TV Genres - Reality TV Show

Reality Talent Shows

There is a huge variety of Reality Talent shows, some of these may include:

-Britain’s Got Talent

-The X-Factor

-The Voice

-The Apprentice

-Master-Chef

-American Idol

-Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?

Format

Reality Talents shows typically run in a series however some are continually broadcasted. The ones that are continually broadcasted are typically game/quiz shows. These shows are usually aired at the prime time. This is simply due to the fact that these TV shows are typically for the mainstreamer and most people are likely to be watching at this time. This time ranges from 7 o’clock onwards to 10 o’clock due to the fact that at this time people have gotten home from work or college. Throughout many Reality Talent shows, we are now presented with a backstory for the favourite contenders. We see into their past life in order for us to relate to them more. Throughout these talent shows we see the contestants development as they begin as somebody who comes from a poorer background but then they end up singing on stage. Typically coming towards the end of the series we see them go back to their hometown to show how far they have came along.

Appeals

Usually the mainstreamer would be the one to watch these kinds of TV shows. This is due to the fact that after they have watched these shows they are able to go out and talk to their friends and family about the events that have unfolded on the TV show. But people would also watch these kinds of TV shows to personally identify with one of the characters. Reality Talent shows gathers people from across the country so there is likely to be somebody who is from your hometown competing. This will make want to watch the show even more due to the fact that you will be more likely to relate to that person. The production values typically are very high for TV shows of this genre. This is due to the fact that they can afford high production values due to the audience that they reel in. You know that they have high production values due to the venues that everything takes place in and also the typical judges that take part in the show. These judges will most likely want a high wage due to the fact that they are mainly big name celebrities.

Target Audience

I believe that this genre of TV show is for the groupies and for the cynics. I think that it is for groupies due to the fact that people watch these mainly so they are able to fit in. I believe that it is for the cynics due to the fact that there is a typical group of people that complain about the show when it is over, they complain about how the show has been fixed due to the fact that their favourite contestant didn’t win the whole competition. I think that people watch this in order to personally identify with some of the contestants that partake in these TV shows due to the fact that they come from similar areas or backgrounds.

Opening Sequence

I am going to use X-Factors opening sequence, as it is arguably the one of the UK’s most popular Reality Talent shows. In this sequence we see a massive bold “X” floating throughout the galaxy and through London until it eventually stops with the word “The” appearing above it, and “Factor” appearing below it. This X floating throughout the galaxy is showing us that it is searching for somebody or something until it arrives in London. This is telling us that people in the UK must have “The X – Factor”.  The music that is in it has been used for a long time, it is quite an up-beat soundtrack so it will get the audience in the mood, this up-beat music sets a pretty light tone for the TV show.

Setting

The settings for all of these TV shows are major performing buildings. This is so that they can have a cram a huge audience into the building and have a big stage for the contestant to stand on. In front of the contestant sits 3 or 4 judges at a table. They are there to judge them on how good they are. These Reality TV shows only ever visit the most popular cities in the country due to the fact that they can reel in a bigger amount of contestants. You can see that these talent shows only take place in big named cities and concert hall in images below.

Technical Codes

There are many different camera angles that are used in these kinds of shows. First of all before anything takes place we see establishing shots of the location that the show is going to be set in that week. When everything takes place we usually see everything through the best sort of camera angles. So for example if somebody is performing gymnastics we would see them wide shots due to the fact that we can see everything taking place however if a singer is performing then they will be shot from mainly close ups and medium shots. The editing that has been used in the show also depends on the act. I will use X-Factor as an example. If the person, who is performing, is awful then you should expect there to be jump cuts between them performing and the judging slamming their hands on their buzzers. However if the person ,who is performing, is good then you should expect faded transitions with the camera mainly focusing on them and then the judges staring at them in amazement.

How is Britain represented in the media?

