Sunday, 16 June 2013
The relationship between audiences and films.
The relationship between audiences and films.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmnzjIM69N8
One particular film I can relate to is ' 500 days of Summer' the film is about a man who falls in love with a co-worker who hopes some day she will feel the same. It is a on and off relationship. Co-worker doesn't want a relationship or isn't looking for something serious but she goes and leads him on into thinking there is a chance between them both and at the end of the film, they start to go down different paths and meet new people. This film brings all different kinds of pleasures down to where i am watching the film and how.
Active Spectator-ship: It is a film you can relate to. It is what you expect from that particular genre. For an example, if you are watching a horror film you would expect to be frightened. If you are watching a comedy, you would expect to laugh. In 500 days of Summer, it is an anti-romantic comedy so an audience would expect the film to be funny and a little bit romantic. In one particular scene active spectatorship is shown where the man and his co-worker are in Ikea using the kitchens, sofas and beds pretending to be a happy family which shows the comedy side and the romantic side of the film until they end up laying in bed in Ikea and the co-worker tells the man that she 'just wants to be friends.'
Pleasure: When you get enjoyment or pleasure out of a film you are watching. There are emotional pleasures which means can bring tears to watching a romantic film. There is physical pleasure which means covering your eyes and jumping out of your seat whilst watching a horror. Cognitive pleasure means what are you going to think next within the narrative. 500 days of summer shows cognitive pleasure where it keeps the audience guessing on what's going to happen regards to the narrative. For an example, on the cover of the DVD is says 'this is not a love story, this is a story about love.' Through-out the film there are elements where its like a love and hate relationship. One minute they are kissing and cuddling and the next minute they are arguing. So therefore, it is a cognitive pleasure where the audience is constantly thinking about whether they are going to be a couple or not.
Media Literacy: This is the use of media language. It involves having a discussion in a media way. Only the people who study media can watch a film and look at the film in a different way compared to the ones who doesn't study media. The good thing about this, the one's who doesn't study media can share their thoughts which means the one's who does study media can then think about their opinions which they didn't pick up on during the film.
Fandom: This means what the audiences do to show their appreciation. This could be going to events, buying merchandises or using social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and Twitter. On social networking sites, you can share with other people and join groups to show your appreciation. For an example, there is a Facebook page and twitter page for 500 days of summer. It is there to like the page and tweet about the film.
Referred reading: This is when the audience take the intended meaning from the film.
Frame works of interpretation: This is when you can relate to a film using your past experiences. For an example, the kind of people who could relate to this type of film would be the older generation who have had the experience of falling in love.
Intertexuality: This is when one film refers to another film. For example, Pulp Fiction discusses one of the characters for Kill Bill in a restaurant scene. In 500 days of summer, there's no intertexuality used in the film.
Pre-post viewing experiences: This is when someone tells you there experience of the film before and after they have seen it. For example, someone could say the film is really rubbish but because you go and watch the film expecting its rubbish it turns out afterwards that you enjoyed the film. For an example, I went with my friend to watch 500 days of summer at the cinemas. Before the film started, my friend thought the film was going to be really good but it turns out she thought the film was boring.
Effects: This can be visual or audio to help make the story more clearer in-terms of the narrative. For an example, when they are getting close to each-other sweet soft music will play in the background. Whereas when they argue, there's no music at all.
Conditions of reception: This is down to where you watch the film and how you watch the film. For example, if you are watching a horror film at home with friends...you won't feel that scared whereas if you are watching it in the cinema's and room is dark then they are most likely to feel frightened. You could be scared at home if you was watching it alone and the room is dark because it is a different atmosphere and a different experience. For an example, when I was watching 500 days of summer in the cinema's I felt happy. Second time I watched the film at home, I got emotional and felt sorry for the man trying to chase the woman who he wants to be with.
Interactivity: This is when the audience gets involved in the story. For example, the film final destination you can choose how they die and which order you want them to die in. Also, the film Break-Up you can choose who's side you want to be on and it will show you the original ending and a different ending. Only you can do this if the film is on a DVD. On the DVD 500 days of summer, there's special features where the audience can watch the deleted and extended scene's including a music video 'Love Testimonials.'
