Case Study 2 - Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

1.Institutions

Director - Brad Bird

Producer - Tom Cruise, J.J.Abrams, Bryan Burk

Written - Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum

Starring - Tome Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton

Editing - Paul Hirsch

Cinematography -  Robert Elswit
Music - Micheal Giacchino and Lalo Schifrin
Production/Distribution Companies - Skydance Productions, Bad Robot Productions, TC Productions, FilmWorks, Stillking Productions, Paramount Pictures

Release Date(s) - 7th December 2011 in Dubai, 14th December 2011 in France, 16th December 2011 in United States

Running Time - 132 Minutes

Budget - $145 Million

Box Office takings - $694,713,380 

Certificate - 12A

2. Mission Impossible is an American action film released in 2011 directed by Brad Bird, it was also the fourth  film of the Mission: Impossible series. The film was released in North America by Paramount Pictures, this was one of the first Mission: Impossible films to be captured in IMAX cameras. The film features Tom Cruise a Ethan Hunt, the IMF team's leader, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, an IMF technical field agent and part of Hunts team, Jeremy Renner aas William Brandt, the IMF secretary's chief analyst and a former IMF field agent and Paula Patton as Jane Carter, a member of Hunt's team, all these characters are the main stars of the film as they are part of a IMF team who are on a mission.

Tom Cruise is a memorable American film actor and producer, he is well known for his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt as he has featured in all the Mission: Impossible series films, also other Hollywood blockbusters including Rain Man (1988), A few good men (1992), War of the worlds (2005), Jack Reacher (2012) etc, he is Hollywood's highest paid actors well known in the film industry. Cruise is usually portrayed in a dominant male character, in most of his films he has always played the main role 'hero'.There are number of settings established in the film such as Dubai, Moscow, Germany etc. However the main location is set in Dubai where most of the action takes place with the hero and villain. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol became a critical and commercial success, becoming the highest grossing Mission: Impossible film starring Tom Cruise.

The two minute clip above is taken from the film Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, the mise en scene of this clip is set in a Dubai hotel where one of the agents of Ethan's team is on a mission to disconnect the cameras in the hotel. The scene starts of by two of the characters located in different settings, the character who is in the hotel is opening a door, the setting of this place uses low key lighting as the audience are unaware where he is and shadows are created. The audience are aware that the male character is up to something as his facial and body expressions show he is nervous, as the scene continues the male characters body expression is revealed as a scared, vulnerable character as he does not want to jump into the room. At the middle of the scene the location of the hotel changes to the hotel inside where everyone is such as the main character, in this setting there is high key lighting used and many representations portrayed in this scene as there are lots of characters, for example the female character who is part of Ethan's team is portrayed in a revealing seductive way as she is wearing a beautiful, long silk dress which reveals her back and chest, this attracts the male audience. The scene of the female characters body and facial expressions shows she is in control therefore dominant.
The editing and cinematography used in this clip shows many effects to attract and keep the audience entertained and amused, the fast paced edits create tension and enigma codes as the team are trying to solve the problem therefore the audience would feel nervous for the characters if they get caught this grabs the audiences attention and makes them want to watch more. The tracking shot of the machine keeps the audience focused as there is low key lighting used, moreover the audience would be interested in what it can do and what the characters are trying to do. The sound used in this scene is all diegetic sound as the audience where the sound is coming from.

3. What are the main similarities/differences between your new film and 'Ill Manors'?
Similarities:

- Both films contain action scenes for example fighting scenes, fire scenes etc

- The use of some props such as guns, knifes etc
- Main character in both films is a dominant male
- Both films have dominant ideologies
- The director of Ill Manors and the producer of Mission Impossible where portrayed in the film

Difference:
- The low budget film has Multi-stranded narratives
- My case study Mission: Impossible has more props and explosions as they are able to afford it for the film
- Ill Manors is more of an Urban Drama genre that would appeal to teenagers mainly whereas Mission Impossible is a action packed adventure film which would appeal to a wider audience
- Mission: Impossible has famous characters that the audience would automatically recognize whereas Ill Manors have new characters that the younger audience may be aware off, however ain't popular in the film industry overall
- Both films have different narratives/storyline
- Mission Impossible budget $80 million and Ill Manors budget £100,000