Mainly British people are presented to be very sophisticated and high class. This is evident in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) which takes place in England in modern times. This movie is very similar to your typical Bond movie but it has a comedic twist. In this movie there is a secret group of agents known as the Kingsman and you guessed it, they are British. These agents wear very high end suits which makes them look very sophisticated. On top of this, all of the Kinsgman agents operate at the highest level of discretion. This film reinforces that we are high class and sophisticated due to the fact that all of the main characters are quite posh and also they are very sophisticated. This movie is an extremely popular movie so this means that more people can accept the posh British stereotype. However this movie is kind of supporting the lower class stereotype in Britain. This is due to the fact that in the first half of the movie, the main character (Eggsy) is in a very poor district in London and lives in a well worn small flat. This kind of challenges the Posh british stereotype.

A media text which contradicts the posh British stereotype is the film This is England (2006). This is England takes place in 1980s Britain and this is a time when Britain really wasn't classed as "Posh". The 1980s in Britain was a punk era which means that the majority of the country were going through a skinhead phase. This portrays everybody to look rough and not at all posh. This film takes place in a pretty run down area compared to the high classed areas in Kingsman. This film portrays British people to look like they are pretty lower class due to the environment. Moving on, This is England also portrays British people to be very patriotic however this may not be in a good way. There are times in the film when they actually beat up or threaten people who aren't from England, yes this shows that we are patriotic and that we believe that our country should be 100% British but it shows that we can be very racist. 

Social Media seems to sit on the fence with the representations of Britain. People who aren't from England believe that we are all really smart and sophisticated and this is evident by many Facebook pages (For example Best Of Tumblr). Best of Tumblr is a page that is ran by American admins from time to time they post images of GIFs comparing Britain to America based on social classes. On the Britain image/ GIF there is mainly a Harry Potter image which shows all of the students in Hogwarts looking very sophisticated whereas on the American side of the image it shows a student who is wearing inappropriate clothing. 

People who are from England try to inform other countries that we aren't as posh as we are portrayed to be however. Some pages like The Lad Bible show this. The Lad Bible is a hugely popular Facebook page that is ran by British administrators and it basically shows the rest of the internet the "Banter" that goes on in England. Anyway, The Lad Bible regularly posts images of our representations in Britain. These images will have the captions "What other people think" (With a picture of a high class person of some sort) and then "What we are actually like" (With a picture of a British person who looks like a chav). For some reason this is basically saying that we don't want to be portrayed as a posh country, I don't know why this is because surely being classed as "Posh" is better than being classed as a "Chav".

In my opinion I believe that the main media texts that give people the representation of Britain are the Harry Potter and James Bond franchises. In these movies the main characters are dressed smartly and on top of that their voices are very posh as well. These films have the most impact on our representation due to the fact that they are simply the most popular or most favoured British movies meaning that people are going to pay more attention to the typical stereotypes that they have to offer.

In my opinion I believe that Britain is being represented more and more as a chavvy country due to these more modern representations. Modern movies and TV shows that take place in England tend to explore the less developed British locations meaning that other people are able to get an insight in how Britain is actually like, not how London or the posher parts of Britain are like. I believe that the posh representation stands as it is now due to the fact that in the past lots of media texts portrayed Britain to be posh whereas now as I said before, Britain is being portrayed as less posh. 

Representations

Cristiano Ronaldo

Text 1 - The Independent - Article August 2015

In this photo, Cristiano is wearing a smart suit. There is nothing that you can say about this other than the fact that this suit portrays him to be rich. 

The encoders of the text, in this case the editors and journalists at The Independent newspaper have represented Cristiano as a down to earth athlete. They are showing that he donates to charity and they have actually classed him as the "The most charitable athlete". I think that that the encoders of this text have used this picture for a number of reasons. Firstly, in this picture, Ronaldo looks like he is a professional businessman of some sort whereas if they were to use a picture of him when he is on the pitch then a different representation will be shown. On the field Ronaldo isn't favoured for his actions. This actions may consist of being smug, arrogant, being a foul player and diving. In the image above, the encoders have tried to portray Ronaldo as some sort of role model, as a professional athlete who is perfect in every way.