Information found on the v.l.e ( put into my own words )
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Production Context and Developing Countries.
Taken from the VLE but in my own words.
International Co Productions
You will find Co Production films made outside of the United States. It is where more than one production company from over the world combine there idea's to create a film, this is called International Co Productions. The good things about Co Productions is that there will be more money involved, more resources, it will reach a larger audience and it will benefit the time and distribution. The down falls are that there could be creative disagreements, cultural barriers, moving equipment around, language barriers and not being able to follow each-others rules. International Co Productions can work really well and can have higher quality productions through sharing the investment. The good things about International Co Productions are that they can access a desired location. They have the opportunity to learn from each other and have more access to available technology. On the other hand, the down falls are that increased costs of dealing with the government, loss of creativeness, loss of control, increased co-ordination and shooting costs. For example there's films such as 'inter-mission' which was produced in Ireland and UK. The film 'little Ashes' was produced in UK and Spain. 'Black Gold' was produced in Nigeria and USA.
Independent Films
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-independent-film.htm#didyouknowout
An independent film uses less than 50% of a major production companies money on the budget and is usually a mini production company filming it. You will find an Independent film is usually produced outside a major studio. Independent films can be nominated or awarded at films festivals such as Orlando Film Festival, Miff Awards and London Independent Film Festivals. Anybody can fund there own Independent film but it is the distribution that goes into making the independent film and making it well known so subsidaries or major studios can produce it. It is always important to at least have one famous actor or actress in an independent film so the audience would want to go watch the film. Which will then lead to a wider range audience. The good thing about creating an Independent film is that once it has been shown at film festivals, there will be more than one distributor wanting to approach the film and produce it. On the other hand, it can be really bad. This is where they won't be able to make any sales for money but can still keep the money the distributor gives them.
Developing Countries.
Developing Countries is known as a third cinema. Films from Asia, Africa and Latin American is based on third cinema. The first cinema is Hollywood films and second is European Art House. Developing Countries started in the 1959. There is a famous documentary called 'La hora de los hornos which was and still is a third world cinema documentary. There was issues with independence and cultural identity when African tribes was seen in a horrible way but things have changed and now they show Ghanaian and Nigerian life in much more higher profile upper class and showing business man and woman. This is known as Nollywood. Its a high speed, low budget film industry. You can still find famous people in these type of films, the only trouble is that it can take a while for the film to get released in the UK.
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Relationships between produces and audiences
Relationship between producers and audiences (Twilight)
You will find before producing a film you will need to research to find your target audience. For example, this could be creating questionnaires, surveys, having interviews and looking at focus groups. How producers respond to there research is that they produce posters, trailers and other advertisements to find out what type of people would respond to it. This will allow the producers to target there films to particular target audiences. The different ways producers can publise there films could be using social networks, radio, reviews, magazines, awards, chat shows and merchandises. I have researched into all these different methods of the film Twilight and here is what I have found...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673434/
http://www.breakingdawn-themovie.com/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2233348/Twilight-Breaking-Dawn-Part-2-premiere-New-image-shows-360-degree-view.html
http://screenrant.com/2013-razzie-awards-twilight-breaking-dawn-2/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXg0nYEsGmw
Premier
On the 14th of November 2012 the Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 premier was held in at Leicester square in London which started at quatar past 5 which isn't too late for the fans. They had a large electronic banner and posters that displayed clips and pictures of the film. This is one way of advertising the film so that fans can be excited about going to watch it. They were trying to create a winter wonderland theme and an old atmosphere to represent vampires. The reason they did this is because they want the fans to be apart of the experience and making them feel apart of the film. At the premier, hundreds of tree's were used and they frosted them with instant snow in a can. This is to represent Folks as Folks is set outside in a forest. The audience will then see for themselves how they make the set look so effective. Cameras and other equipment was used to film the premier so that it could be live streamed to various websites. The reason they did this is for the fans who can't make it to the premier but get to see how amazing it looks so they don't feel left out. Twilight fans turned up with Twilight T-shirts and posters which is self advertising by using Twilight merchandises. Last but not least, they had a red carpet at the premier to show that it is very professional and very popular. The red carpet is there making the fans feel as special.
