CATFISH WEBSITE

• This is the first view you get when visiting the 'Catfish' website.
• The trailer pops up immediately and the option to skip it is in the top right hand corner.

• When the trailer is clear from the screen, this is the initial view of the website.
• A large mouse cursor, similar to the one seen on the 'Catfish' typography, replaces your original cursor. This makes your experience more relevant to the film.
• The Typography is the main image in the middle of the the screen, and no other images are show on the web page.
• The lack of imagery along with the catch phrase keep a sense of mystery about the film. "Don't let anyone tell you what it is." gives nothing away but also links in with the idea that the film is about the unknown dangers of the internet and identity.
• Logos of companies linked to the film and age restriction details are placed in the bottom corners of the page as they do not need to stand out on the page.
• The facebook and twitter link is visible at the bottom of the page to take you to their other sites.
• Quotes appear in the top corner one after another in an animated cycle, giving them some variety.
• The text above the twitter links stands out and informs us of what the film is available on.
• The background and "Enter Nev's World" button are animated in a glitch like fashion to give the impression of technology.
• The colour scheme could imply the film could be a horror as the red has connotations of blood and danger, although the effects and animations imply the theme of technology in the film.
• The white texts helps make the important elements of the page stand out against the blue, electronic background.

• When "entering Nev's world", it is made to appear as if we have logged on the Nev's Mac.
• The page is layed out like an Apple Mac desktop with a variety of icons we can click on.
• Each icon is similar to that of an actual programe you would find on a Mac, although, as opposed to carrying out its actual purpose, it gives us information about the film. For example, we can open Nev's photos and videos which shows us images and clips that are relevant to / from the film.
• This adds a greater sense of realism of the idea behind the film and helps get the point across more effectively.
• Through logging onto Nev's Mac, you are put into his position and can relate more to the danger behind the message in the film.
• Extra elements are added through laying the website out like this, making it a more enjoyable experience.  For example you can see messages Nev and his internet friend have exchange in a chat window and watching videos from/about the film. 

WEBSITE IDEAS- BLACK SWAN

1. The navigation of the site looks simplistic yet due to the house colours of a traditional white and black match, the site looks quite effective and matches to the element of its genre of a psychological thriller. The navigation system is laid out as the main image on the homepage is which makes the page look 3D and adds more of a special element as to making it stand out in appearance.

2. The changing comments made by critics of the film looks really interesting and catches the eye because it is the only thing on the homepage that 'moves' by itself. This has a double job, as well as looking effective it also informs the browser of the success of the film and is not giving anything away to the viewer if they have not yet watched the film.

3. The main links to the main social networking sites 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' are the best links to have personally because they are the most frequented social networking sites and people will have access to the pages if they have accounts which will gain the film more popularity.

4. The reflecting image of Natalie Portman looks truly amazing and this would be an ideal type of thing to create for our own website. The simplicity of it again makes it even more emotion provoking and the facial expression on the protagonist's face encapsulates the whole theme of the psychological thriller. Because it looks like she is looking into a mirror and sees a lot of reflections of herself, this leaves the homepage open for interpretation as to deciding what the meaning of it actually is. The cleverness of the main image for the website could and I hope be accomplished by our own group.

EXTRAS
When you click on the protagonist, flashing images of a ballerina show up and this is a connotation and denotation of the film. By having the quick flashing images, the website offers something different and I hope we achieve this too.

The lighting coming from the corner of the page makes it look a whole lot more realistic and the browser can perhaps relate to it. As it is flickering, this creates an eerie feel to the whole webpage hence conforming to its genre.

Website Deconstruction

THE RING

http://thering.asmik-ace.co.jp/

• Montage introducing the website makes it more eerie and fits the genre of horror as the images are distorted and subvert to its stereotype of being technological and keeps related to that theme. The images also reflect what the movie is about.
• The sound clips used when you hover the cursor over the icons for navigation are really effective in making the website different to others as the sound clips all differ from each other and subvert to the stereotype of horror with the sounds of distortion playing and may come to surprise, adding to the fear and tension it hopes the producers hoped to create.
• The colours used are typical for a horror genre: black, white and red. This conforms to the traditional side of horror even though the concept of the film is very modern, so it could show how even though it IS a different concept, it holds onto the roots of horror still.
• The syringe labelled “the tape” defines it as a definite article enforcing the idea that there is a possibility that it could be real.

• The website is quite easy to navigate with clear buttons and links to go to but personally I found that at times the site could be quite confusing especially when watching the trailer as there is a list of settings that the viewer may not know about.
• The thing I found most intriguing with this website for the fans were the abstract images leading to gags such as the piece of rope used as an icon labelled in Japanese. The whole point of this was to make the viewer answer and be interested as to what would eventually pop up once completing answering a set of questions. This to me heightened the fear but also kept me intrigued hence wanting to see more of what other gags the website had to offer.
• At the bottom of the introductory page the site has made sure to include that the film was made by Dream Works and this could encourage the audience that haven’t already seen the film that it is of good quality and has been produced by one of the major film companies.

POSTED BY SHAHNAZ