The preferred reading of this is that we accept that Ronaldo is a very charitable footballer however those who take the oppositional reading may disagree. As you can tell in the title of this argument it says "Thousands". This may appeal to the people who take an oppositional reading to the text due to the fact that they may think that footballers are overpaid. This may result in them believing that Ronaldo should actually be donating even more money to the charities due to the amount of money he earns. The picture can also be used in an oppositional reading. This is because he is wearing a suit which more likely costs more than most peoples salary. This shows that Ronaldo is still willing to leave himself better off than to donate to those who need stuff.

Text 2 - Nike Advert

This is a very simplistic advert which contains Ronaldo and a copy with says "JUST DO IT" followed by the Nike logo. The background in this advert has been blurred out to put the main focus on Ronaldo. This poster hasn't been created just by taking a photo from a match situation but it has been taken from Ronaldo modelling the new Portugal kit. This is a normal celebration for Ronaldo but as you can see, he looks extremely passionate. This may be because he is wearing his countries official kit however as you can see he is pointing towards the Nike logo whereas in a normal situation then he would be pointing towards the badge of the team that he is playing for. This shows that Ronaldo is really passionate towards his country therefore making him a very patriotic person.

But if you were to look at this a different way then you could say that Ronaldo looks very full of himself. He may actually be pointing at himself. This implies that he is the best and this gesture is basically saying "Look at me, I am the best. But overall I believe that Ronaldo is only pointing at the badge simply because he is advertising the Nike brand.

Text 3 - Picture From His Clothing Range / Modelling

This photo is advertising Ronaldo's clothing range which is known as "The CR7 collection". This photo has 2 sections to it. One half of it is the socks that are apart of the collection and then the second half of it is Ronaldo himself. The picture of Ronaldo has been used in this advertisement due to the fact that if you were to advertise the sock half of the poster then nobody would buy it so Ronaldo has been used due to the fact that he is admired persuading people to buy the products.

People would argue that the Ronaldo section of this poster is pretty irrelevant and that it has been put in there so that it can boost Ronaldo's vanity. The encoders want to create this arrogant representation of Ronaldo so they put an irrelevant picture of him in this poster.

Text 4 - Ronaldo & His Family

In this photo Ronaldo is with his son. Whereas the other pictures have shown that he is arrogant and in love with himself, this picture shows that he is a family man. He obviously loves his son by taking him onto the red carpet and dressing him in a suit that probably costs more than most peoples salaries. However the encoders do a pretty good job at mediating Ronaldo due to the fact that you only ever see him in pictures where he is showing off and where he looks pretty arrogant. Whereas actually he is a very charitable and down to earth person who loves his family.

Batman V Superman Magazine Cover

Empire magazine uses a rather iconic bold red font therefore meaning that it stands out easily on the cover. Empire magazine has an iconic masthead due to the fact that many people read it. This means that the masthead can afford to be covered slightly by the stars/ characters who are usually on the front cover. The world Empire also implies that the readers of this magazine are a community, a very strong community.

The straplines then go on to carry on the whole Versus idea by displaying some other movie battles such as; Bridge of spies, Legend, Creed and Star Wars. These have been used as a strapline because the makers of this cover want to let the audience know that these other films are arguably less significant than Batman v Superman. Also the other strapline "Batman v Superman" is quite large so that it catches the audiences eye, if they see that Batman and Superman are going against each other on the big screen then they will want to buy this magazine in order to find out more about what is going to happen in the movie.

The main image is a long shot of both of the main characters that are in the film, this also shows that they are going to be the primary focus of this magazine. This is also quite advertising for the audience due to the fact that this is the first official still image of the heroes new costumes so this is why a long shot has been selected to show the characters on this magazine cover. The way the characters are standing and the way the angle they have been captured from can also tell us a few things. Superman is captured from a low angle shot therefore making him look more superior and majestic due o the fact that he is a god however Batman is shot straight on to the audience. This shows that he is only a human and he is not superior to the audience.

The backgrounds of the main images actually show the characters literal background. Batman's background is a dark and brooding alley, which also relates to his personality. Superman is infront a big skyline which shows that he is a guardian angel figure, also this background can also relate to his nature again due to the fact that compared to Batman, Superman is a hero with a lighter tone.