4. Analysis of website and trailer - Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol Official Website
The website opens up with the one of the Mission Impossible film posters, this homepage contains buttons (links) to explore about the film such as the gallery, videos, characters etc, on the right hand side of the homepage there are small boxes which contain a photo or a video of the film which changes every five to ten seconds so the audience are amused and interested. Furthermore at the bottom of the page you are able to see all the institutions of the film which is useful information, also on the left hand side where the links are featured there is images of the DVD and Blu Ray options of how the film is being sold and where you could buy it from, this is promoting the film by broadcasting the DVD is out and ready to buy. In this website 
I think all aspects of the three media platforms are included such as the Broadcast, E-media and print example. This is very effective as is appeals to a large audience and attracts them to watch the film, furthermore the use of synergy has been used too, as the trailer, and some print prospects have been used in the website.
When you enter the website non diegetic music is played in the background, it is the theme tune to all the Mission: Impossible series, this is effective as the theme tune would be recognizable towards the audience as there are four film out with the same theme tune. The music creates excitement and engages the audience as it is very amusing and would attract the audience straight away.
The colours used in the website all link as the non diegetic music connotes the film relate to action/adventure genre so does the colours used. The main colours featured in the website are dark shaded colours mostly black, brown, however the typography used is red and white. These colours suggest mystery, darkness, and purity as the colour white connotes positive things however the other colours connote a more negative thought. There are lots of interesting options to explore through in this website for the audience to be engaged, therefore it informs and attracts a large audience to watch the film.

The Mission Impossible trailer starts off by non diegetic sound, it also reveals the film’s distributor and studios that helped make this successful film, the companies are displayed in fast edits as the non diegetic sound is played in the background. At 0:10 of the trailer the edit used is a fade out to a fade in transition to portray the first setting in the trailer which is in Moscow, furthermore the voice over starts playing in the background to as non diegetic sound as the audience do not know where the voice is coming from. The scene changes into a dramatic explosion to engage the audience and create enigma codes as the audience would be interested in what is about to happen, during this explosion scene the edits are very fast paced as the main character Tom Cruise is trying to run, following to a black screen, which grabs the audience’s attention. At 0:17 of the trailer the lighting used in the scene is low key lighting as the audience wouldn't be able to identify the character or the location as it is filmed at night. There are many enigma codes created after the explosion scene as the edits are beginning to slow down, and are unable to see some characters, this creates excitement for the audience to make them entertained and amused. At 0:24 a close up has been used of a female character holding a tablet which features the main characters, this connotes the audience that these characters are the main characters in the film to look out for and would be informed who they are. There are many fade in and fade out effects throughout the trailer as the non diegetic sound of the voice over continues which is informing the audience about the main storyline of the film, this engages the audience to watch furthermore. The dramatic sounds also keep the audience focused as it attracts them to see what is going to happen next. At 0:49 of the trailer the voice over stops and he main character Tom Cruise exchanges dialogue which is a question, this dialogue makes the audience think what the character is going to do therefore create enigma codes and excitement.
 The non diegetic sound in the background changes to a much fast paced beat, which the audience would recognize as it is a soundtrack for the film, moreover the edits also change into fast edits to create tension and not to give all the excitement away to the audience. In the trailer the audience are able to identify the second setting too as that is where the mission is set, at this point of the trailer all the characters are revealed in fast edits to inform he audience who are the characters to be aware of and by watching the film they would know why.
The typography used is very strong capital bold text to engage the audience and also to suggest that the film is action packed. In addition at 1:10 of the trailer the cinematography and edit used is amazing, as the audience are able to see the car crash, the characters facial and body expressions in a slow motion, it also grabs the audience’s attention as it is fast and eye catching therefore they would not want to miss out. Furthermore the non diegetic music in the background also relates to the mise en scene of the scene which is effective. More props are being revealed towards the end of trailer as the music is fast paced with voice over of a successful rap artist called Eminem, this is very effective and useful as it makes the audience keep their eyes on the screen. The fast paced action edits also is very exciting as creates excitement and makes the audience want to watch the film, also at 0:27 the main characters name Tom Cruise is identified as he has featured in all of the Mission: Impossible series. At 1:38 the non diegetic sound has stopped at diegetic sound has been used as the two characters exchange dialogue, the camera shots used are medium and close up shots are the audience would see their body and important facial expressions.
Finally at 1:48 of the trailer the theme tune to Mission: Impossible is played to connote the audience that this is another Mission Impossible film, it is a recognizable theme tune used in all of the series of film. Towards the end of the trailer a bird’s eye view shot of the building is shot this is effective as the audience would find this amazing and want to know the location. The non diegetic sound towards the end is very amusing as it creates tension and keeps the audience at the edge of their seats, as the mise en scene of this point is very impacted and creates enigma codes. Lastly the title and intuitions of the film is displayed in the same typography.