Cosplay conventions

I've Just been scrawling through the web and found a number of cosplay convention websites that I found pretty interesting. A few are conventions that I've already mentioned, however I still thought it would be relevant to review them all now.

London MCM expoThe first, and arguably the biggest cosplaying event is the London MCM expo. Held twice a year, the MCM expo holds a wide variety of shows and exhibitions aimed at not only anime fans but everything from star trek to rainbow brite. The MCM expo is not directly a solely cosplay convention as it covers a whole range of games, films and comics spanning a wide range of platforms and mediums.
The MCM exp plays host to quite a number of stalls and shows, and puts on a number of events each day. The MCM expo is also one of two English cosplay events which are hosting this years 'eurocosplay' competition; An event which challenges the best cosplayers to pitch against others throughout Europe in order to win prizes and recognition for their work.

Amecon

Amecon is another large cosplaying event. With other 1,000 attendees, Amecon is one of the most popular conventions in the U.K. Unlike the London MCM expo, Amecon is purely for anime fans, catering to their need through showings, bring and buys, and of course cosplay! Amecon is held once every two years, rotating with it's sister convention, Ayacon.
Amecon is well known for it's cosplay and anime fan tailored events. A few events that will be re held at this years convention include;

• Cosplay Triathlon
  
• Catwalk
• Omake
• Cosplay ball
• Cosplay workshop

It is apparent at the list of activities that Amecon is more suited for the cosplayer directly instead of being more varied.
This year Amecon will be held at the end of August and is the 2nd of the two conventions this year that will hold the Eurocosplay event. As well as this event, Amecon hold the unique cosplay ball. The cosplay ball entails the attendees dressing up and creating their own 'formal' cosplay wear, which often results in flowing Disney princess ball gowns. Here at the ball cosplayer have the opportunity to be professionally photographed.

AyaconAyacon is Amecon's sister convention, each held on rotating years. Ayacon is very similar to Amecon, hosting the same events and principals. Being a convention that was held last year it's much easier to gather more in-depth information on events held at these conventions. After doing a bit of research into this convention I found various and interesting events that were used last year, a few include;

• Wig styling
• Taiko drumming workshop
• Trading card room
• Gaming room
• J-pop lounge
• karaoke
• Japanese tea ceremony

It's interesting to see such a nice implementation of Japanese culture being introduced into the conventions as that is what anime and mange stems from in the first place. As well as these workshops there were other cosplay related sessions such as emergency cosplay repair rooms for cosplayers in turmoil!

TokonatsuTokonatsu is a annually held festival unique to others as it is held outside, as opposed to being held in a building. Tokonatsu holds many open air events, including the 'open air masquerade' as well as many other outdoor themed events. Events such as treasure hunts and others encourage participants to work together to win. I wasn't really able to dig up to much information on this event due to it being canceled recently, however I did discover that because Tokonatsu is an open air event no accommodation is offered, instead a fee is introduced for the ticket holders which allows them to pitch a tent on the conventions grounds.

Kitacon

Kitacon holds a similar layout to both Amecon and Ayacon, however instead it is held each year in concession. Kitacon is a fairly new convention available to cosplayers. 2009 was its first year being held in the U.K, and due to it being so successful is being continued this year.
Kitacon holds it's own omake 'variety show' event, renames 'Kits got talent' where participants get up on stage and showcase their talents. Kitacon allow anyone to enter this competition with any talent, which doesn't necessarily have to be anything to do with cosplay or anime.
Like the other conventions, Kitacon has guest speakers and guests which come from many professions. Voice actors from popular animes have been know to show up as well as Japanese vocalists and bands.

There are other smaller events in the U.K, however I felt that keeping this blog entry relevant to the more larger of the conventions was more suited to the information I needed to find out.

To do list for the upcoming 2 weeks

This is just a quick list of things to do in perpetration for our final hand-in in a few weeks time.

• Gather real-time cosplay footage: Victoria is currently at a cosplay/anime convention and is gathering live interviews from fellow cosplayers, as well as gathering images and general footage of the convention in full swing.
• Gather footage of cosplay production: In the upcoming week Victoria and I plan to travel to Leeds to buy fabric for several planned cosplay costumes. Here we plan to gather further footage to use in our mini documentary. Key shots to gather are buying fabric, a pan of the fabric store, and the selection of the materials.
• Footage of cosplay in production: The third piece of footage we plan on gathering will be of us both creation out cosplay designs. We hope to here include images in the documentary of both our cosplay costumes on and the fictional characters we represent next to it. We also hope to gather a few shots of us on the sewing machines and adding detail to the costumes.
• Narration: Including live recordings we plan to produce a script to narrate over the top of the finished piece. This includes general introductions to our idea, a breakdown of cosplay, interviews and the fandom.
• Technicalities: After the above have been completed we will need to look into joining all of our assets together to construct the final piece. We do need more discussion on how this will be presented but the current idea is a kind of fly on the wall episode looking into the whys,hows and whos of cosplaying.

