds of birdsong, trees rustling, running water, and wind blowing in the
background, and footsteps as the presenters walk around the set. Non-Diegetic sound
includes fast-paced music, sound effects from the film, and asynchronous sound (where the
relation is not visible to the audience) used in the title sequence of the featurette. These
techniques are effective because they convey both realism and skill.