Awards
Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 was nominated for 10 awards and has won 8. The awards are not too serious and are quite fun as they only won awards for the worst movie and film franchise. Another award they won was a MTV movie award or shirtless performances which was Taylor Launter. The reason why the cast get these kinds of awards, not only to show there achievement but the awards given tells the fans that they are working hard and doing something for them in return for supporting them.
Chat Shows
Kristen Stewart who stars in Twilight who plays Bella appeared on the popular UK chat shows such as The Graham Norton Show. They stars always spoke about the film itself; but they would divert to other solo projects that they have. For example, other movies and merchandises. They also did plenty of interviews on the red carpet at the premier. The reason why Kristen Stewart go on to these chat shows is because she is representing twilight for the fans and she's making the fans aware of any new films or projects that they will have to see.
Merchandises and Competitions
They released various stationary equipment for the Twilight fans such as pens, pencils, rulers and rubbers. They also brought out perfume for the film which was the colour red to represent vampire blood. The original books are still on sale and were the best seller in the shops. Key rings, cups and clothing was bought out in shops and supermarkets. Soundtracks to the music in the film Twilight was released on the album Christina Perry's song - Thousand Years was single to the last film. The music video included footage from the film to show what they film might be about for those who wouldn't have seen it so that was another way of advertising. Various TV shows like the X factor launched competitions to go on holiday and see the premier in London with the stars. The reason why all these merchandises and competitions are so important to the fans is because they want to be a twilight fan forever.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Hush
Hush Deconstruction
Hush is a Horror. I know this because there is a killer involved, it contains strong language and there is a lot of suspense during the film. Hush is a Independent film because low budget was used to produce this film. For example, they have used a Nokia phone instead of a top quality phone. An independent film is a film that uses less than 50% of a major production companies money on the budget and is usually a mini production company filming it.
William Ash plays Zake Abbot in the film Hush. He is known to be in TV series such as Waterloo Road, Shameless, Doctor who and Casualty. He was born in 1977 in Chadderton, Lancashire, England UK.The reason I think he played the role of Zake Abbot in the film Hush is because he has experience being on many TV series and he suited the character really well with his amazing accent.
The narrative, dialogue, characters and location related to the production context worked really well for an Independent film. Hush had certain parts of British in it. For example, Football Hulagons were used in the film to make it very British and they mention a cup of tea in a crisis which you wouldn't expect to see in a Hollywood film. They can get away with swearing more in a Independent film, for example if it was a Hollywood film and they used the word 'c**t' then that Hollywood film would be classed as a 18 straight away. Hush is rated a 15 and many of the viewers are expecting there to be a twist at the end of every horror film there is. Hush has a closed ending when we find out that the killer got killed by one of the victims. They have used shaky camera effect which worked really well and it looked very real to make the scene look realistic.
The film Hush starts off on the motor way. Whereas if it was a Hollywood film or Bollywood film then it would be completely different. Hush was filmed in the UK in Yorkshire and the estimated budget was £1,000,000.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093369/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038673/?ref_=tt_cl_t1
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Dog Soldiers
Dog Soldiers
Genre
Dog Soldiers I think is a horror action film. The reasons why i think this is because blood was
used very often. The film was very gory and guns and knives were used to show the
action through-out the film. In action films you tend to see explosions and visual effects and this
is what i had seen in the film which gave me the impression it is a horror action film.
Production Context
Dog Soldiers is a British film. The reasons why i know this is because of the budget which is
funded through British money. This could mean that the director and producer is British. The
characters all had British accents and the film was based around British army which gave me
the impression that it is a British film. The location was used in the woods/forest which you
tend to see a lot of in British films. You tend to see everything happening during the night in a
British film. Dog soldiers was about werewolves which is a common thing for British films and you
you wouldn't necessarily see werewolves in a Hollywood film.