After completing the above tasks we will be able to create the final documentary to an official standard like we originally planned.

Cosplay

After the tutorial Victoria and I attended, I felt it necessary to include a blog about cosplay and what it actually is.

In an article by Theresa Winge she describes cosplayers as

"an anime or manga
cosplayer can be almost
anyone who expresses
his or her fandom and
passion for a character
by dressing and acting
similarly to that
character"

Cosplay is basically the combination of two words 'costume' and 'play', and this bares alot of significance to what cosplay actually entails. Cosplay is closely linked with conventions, where fans gather to show their passion for their favorite anime/manga/videogame.

Cosplay is essentially dressing up as your favorite character from you chosen medium. This ranges form main characters in Japanese T.V shows to comic book heroes such as Hellboy. Cosplay is a very social outlet for fandom, and allows cosplayers to gather in unique social situations to relax and have fun.

Throughout the year conventions are held across the world in many different countries. A few U.K conventions held here in England include;

Amecon
Kitacon
London MCM expo
Auchinawa

Throughout the entire duration of each convention, many events are held targeted at the cosplayer. Firstly 'masquerades' are held at each convention. These masquerades are basically catwalks where cosplayers can show off the outfits they put so much time and love into. During a masquerade fans can also choose to put on an act, relative to their costumed character of not, that aims at showcasing both the cosplayers talents and outfits.
Other regular events at a cosplay meet include such things as arranged photo shoots, karaoke, themed parties, discos and balls. Some conventions hold an 'Omake' which is more like a variety show for cosplayers, allowing them to perform whatever they like ( within reason!)

Cosplay is essentially a fun environment in which fans can gather without prejudice and become their favorite character for a day of to. Many cosplayers put alot of time and money into making their outfits. Cosplay Island is a website dedicated to allowing its members to show off their costumes in an online portfolio. Here guests to this website can browse through hundreds of members profiles, checking out both their in progress costumes, as well as those the member has already made.

In contrast to home made outfits some people find they either lack the funds, time, or skill to create their own masterpiece. In this case websites such as Cosplay Magic allow users to purchase fully tailored premade costumes. Cosplay Magic has a wide array of costumes from popular animes down to videogames and comics.

Cosplaying is defiantly a fun outlet for fans to display their passions, and is going from strength strength, with more and more places being made available at conventions each year to help accommodate for the growing demand. However in year before cosplaying was little known at all. There has been much debate in where abouts cosplaying actually began. Some argue that it stemmed from the 'role playing' conventions related to the star wars and star trek series's back int he 1970's, while others argue it began in Japan and the far East.

After reading through Theresa Winge's article on Cosplay I found an interesting section comparing Japanese and North American cosplaying. She states that in North America, cosplayers are allowed to leave the venue of the convention dressed in their full outfits, as well as being allowed to eat at restaurants dressed as a character. In comparison to this Japanese cosplayers are not allowed to leave the grounds of the convention dressed in anything but normal everyday clothing. She also makes several other interesting comparisons in regards to the differences of cosplay culture. Once such comparison is that in Japan whole districts and markets exist specifically to target cosplayers, selling such goods as outfits, weapons and accessories. In North America (and indeed Europe) This market is quite a narrow one, and those who wish to buy such good and memorabilia must do so from overseas or on the Internet.

Winge states that these cosplay differences stem from the culture in both America and Japan. In Japan there are still certain discrimination acts still in place that leave cosplayers with a negative reputation, due to them having the need to be individual and unique. However in American this is more relaxed.


Below are a few youtube videos I've found in relation to several conventions for cosplayers held over the last few years.

Current Progress: Tutorial

Today Victoria and I went and had a one on one tutorial with Oksana to report on our current progress and which direction we intend to move in for our final assignment in this module.

After talking it through we have decided to focus our project entirely on cosplay (or costume play), a particular area of FF fandom that bares relevance to both Victoria and I, and one we feel quite passionately about.