This main image also presents a binary opposition to us. Arguably, on this cover Batman is presented as a dark figure which may relate to evil and also Superman is presented as a god like figure therefore making him the hero. The binary oppositions in this cover are good vs evil, Vigilante vs God-like figure.

Deadpool Trailer Analysis

Mise-en-scene

This trailer begins with quite a dark lighting to it. This may be because we find out that Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has been diagnosed with cancer. After he has been given the ability of having an extraordinary healing factor, the trailer automatically turns to a lighter tone, this gives the audience the impression that the tables have turned and now that he is a superhero (know as Deadpool) the movie will have a lighter tone. Throughout the trailer, we see glimpses of Wade with a messed up face, this comes under the make-up part, this is because in the comics Wade has actually got a messed up body due to the side effects of this life changing operation. During the middle of the trailer, when the tone picks up and becomes more upbeat, we notice the reveal of Deadpools infamous costume. It is red and this actually has meaning behind it due to the fact that he says in the trailer "You might be thinking, why the red costume? Thats so that you cant see me bleed". This costume looks cartoony as well and the white eyes are CGI. This isn't a bad thing due to the fact that it looks like it does in the comics.

Use Of Camera

At the beginning of the trailer, mainly close ups of Wade and his girlfriend are used. This is so we, as the audience, are more likely to connect with Deadpool as a character due to the close up camera angles making the trailer more serious. Later on in the trailer we mainly see medium shots and tracking shots due to this movie being an action film however there is some scenes where we see a villain (Colossus) at a Low angle shot therefore making him more menacing and posing as a threat to Deadpool (through a POV perspective). A POV shot is shown as deadpool looks through a bullet hole in his arm, in this situation only, it shows how it really doesn't phase him because of his high healing factor.

Characters

Deadpool (Wade) is known as the hero within this story. From what I've gathered, in this trailer he fights crime but not in a coordinated way, he just goes out and finds it. Wade is quite a comedic character, whilst Deadpool and whilst not Deadpool. Throughout the trailer we see mini jokes while he is in costume and whilst he isn't. For example when he takes a slight dig at the horrendous Green Lantern movie by saying "Make sure the suit isn't green or animated". Then further on in the trailer he says many things that may fall under the crude humour category, however this is a huge factor of Deadpools character (his crude humour). Colossus can be known as an anti-hero in this movie judging by the trailer. Usually he is a hero but he seems like he is being manipulated to take out deadpool.

Music

This trailer begins with quite a serious song to indicate that the beginning of the film we have a very serious topic and then throughout the trailer to lighten down the tone, the song XCON - Give it to ya, is being played. This makes the trailer less serious and if anything it makes it quite funny due to the song being upbeat and fast. The song being used is quite good for Deadpool because it reflects on his personality whereas the first song being played doesn't really because he is a character who tends to joke. The first song juxtaposes with the second song therefore confusing the user into thinking that this will be a serious Deadpool movie however we see that it is wrong as we are enlightened by the second song.

Storyline

We are introduced to the typical Marvel storyline. At the beginning of the movie (trailer) we will be hit with a sad moment that happens to the main character (Cancer in this case). However the character will be given a shot of redemption. They will be given a second chance of some sort and they will embark on their journey to becoming a superhero. In this case, Wade is diagnosed with cancer and he is given a second chance however this is a highly dangerous scientific experiment. Scientists decide to operate on Wade giving him the same DNA as wolverine does therefore making him have a great healing factor (as shown in the trailer when we see a whole in his arm through a POV shot). The experiment worked however there was one side affect, Wade was left with a heavily messed up body so thats why he wears his suit 99% of the time throughout of the trailer however this just means that he had a great healing factor and he could also learn how to specialise in hand to hand and sword combat.

Guilty Pleasures

My guilty pleasure is The Vampire Diaries. About a year ago all of my friends decided to watch The Vampire Diaries for no reason whatsoever and I adamant that I would NEVER watch it because I simply didn't like the romance that was involved. About 3 months ago I had recently finished Smallville and I wanted another long running show to watch before all of my on-going TV shows started so I started watching TVD and I never looked back since. This also resulted in me watching the spin-off show The Originals. 