Stars
Kevin McKidd is one of the stars in Dog Soldiers. He has starred in films such as Hannibal Rising, Kingdom of Heaven, Trainspotting, Brave and doing the voice for Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 3. He was bought up in Elgin and Scotland. The reason i think he has starred in Dog Soldiers is because he is very talented and has experience within acting.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0571727/bio
Sean Pertwee has also starred in Dog Soldiers. He is known to be in films such as Event Horizon, Equilibrium and Devils Playground. The reason i think he has starred in Dog Soldiers is because he has been involved in many productions such as Titus Andronicus. He was born in London and got educated there and in Ibiza.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0675730/
Narrative, Dialogue, Characters and Locations relate to production context
The dialogue was very British. For an example, they used the word 'Brew' which means cup of tea. You know that it is a British film because you wouldn't expect them to mention a cup of tea in a crisis during a horror action film. The characters were very loud. The blokes kept talking about British football which only mean't that they are very laddy. You always seem to find one or two laddy blokes in a typical British film. Strong language was used regular through-out Dog Soldiers which you wouldn't tend to hear much of in a Hollywood film. They use banta in the film. For example, when one of the characters was tied up to the bed and he kept wanting the other bloke to punch him and he goes ' pussy, hit me harder'.
Technology used relate to production context
Watching other genres of films such as Bollywood horror films are very similar to a British film. The
setting is exactly the same. For example in the Bollywood horror films, the location is set in a big house which looks haunted and it has that element of horror in it where fog and mist is used in the forest/woods. In Dog Soldiers, a dog was used in the film which was like a Collie dog. A collie dog is a typical farm dog which also shows that is a British film. The reason they have bought the dog into the film is to make the film more British. British are more practical than Hollywood with there visual effects. For example, the werewolves were not in suites. You can tell that they spend some time creating that visual effect for the werewolves. The camera techniques i instantly spotted out is the shaky camera technique. You tend to find this a lot in British horror films and it works really and makes it very effective.
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
1920 Deconstruction
1920 Deconstruction.
Genre
1920 is a Romantic Horror. There are elements of horror such as spirits and ghosts when the women gets possessed. It has love scenes through-out the film to break up the horror. There wasn't many effects used but when the effects were used, it was very spooky. For example, when the women was running through the forest and fog appeared. This scene was very dramatic.
Production context
You will know straight away that 1920 is a Bollywood film. Simply because Bollywood music was being played in every scene. The music was played to take the narrative forward. Through-out the film they called each-other 'Brother or Sister' which shows that they are very family orientated in Bollywood. You expect to see some sort of chemistry/relationship in a Bollywood film where they end up singing together or about each-other. You could tell by their costumes that the film was based in Bollywood as they wear long silky outfits.
Stars
In 1920, Tia Bajpai played Sangeeta and is an Indian television and film actress. She has starred in Lanka, Identity Card and Haunted 3D. Tia is one of the main characters in 1920 and is the women who gets possessed. The reason I think she got the role is because she is very talented and looked the part.
Aftab Shivdasani played Jaidev Verma. He has been in films such as Mr.India, Masti and Footpath. He is a famous Bollywood actor. The reason I think he played the part in 1920 is because he is well known and famous in Bollywood.
Production Context related to Narrative, Dialogue, Characters and location
The film 1920 got influenced by the British horror films. Most British horror films have the typical haunted houses. I feel 1920 have almost copied that idea by using a large house to set the scene. Special effects wasn't over used because they didn't want the film looking to fake. It must of been used about 3/4 times through-out the film. For example, they used misty fog when the women is running through the forest to make it look as though something bad is going to happen. The way they have added in an echo noise to make it more scary for the viewers. You can see that the directors have taken there time to edit this film to there professional standard. The film doesn't look too rushed. This film was set back ages ago and you can see the Bollywood culture For an example, when Jaidev Verma puts Sangeeta down to sleep in the same room as him. Jaidev moves across the room to lay down when in a Hollywood or British film, he would have sex with her.
Resident Evil Deconstruction
Resident Evil Deconstruction
Genre:
The genre of the film i think is a thriller/horror. The reasons why i think this is because special effects are used through-out the film. For example, when the main character Milla Jovoich who plays Alice fly's in the air to stop the zombies attacking her. Visual effects were used when laser's were slicing the characters in half. The reason i think this genre is a thriller/horror is because of graphics were used which made me jump. Graphics were used when the zombie dogs were trying to attack the main character. The film was very gory, there was blood shown through-out the film. Sound was used to build suspense and tension.