In terms of creating a final piece of work for marking we have also decided to progress from the original screen cast that we firstly intended to create. Instead we have decided to produce two pieces of work to evaluate. Firstly is a straightforward report aimed at identifying, discussing and summerising cosplay. The second piece will be a more creative piece in which we intend to produce a short documentary on cosplay. In this documentary we will include interviews of actual cosplayers at a convention in which Victoria will be cosplaying at herself. We also intend to include information from online itnerviews as well as clips of fabric shops, screen shots and myself and Victoria actually producing cosplay outfits.

I am pleased that was have come to this decision for what to do for a final piece as it appeals to Victoria and I as a general area of interest, allowing us to become more enthusiastic about it :)

Final Fantasy 13: Advertising and release

With the new Final Fantasy title being premiered within the last week, I felt it fitting to just post a blog on the advertising following up to the release of the game, as well as it's initial reception by the public.

As with Final Fantasy 7 and it's successors there has been much hype during the build up to the release of Final Fantasy 13. Ever since the announcement of the game back in August 2008 there has been plenty of speculation within fan communities. Everything from the re-vamped, real time battle system to the blockbuster graphics has been discussed in great detail, however SquareEnix seem to have gone into great lengths to promote the game, seemingly to draw in new gamers.

Final fantasy 13 seems to pop up frequently up to its subsequent release in various mediums. Even walking through the city this is apparent posters are plastered across the sides of buses. Televised adverts are also cropping during prime time hours advertising the games amazing beauty. The below links are examples of the T.V ads to air in both the UK and the USA;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLOi5gXRYfY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDR-gJKKJlQ&feature=related

In Japan FF13 adverts have even been flooding the radiowaves, with frequents commercials popping up on a daily basis leading up to its release in the East.

After going to so much effort in trying to hype up the series, it would be interesting to see if this has benefited the games sales in any way. It is certain that this part of the FF franchise is by far the most advertised, but has this lead to an expanding fanbase?

This is defiantly something I would like to look into in the proceeding weeks after the release of FF13. I hope, after giving sufficient time for sales data to be gathered, that I will be able to record this research into some sort of graph that will help me determine weather or not the advertising campaign for FF13 has boosted sales.

Progress

Just a quick blog to represent what work myself and my group member, Victoria Inman, have achieved so far.

From the beginning of the module we have been looking into possible outlets to do with the Final Fantasy franchise to expand upon. We initially narrowed down our research to the fandom side of Final Fantasy and how the fans spur SquareEnix to produce more content, specifically aimed at the FF7 universe.

After identifying the area of research (and interest to both of us!) to fans we decided to delve into this further and explore SquareEnix's involvement in producing medium for their fans. We have also decided to explore how this is apparent cross-media as well as applying transmedia to the case.

During the past few weeks we have written and produced a brief diagnostic screencast aimed to 'trailer' our research and present our preliminary findings at this point in the module. Since producing this we have presented it to the class in draft form and received feedback which allowed us to make the necessary changes to gain further marks in the final hand in.

During this weeks session we have also taken into account our final screencast and have started making draft preparations for this as a finished piece.

For next week I plan to have completed my groups diagnostic screencast and be well into devising my final screencast, as well as continuing any research I have yet to provide to back up the questions me and Victoria have identified.

To do list!

Just a quick blog to line out what I need to do on the run up to my screencast and final report/screencast.

• Conduct further preliminary research into the fandom of the Final Fantasy series. Looking at fandom outlets such as cosplay, fan-fiction, fan-art and online communities
• Look further into transmedia and crossmedia. Once done compare the theories to the final fantasy brand and see where they fit in
• Publish further blog posts in relation to the core weekly readings.
• Identify what section of the Final Fantasy franchise would be most appropriate to look into. Narrow research down into sections ie Fandom, Globalisation, transmedia/crossmedia.
• Write up research ie 'Why the FF franchise has proven to be so popular between fans' ' Do the FF fans carry the brand as the series expands'

No i have identified several tasks and areas of my research to close in on, I will be able to focus on putting together a screencast as well as think about constructing a report.

Espen Aarseth's article

In this Blog I plan to explore how Aarseth's article on cross-media production can apply to the Final Fantasy Franchise.