This text is based on a group of friends but mainly 2 brothers in that friendship group who are vampires. In the earlier seasons they both share a burning desire for a girl, Elena, in the friendship group so they lack in chemistry however more recently only Damon fancies Elena now so the brothers aren't always at each others throats. The main plot of the story is mainly a super power supernatural creature shows up and the Salvatore brothers have to work together to figure out a plan to take them out. The Originals is based on the Original vampire family who face more dangerous threats than everybody in the vampire diaries simply because the original vampires are a lot stronger than normal vampires.

I wouldn't usually consume this text due to it being a romance therefore meaning its target audience is a stereotypical teenage girl. And also I tend to stick to crime related TV shows whereas this isn't one. I consume this show simply because I really enjoy the story - when you move past all of the romantic mumbo-jumbo of course. 

This show provides me with the use of social interaction, as I said before, the majority of my friends watch this show and because it is an on-going long TV show I am able to talk about previous seasons or more recent seasons with ease.

Uses & Gratifications

The Flash is a hit US TV show that is based on the story of the popular superhero Flash. This media text has 2 uses, social interaction and also escapism. Many of my friends watch The Flash therefore meaning we are able to discuss what we thought about each episode week in week out and how they compared to the previous episodes. Also because The Flash is a mysterious TV show we are able to put together our theories and discuss them. It gives us the use of escapism also simply because the story engages the user. Every week I find myself trying to guess possible outcomes but I am tricked by the major plot twist that is at the end of every episode therefore making the user re-think their theory.

Brooklyn 99 is a comedic TV show that is based on the 99 Precinct in Brooklyn. Detectives try and figure out cases but with a funny twist on it so it moves away from the stereotypical police show. This offers the user 2 uses, social interaction and personal identity. It offers the user social interaction simply because I am able to talk to my friends about funny scenes that have happened in it therefore providing us with a cheap laugh. For me Brooklyn 99 mainly focuses on personal identity for me because main character, Jake Peralta, is childish and tries to be funny. I can relate to this therefore making me want to watch the TV show even more due to it appealing to my sense of humour. 

The Text That Changed My Life

The text that changed my life is the popular US TV show, Breaking Bad. I watched this during the middle of season 5 and it completely changed my attitude to watching TV shows. Breaking Bad was recommended to me by a friend and due to the fact that I didn't watch much TV back then I was rather sceptical about the idea of watching it. 

Breaking Bad is arguably the best TV show that is out there with a colossal 9.5 rating on the popular Film/TV show database IMDB. It is basically about a High School Chemistry teacher,Walter White, who is diagnosed lung cancer and about how he turns to making meth to secure his families finances. We see the fantastic character development of Walter White and see how he started off as a timid Chemistry teacher and ended up as the Kingpin. 

Breaking Bad changed my life because it was the first proper TV show that I decided to watch and it made me want to carry on watching TV shows, now I watch loads of TV shows and its all down to me starting with Breaking Bad.

Passive & Active Audiences: Homework Questions

1) I think that the hypodermic syringe model and the inoculation model are associated with the effects debate. The hypodermic syringe model suggests to us that if we are actually exposed to a certain media text for a long time we can actually be affected by it. This has arguably happened many times in real life, for example it has been proven that the death of Jamie Bulger was triggered by violent films (more specifically child's play 3). Whereas with the inoculation model, this actually suggests to us that the more media we are exposed to, the less and less it has an impact on us. This mainly happens if the media text contains gore, violence or even swear words and over time we become less and less disgusted by them. For example if I were to watch the TV show Dexter when I was a child then I would have been disturbed by the sight of blood however now I wouldn’t be too phased.

2) Active audiences are people who are known to have their own personal opinion about a media text. Basically the media text doesn't have much control over this person as they are not easily manipulated and they can think for themselves due to them being independent. The uses & gratifications model supports this because this model shows that people use the media text for their own personal needs. People will watch media texts so that they are able to escape from reality. People will relate to a media text meaning that they have their own personal identity, this means that they are still an active audience.
Passive audiences are people who don't have their own personal opinion. They can be best described as "sheep". They are easily influenced and manipulated by the media simply because they are more of a follower instead of a media text leader. The narcotising dysfunctional can treat its audience as passive due to the fact that it believes we can be known as "Zombies". This model believes that after prolonged exposure to a media text we will become affected by it. In other words we are basically a couch potato. The media texts have the same affect on our brain as a narcotic drug therefore causing apathy, a lack of caring. This model completely ignores that we can use media for social needs. It ignores the fact that we can still think for ourselves.