Production Context
Resident Evil is a Hollywood film. I know this because of the location, props, cast used in the film. All Hollywood films have high budgets compared to British films and Bollywood films. I know this because they have extreme explosions in Hollywood films and have famous actors and actresses to play the characters so viewers would go watch the film.
The stars
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0758760/
In Resident Evil, Colin Salmon who plays James 'One' Shade is one of Britain's most renowned actors. Colin has been in loads of TV series such as Arrow, Some Girls, Law in Order: UK and Spooks. The reason I think Colin Salmon took part in Resident Evil is because he is very professional. He looked the part with his 'bold voice and posture.'
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0531095/bio
Eric Mabias who plays Matt Addison in Resident evil has starred in more than 27 films. He has done more television series than films. For example, Ugly Betty, Csi Miami and outcasts. The reason I think he has starred in Resident Evil is because he has experience in acting, writing and film theory.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000170
Milla who plays Alice in Resident Evil is one of the main characters. She has starred in Zoo-lander, Faces in the Crowd and Bringing up Bobby. The reason i think she has took part in this film is because she is a very skilled women. She is a supermodel, fashion designer and singer.
Production Contexts regards to Narrative, Dialogue, Characters and Location?
The characters in the Resident Evil were very professional and very formal. The narrative was clear and it made me believe every part of it. The dialogue was extremely impressive, it made me feel like they knew what they were doing and what they were talking about. The location was mainly important through-out the film. The location was used at all times as the narrative was based in that specific location. The zombies through-out the film were very scary.You could defiantly tell it was a gory film by the way the blood splats everywhere which shows elements of horror.
Technology used to relate to the production context?
The budget in British films and Bolly-Wood films are not used as much as Holly-Wood films. When watching Resident Evil, you could tell it took a long time to plan and to get everything right. Everything was very detailed especially the graphics. You could see they spent a lot of money on location, props and cast. Stars what people would want to see in action.
Monday, 4 March 2013
silence of the lambs
Silence of
the lambs
A variety of
semiotics was used through-out the film which relates to the horror genre and
the narrative. Firstly, a lot of action was taken place to solve the case of Buffalo
Bill. It was a murder investigation which means objects and props were being
used such as guns, handcuffs, particular costumes and other weapons. Mysterious
sound/music was being played in the background to build suspense when the
investigation was getting more intense when the security guards were getting
killed by the prisoner who then escaped.
The characters language and words used were very formal which shows that
they are professionals at their own jobs though-out the film.
The genre was
being communicated in the opening scene by how there was a young woman running
in the misty woods which makes you think that the girl is getting chased. Women
are usually portrayed in horror films as always being frightened, vulnerable
and weak. You hear a man call her name which makes you think that she isn’t
getting chased and that the girl isn’t so incapable. Some horror films men
usually take advantage of the fact that women are being portrayed as this but
in this case, it’s not.
The main
female character in the film is very brave and strong. The female is an FBI
which shows that she can look after herself and fight and battle anybody. This
relates to feminist film theory as women are usually portrayed as being very
weak. For example, the brunette girls are the clever ones and the blonde girls
are the dumb ones. In the silence of the
lambs, the female character is mentally and physically capable to investigate
the case of Buffalo bill and because the character is blonde, she is far from
dumb. She is surrounded by loads of males in a male environment to show that
she can be very out-going and professional as men. She comes across very
intelligent.
Queer theory
is used how the murderer ‘Buffalo bill’ kills innocent women for their clothes
and then wears them afterwards. This shows that he is cross dresser and could
come across gay as Buffalo bill does not do anything sexual to them. He keeps
wigs and make-up and has his own closet of woman’s clothes to try on.
The most
memorable scene for me is when the 2 security guards are killed whilst they are
going to feed Hannibal (prisoner). Hannibal swallow’s up the hand cuff keys and
unlocks them. I like how everybody in the building is looking for the Hannibal
and how they think Hannibal is hiding above the lift as blood is dripping.
Eventually it turns out that it is the security guards body. I like how
Hannibal uses the dead security guard’s face to disguise himself. This worked
really well and was very clever thinking.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Horror Deconstruction - Film Theory - The ring
How the Genre is being communicated?