Aarseths's journal 'The Culture and Business of Cross-Media Productions' can certainly bare some relevance to the FF franchise. Aarseth identifies that in today's Media industry companies can capitalize on their product by co-launching it throughout multiple Media outlets, such as books, comics, films and video games. This can also be correct in terms of marketing other products in tune with the central medium, examples such as action figures, garments, cosmetics and recreational items can also be apart of the 'co-launch' providing a business assault from all angles.



Final Fantasy is a prime example of what Aarseth has discussed. With the new title 'Final Fantasy 13' being released throughout Europe recently it's relatively easy to see just how SquareEnix have assaulted the consumer with a barrage of products, both non-media and media. In cohesion with the game SquareEnix have produced and marketed everything from wall posters to life sized replicas or the main characters, all released to build hype and minimize risk to the company. Aarseth quotes " The risk has to be spread across media to secure the bottom link" In this case the 'bottom line' is the Final Fantasy brand and the 'risk spread' is the accompanying media released with it.



If we explore further into the Final Fantasy series we can also apply Aarseth's theories to other titles. Final Fantasy 7 was released over 10 years ago and was seen as the most successful of the series to date. As a result of this success many other medium have been marketed baring the FF7 titles to expand on the game. Included in this medium was the feature length cinematic Advent Children, a sequel to the game that proved to be just as successful. In Aarseth's article he states that pre awareness reduces risk. As SquareEnix has already marketed the FF7 brand, and thus it had proven a success the initial risk was removed, opening the door for the company to expand on the title and reap the rewards without fear of it backfiring. SquareEnix also back up Aarseth's claims that companies start with a relatively 'low risk' situation to test the industry waters before launching their product. By 'low risk' SquareEnix launched the more produce able game before taking advantage of the success. As SquareEnix market productions that progressed sequentially they played the market well generally releasing cross-media commodities well.



In contrast to the above the Final Fantasy 7 series proved that it is possible to cross-media produce with a game title before a movie. Aarseth made the general link between cross-media production as book to comic to film to game. However in the case of Final Fantasy 7 the game was released with the movie in tow afterwards disproving that the cross-media 'flow' must follow that direct route.



Aarseth concludes his article stating that in business the easiest way to reduce risk is to simply follow the money. This again can be comparable to Final Fantasy 7 as SquareEnix continue to reap the rewards of the initial game be releasing prequels, sequels and general merchandise.

Final Fantasy: Pressure to produce

This is a purely research entry to delve into the pressures placed upon the Final Fantasy franchise to produce content. This mainly centers around Final Fantasy developers, Square enix, expanding on the Final Fantasy 7 universe.

As an avid follower of the Final Fantasy franchise myself, in particular the FF7 ( Final Fantasy 7) series, I was overwhelmed at the way the game manipulated my emotions into caring for these fictional and virtual beings, so much so that I was spurred to play on until the very end. FF7 kept me hooked by employing interwoven, complex and non linear narratives that all pulled together during the finale to make me feel apart of fighting for the common goal of the characters. After the game came to a climatic end and the last few scenes of cinematic scrolled past my eyes I was left slightly at a loose end. I still had many questions I felt were left unanswered by the game.

In the subsequent years since Final Fantasy 7 was released a total of 3 console titles, 1 feature length film and one animated film have been released, all expanding the universe and developing the characters to new levels. Its arguable that these sequels and prequels were made to validate the original game in the eyes of its massive multinational fan base. In an interview with IGN about the latest FF7 title, Crisis Core, Yoshinori Kitase, Final Fantasy 7 & 8 developer stated "Obviously as part of a beloved series, part of a popular world, there's immense pressure to produce". Kitase goes on to to talk about how essential it was that the new title in the series didn't pay homage to it's predecessor, but instead made a vital overview from past events in the universe that as a whole linked the series. Crisis core was released in 2008 throughout Europe and details several key events that were mentioned but never fully explained within FF7. Crisis core also develops on the character Zack, who had a minor yet vital role within ff7. This prequel of a game in enlightening to the events of FF7, however if a new, unbiased gamer would play the game they would have little or no understanding of the in depth storyline, or indeed who the characters really are. Due to this it can be argued that the subsequent games and feature films to the FF7 series were only created for the current fan base.