3) I believe that violence on TV has had a bad impact on our society because whether we like it or not we have more people who are apart of the passive audience rather than the active. The hypodermic syringe model suggests that if the user is passive then media texts can actually have a bad impact on us resulting in the user causing bad behavior.

4) I believe that active audience theories are more acceptable than passive audience theories because passive audience theories tend to exaggerate a lot. The hypodermic syringe model suggests that once we watch a media text with a bit of violence in it that we will become mass murderers and the narcotising dysfunctional model believes that we actually do nothing with our lives when we a exposed to media texts. When we are passive we are actually referred to as zombies, as if we have no moral compass and it completely ignores our right to free will.

5) The Flash - I like watching this TV show because it is a very good form of escapism. It engages the user with a thrilling storyline and very good CGI effects within its show. Whilst watching this show I completely forget about reality and get extremely engaged with the story, even when I am up to date with the show.

6) Maybelline Adverts
The preferred reading towards these adverts are that they are aimed at people who want to make themselves look beautiful. They believe in the ideology that beauty is everything so if they are provided with new make up which is being shown on a professional model then surely they will want a try. This is simply because they think that the make up will work as well as it did on the model which is on the TV advert even though the model has actually been edited so that they look more beautiful.
The oppositional reading towards these adverts are that people believe that beauty isn't everything. Some people think that they don’t have to look beautiful in order to get along in life. They believe in that true beauty is on the inside (personality) They aren't too bothered about having all of the up to date clothing or all of the new make up, they are just bothered about being happy with themselves with whatever they do.

Reception Theory

The Originals

The Originals is a spin off series from The Vampire Diaries which airs on The CW TV network in America. It's target audience is mainly 14-21 year olds due to all of the supernatural creatures which are in the show, and also the complex storyline which it has. It's about the very first family of vampires who are trying to sort out mythical problems.

I believe that the preferred reading in this text is that "Family is everything". You should be able to rely on your family to be there for you in your dark times and also people should be willing to put themselves forward for their family. In the show the family have their falling outs due to them being the "Original Vampires", they think that they can take on any situation because they are very powerful creatures however it always results in them having to work together. This show also follows the "Karma" ideology. Mainly in the show, things that have happened in the past,what the family has caused, comes back to haunt them so this results in them having to sort out the problems as a family. Another ideology this show follows is "Power is key". The characters mainly think that power is everything and then at the end of the seasons they figure out that they have the most power when they work as a family.

People who are older (30+) may believe in the oppositional reading for this text. They might not believe in the ideology "Family is everything" because they may have had some bad experiences of falling outs with their family which results in them reacting negatively towards this ideology. People may disagree with this show due to all of the supernatural events which happen in this show as well, children may be given a false outlook on life.

I think that your upbringing can actually have an impact on this show due to the fact that 99% of it is gory. You may have grown up in a non violent environment and you may dislike this show because it is violent and it does have loads of blood in it.

The Originals
27/9/15
Netflix
Drama Fantasy Horror
The purpose of this show is to entertain people and enthral people with a story based on the original family of vampires.

Warner Bros.
The target audience of this text is for anybody who enjoys drama, action or horror. The target age group is 13-20.

I really like this TV show, its action packed and it has a very good story. This resulted in me beginning to binge watch it.

People would consume this text due to the fact that it is a "Vampire Diaries" spin off.

Some people may not like this text due to the graphic content that is in it. There's lots of blood and gore, at some points some the original family even decapitate or pull out peoples hearts.


Smallville
May/June 15
Boxset
Drama Fantasy Adventure
The purpose of this show is to give Superman fans a detailed story on how he became the iconic hero he become.