Here I have looked at the
different codes and conventions used to make ‘the ring’. This includes
lighting, characters, props, music and location and many more.
Characters
The characters have that
stereotypical dumb blonde character who is the non-believer in which case
doesn’t know anything about the video tape. Then you get the clever brunette
character who knows what’s going on and believes only everything. Their short
skirts and blouse portrays there personality’s to being quite erotic, fun,
bubbly and friendly.
Props
The clock is shown to tell
not only the viewers but the characters that it’s time for phone call. The
phone is used to keep the viewer’s holding on for a little longer and keeps
them guessing on who’s the mysterious caller is.
Music/sound
The sound builds tension at
the beginning of the opening scene when the television starts to crackling very
loudly out of the blue. Through-out the opening scene, supernatural occurs when
the television decides to turn itself on.
Setting
The opening scene of the ring
is set in a big house. This is more realistic to something like a physiological
thriller to happen in a big house. Mise en scene is used especially for the
setting. Making the setting of the scene is very important to make it look
normal. It is almost fooling the viewers into thinking the house is fine but
really its where the worst things happen.
Action
The action builds suspense
after the phone call when the female character notices that her friend is
missing and when the television decides to turn itself on after turning it off
and when the fridge door decides to open. This is almost supernatural and
physiological.
Lighting
The lighting is very dark but
you find the light is brighter on specific objects or on the action taken
place.
Shot types:
This first part of the film
is showing you where the location is set. The camera lighting is dark to show
that it is night time and the director has done a long shot of the big house
from an angel to show how it looks almost haunted which gives the horror
effect. There’s a storm in the background to make the horror intense. This shot
gives you the impression that something bad is going to happen in this house.
This is a medium shot of one of the girls telling about the 7 day story. You can see from the facial expression that she’s serious about it and believes it. It creates tension and how the character has her dark hair over her face.
Here is a close up of the
girls face to show her facial expression towards the story. This shot tells the
viewer that she had watched the video. There is no sound in the bedroom just
her voice to give an intense atmosphere. The lighting is still very dark to
keep the location the same as normal.
This shot is mid shot of the
girl pretending to choke on the bed almost as if she doesn’t believe the story.
On the other hand, the girl on the right who looks terrified. This dramatic
shot almost makes the viewers believe as though she is actually dying.
This shot shows the character
smirking and laughing as she was pretending to die. The lighting, location
stays the same through - out first 5 minutes.
The camera zooms in on the
alarm clock which says 10.00am. This tells viewer that it’s almost times up for
the girls and death is about to occur.
In this shot is a close up of the girl holding the phone to her ear. The colour of the phone is white so it stands out more in dark lighting. The camera angel is straight forward and directed straight at the two girls in the movie.
This shot is a long shot of the television screen going static. This shot gives the impression that something scary is in the house because the television switches on by its self which creates the horror effect and makes the viewers get goose jumps and its engaging.
This shot is a mid shot of the remote on the sofa. The camera angel and the lighting worked well as the remote and sofa is brighter than the edges of the screen as its very darker. This is to emphasize the fact that something is in the house or something is going to happen.
This is a
good close up showing the facial expression of the girls face looking
terrified. Camera angle is at the side of the face to give more impact and to
make it more effective. On the other hand, the light used from the television
and the sound of the TV going static gives you goose-bumps and as the viewer
you know that something is defiantly going to happen and tensions get higher
and higher. So this shot is effective.
This shot is
a long shot. The camera angel is over
powering the character by having a high angel looking down towards the girl.
You can see the character is stood at the bottom of the stairs looking very
petrified by how her hands are put together and playing with her thumbs.
This shot is mid shot. The
camera angle is very low to show there water on the floor coming from the
bedroom they were recently in. As the viewer it makes you think not to go back
into the room. They do this on purpose
to make you fear for what’s going to happen.
This is a clear close up of the girls hand about to
open her bedroom door. The sound in the background you can hear the dripping
noise from the water which makes you think ‘oh that’s bazar’ but this shot is
meant to make your heart beat quicker as its getting towards the dilemma.
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