A further member in the FF7 family is the long anticipated film, Advent Children. This movie focuses on events set some time of the those that occurred in FF7, and satisfied the fans yearning for answers to any loose ends left from the game. Reviews of this movie made by non fans often state that the film left them feeling confused. One review states
"Here’s the thing: “Advent Children” was made entirely for hardcore fans of “Final Fantasy VII” - and nobody else." However a review from a FF7 paints a different picture; "If you're a fan of Final Fantasy VII, then this is the next best thing to a full-fledged sequel. If you aren't a fan, you'll still probably agree that it's an amazing visual experience" From an unbiased point of view the FF7 franchise seems confusing and unforgiving to outsiders, making very hard for the series to expand their fan base. However Advent Children and Crisis core were not created with the ideal of drawing in new fans, but to please and reignite the interests of the massive fan base to this game series that they already possess.

It can be said assumed that Square Enix are under massive pressure both self imposed and fan initiated to bring out products to support the FF7 universe. This is confirmed by the constant stream of transmedia titles all aimed at informing and pleasing the fans. The ever enthusiastic community has also placed pressure upon Square Enix to created a remake of the original FF7 game, claiming new technologies would increase the games capabilities and draw in a bigger crowd. Fan community rumors also speculate that this project has been undertaken by Square Enix. No official confirmation to a remake has been made, however Square Enix have made a few unassuming hints that there could be a possible remake in the future.

It would be foolish to just consider one game out of the entire Final Fantasy franchise to pen the basis for this assumption on. A further title with a similar story would be Final Fantasy 10. Again, as with FF7, FF10 was thoroughly immersive and tugged on many emotions with as much success as FF7. As the game drew to a close it was almost left open ended in order to include a sequel if one was demanded. A further interview with Kitase for IGN stated "Fan reaction was larger than we expected and we decided to continue the story of Yuna and surrounding characters in a sequel" Producing a sequel purely on the demands of a fan indicated that Square are under an uncertain amount of pressure to feed their fans with new information on the virtual worlds that they have grown attached to.

To summarize on this section it is naive to believe that Final Fantasy sequels are produced entirely on the basis of how successful they are in terms of how much money they take on launch day. Instead we need to consider how the series develops within the fan community, and how pressure placed on big corporations buy the people that love their games leads to certain avenues being followed.

References used;

http://uk.ps2.ign.com/articles/442/442025p1.html
http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=14321&reviewer=392
http://www.elecplay.com/reviews/view/?article=11284
http://videogames.yahoo.com/news-1208351
392

Final Fantasy 7: Transmedia storytelling

The Final Fantasy game series is one spanning many different games, platforms and mediums. This blog is just a small update delving into the transmedia storytelling that several specific FF games employ to deliver the whole story.

Final Fantasy 7 is a prime example of a storyline crossing mediums to deliver a end whole result.
FF7 was first released in 1998 and followed the main character 'Cloud' who strives to save the planet from the main antagonist 'Sephiroth'. Although the first part of the FF7 series, FF7 the game is only a small part of the story as a whole and in a way acts as the middle part of the narrative. After FF7 was released there have been a succession of movies, animations and partner games that delve into events, before, after and during FF7.

FF7: Last order is an animated film set during the events running up to the beginning of FF7 the game. Last order follows the story of Zack and Cloud as they make their way towards Midgar, the fictional capital of the FF7 planet. Last order was released to 'fill in' various segments of the story that the FF7 game failed to divulge, it even goes as far as to explain certain events in further detail, enlightening the fans.

In direct contrast to FF7: Last Order, the feature length CG animated film 'Advent Children' was released. Advent Children instead of looking into the pas, tell the future story of the FF7 universe set after the events of FF7. As well as recalling previous events from the game the FMV furthers the story allowing fans to understand what has become of their favorite heroines and heroes.

As we can see the FF7 story transcends different types of mediums to inform the user of the complete picture. Each section of the story, no matter the platform, weaves together like a continual mosaic, flowing well and backing up any previous actions or event.

The creators of the FF7 series successfully spread their narrative across the platforms to deliver the story in a well constructed way, however as with many transmedia stories it is essential to be filled in on the events and happenings of each part of the saga to be full 'in the know'.

Final Fantasy: Fandom

The Final Fantasy Franchise is vast, covering 13 different main title games and numerous spin offs. Along with all these games fan have the freedom to express themselves in many ways, all in relation to the final fantasy series. This blog is aimed at uncovering various mediums in which fans express themselves and their love of the final fantasy franchise!