Warner Bros.
The target audience of this show is anybody who is dedicated enough, this show has 10 seasons and I doubt not many people will be able to watch it fully, also anybody who has an interest in live action superhero shows.

This is my favourite show. I love the way its an amazing story (considering it was a CW show back in 2000) and also the acting is fairly good for a show that came out this long ago.

People would consume this text so that they can learn about Clark Kent's past life and to see what caused him to become Superman.


Twitter
28/9/15
My Phone
All Genres
The purpose of this social networking application/website is so that people have a source of entertainment and news.

-----
The target audience for twitter can be for anybody really. You can fully customise Twitter so that it displays a news feeds tailored for you liking.

Twitter is my favourite social media website because its my source of quick information and also I can sometimes have a good laugh from it. During the transfer windows in football there is always information flooding Twitter and even on normal footballing days I am still provided with some information.

People would consume this text because they are like me, they want a constant source of news and also they sometimes may follow comedic accounts so that they can have a pick-me-up throughout the day.

Batman Arkham Knight Review

 

Batman Arkham Knight is the final instalment of the Arkham Series by Rocksteady and it has came to an epic conclusion. This game is based around scarecrow trying to cause Havoc on the streets of Gotham which Batman has swore to protect with his life.

 

The game takes place a few months after Arkham City. Scarecrow is trying to evacuate the mean streets of Gotham using his new and improved, deadly fear toxin. An all new villain has also came onto the scene and he is known as the "Arkham Knight" and he will stop at nothing to kill Batman due to having a grudge against him.

 

The main story in Arkham Knight is absolutely brilliant. Batman is challenged to comprehend all of Gotham's meanest criminals in one night whilst infected with scarecrows fear toxin. In my opinion before playing this game I thought that the Arkham Knight wouldn't have been a good enemy but I was completely wrong. I'm not spoiling anything but the Arkham Knight is always 5 steps ahead of Batman throughout the game, he knows Batmans plans to how his armour works, he knows everything about the mysterious vigilante of Gotham. Scarecrow proves to be a good villain also. I thought that he would've only been in the game for a short while but it turns out that he is one of the main villains. Scarecrow turned out to be a fantastic villain because he got into the Batmans head and exploited his fears, lets be honest you don't see Batman fearing for his life everyday!

 

As well as the main story the game also provides us with side missions and for once you don't get bored of them (well maybe The Riddler missions). Batman takes on some of Gothams top villains such as Deathstroke and Oswald Cobblepot. Usually in the Arkham games I'm not gonna lie, I didn't complete the side missions, however in this one I was eager to take down all of Batmans enemies once and for all.

 

The gameplay in this game is absolutely stunning like every other Arkham games. The fighting is smooth and you are able to pull off some of the greatest combos using the freeflow feature. One of the newest additions to the gameplay is that you can perform fear takedowns. Batman strikes fear into his opponents in order to take out multiple criminals within a matter of seconds. Throughout the game I always found myself using this feature due to the fact that it is so cool, it didn't lose its magic after doing it the first 50 times.

 

One of the biggest gameplay changes is the famous Batmobile. Don't worry, the gameplay for the Batmobile isn't horrendous, infact its fantastic, I enjoyed getting into some intense gun fights with massive tanks. The Batmobile is extremely easy to control and to be honest I thought that I would've never used it during the game however I did use it and I really enjoyed it.

 

The graphics on this game are fantastic. From the massive, majestic skyscrapers, to the raindrops that slide down Batmans cowl. To be perfectly honest I felt like I was watching a movie half of the time, well whilst holding a pad of course

 

In conclusion Arkham Knight did go out with a BANG. This game is great in everyway and proved me wrong where I thought the game would slack. If you want a phenomenal story full of surprise twist or if you just want to beat people up then I would recommend this game to you any day of the week. 10/10

 

 



Photographic Composition

I chose this photo because it follows the rule of thirds. As you can see the river is in the lower third, the actual city is in the middle and the sky is at the top. The middle of the photo has the majority of the colour whereas the bottom and the top are only blue. This photo has most likely been cropped so that it only displays the famous Liverpool skyline.

Test

This is a test