The first and most obvious outlet of FF fandom is defiantly the internet. Using the internet fans are able to dig up heaps of information on their favorite games through websites dedicated to providing information and guidance on the series. The more popular websites provide a much more in depth look into the games. http://www.ffonline.com/ is a fan made website that slowly has gained momentum to becoming one of the most respected and informative FF fans sites on the Internet. FFonline provides everything from complete and intricate walkthroughs down to every piece of official FF art ever made. It really is the complete package for FF fans wanting to dig up the dirt on the series. Another more complex FF website is http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Wiki. This website is based on the online encyclopedia, wikipedia, and is itself an entire encyclopedia on the series. Fans are able to log into this website and alter its content themselves.

FF fandom is also present away from the online based outlets. An activity known as 'Coslplay' (costume playing) is a massive part of fandom within the FF series. FF cosplay involves fans dressing up as their favorite characters from any of the games and attending massive conventions with like minded people. It can in a way be compared to a Star Trek convention. Cosplaying is a fun way for fans to get together and discuss their favourite games/films/Anime, and is pretty much unique to fan culture.


Futher FF fandom can be found in fanfiction. Fanfiction is basically fans creating their own story lines to intertwine within the final fantasy universe. For instance fanfiction can take the storyline of FFX and create it in an alternative way in which certain event didn't happen where other did. This allows fans to expand on the series in their own way.

Final fantasy fandom does incorporate a wide number of mediums all aimed at pleasing the fans.

Silent Hill: Convergance across Media

"Silent Hill" the movie has many relations and characteristics of a survival horror game. Specific points bought to notice include the following;

• Camera angles used within the cinematic were very reminiscent of survival horror game play, for instance a high and almost 'birds eye' view of a hallway was shown which revealed the entirety of the hallway, yet none of what was beyond that. This is typical of a 3rd person survival horror game therefore the film emulates the game in that sense.

Left: Game. Right: Film- The screen shot the similarities between game and film camera shots

• As with the Silent Hill game series very little dialogue is present with the film clip. Within this genre of game dialogue is only usually applied at critical stages of the game to further narrative progression. Taking this into account the film can be compared with a survival horror game as very little of importance is said apart from at stages where the plot needs to evolve.

• A further similarity between the Silent Hill game and film franchise is the soundtrack and backing track used. In the Silent Hill game series, as well as other popular Survival horror games such as the Resident Evil series, the backing music is hauntingly quiet and eerie during the scenes where the character is in danger or is approaching a critical point. As the character meets danger or reaches a certain predetermined point in the game the music starts to change into something more fast paced and industrial, alerting the player to oncoming danger or plot changes. In the film the same music placement is applied. As the female walks through the fog the music is quiet and gentle pulsing. However in strict contrast to this as she walks into the dark the backing music gets louder, becomes more industrial, introduces prominent sirens and pulsates more clunky and loudly. Just like the game this signifies impending danger and horror.
  

• To coincide with the more obvious convergence between the game and the film less noticeable ones such as the relation from game cut scenes to actual cinematic. As the film plays little is spoken or understood as the female character navigates the world by herself. As soon as an extra point of interest is added, such as the police officer, more dialogue and action is present. This portrays itself in such a way that this part of the film seems bares similarities to a cut scene. In contrast the parts of the film where the lead female character wanders by herself seem more like actual game play, especially when taking into consideration the above.

• As the character navigates the new world she is thrust into various items become available at her disposable. Items such as a lighter, a set of keys and later on a torch are reminiscent of items placed within games belonging to a survival horror genre. As the film clip continues the characters seems to conveniently stumble upon these items which seem apparently necessary to her survival in this new world. This again is similar to the format of a game where items are given to the player to aid their survival. This in a way is replicating an in-game inventory of useful items. The screen shots to the right show the usage of items in both film and game.

• During the film the female character navigates the foggy world using a series of bus route maps placed on several street corners. This is similar to the way a player would need to solve a puzzle or collect certain things to advance further in the narrative or complete a goal.

• finally, iconography is used at varying intervals during the film clip. An example of this would be the opening shot of the sign for the town 'Silent Hill' indicating to the viewer where the character is. Another example would be the scene where the character is walking down a street and the camera shot shows her walking past an old dress shop with several charred manikins. These are bought to the attention for a reason and all bare significance to the character or the plot further on. This is similar to a game in the sense than certain aspects are highlighted on purpose to draw the players attention.

In summary of the above, the Silent Hill movie is part of the Silent Hill franchise and therefore must reflect something of this to keep its current fan base interested. The key similarities between film and game are;

1. Camera Angles
2. Dialogue
3. Sound track
4. Game play in Film
5. Items/inventory
6. Puzzles and goals
7. Iconography