Discuss the issues raised by media ownership in the production and exchange of media texts in your chosen area?

Media ownership in the film industry relates to the difficulties that companies face when producing and exchanging a film. Smaller film producers/British producers seem to have a back seat in the film industry due to the American blockbusters being so dominant in Cinemas.

The film ‘Attack the Block’, directed by Joe Cornish represents the difficulties that the British film industry face when producing and exchanging a film. Film 4, who are a small production house based in London, produced Attack the Block in 2011. Film 4 tend to produce the more alternative films with a lower budget (Attack The Block £13 million) meaning that they have a lot of competition with the big American companies, who spend far more on the production, marketing and distribution of the film. Even though Attack the Block used CG effects to create the alines, the film in many cases looked ‘amateur’ because the production company didn’t have a large budget to spend on expensive special effects. However, if it wasn’t for film 4 helping to distribute the film by screening the film on their channel (TV) then it wouldn’t have had the same amount of exposure that it received because it was only released on 352 screens in the UK. T.V screenings provide the film with a mass audience and exposure that in turn, helped shift the film when it was released on DVD and Blu-ray in September 2011. When it cam to marketing the film, viral methods that young people use e.g Twitter/Facebook were used to advertise competitions to meet the stars of the film as well as using the sites to post photo’s and video clips to promote the film on a more personal level. Along with the help from Film 4.

In contrast to the low budget British film, Christopher Nolan’s American blockbuster ‘inception’ is owned by Warner bro’s and approximately $300 million was spent on the films production, this included the use of regular 35mm reels, visual effects, CG effects (zero gravity scene),  and various filming locations across the world (Paris, London, California). Therefore compared to Attack the block, US blockbusters seem to spend more money on production. Big six members, Warner Bro’s also spent a huge $100 million on the marketing alone.

The film ‘Paul’ is owned and produced by Working Title. Universal pictures then own 67% of the small UK company, meaning the film was backed by industry giants when it came to production, Marketing and distributing Paul. The film was directed by Greg Motola, who also directed the American blockbuster ‘superbad’. It was also written by comedy/sci-fi/thriller writers, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Therefore the film was set to be a success with Hollywood directors and famous British writers, known for their film such as ‘Shaun of the dead’ and ‘Hott Fuzz’.  Working title were clever when it came to their special effects for Paul. They used CG effects due to the fact that if they used CGI effects to create Paul it would have cost a third of their budget. Through cross ownership media the larger companies can help the smaller franchises to produce, market and distribute their films. 

When releasing  a film, regardless of who the film is owned by, there are always issues with illegal streaming/downloading as the result of technical convergences. Meaning the exchange of media texts can sometimes be corrupt. 

AVATAR

Production co: 21st century fox

Director:James Cameron

Written by: James Cameron

Production: Filming and special effects work for the film spanned three continents, including countries such as the US, New Zealand, and England.

SPECIAL EFFECTS:

 Much of the budget was spent on cutting-edge visual effects, and inventing entirely new technologies to produce what is a live action film set in a CG world.

stereoscopic 3D camera for the live action portion of the shoot which is separate from the virtual camera

Visual effects company Framestore in London was hired to do some of the movie's CG work.

A Sound Stage was used to pick up every small movement the actors make. This helped to create the aliens.

Budget: $237,000,000

total gross: $2,782,275,172 0 - Highest EVER grossing film. Broke box office records around the world.

Cinematic experience: 3D, IMAX, 2D

Cameron himself is convinced cinema-goers will want to see it at least four times - hopefully quadrupling its box office potential.

film broke a record on Apple.com after beng streamed more than four million times on its first day.

Marketing: digital marketing campaign

Facebook
Twitter
Myspace

Films Website- character bios, access to the story, the films soundtrack, wallpaper download.

Avatar's interactive trailer soars over previous movie trailers thanks to its integration of social media feeds, and 11 points of interaction that provide viewers with one-click access to each character

'Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon production practices.’ To what extent do you agree with the statement, within the media area you have studied?

Christopher Nolan’s film ‘inception’ spent $100 million on marketing alone. Warner Bro’s company felt that marketing the action film was crucial to determine the films success. The marketing team of Inception created 7 posters that were unique to each character in the film. This is a clever way of advertising because fans of the specific actor/actresses will want to see them in the new film ‘Inception'. Two teaser posters were also released before the other seven, this created anticipation from the public. Multiple international trailers, nine TV spots , and billboards were produced in order to aggressively advertise the film through mass marketing techniques.  The films website automatically plays the soundtrack and displays photo's of the film stairs, Leonardo Dicaprio, Marolin Cotillard and Ellen Page to name a few. The Website also features spin off marketing products up for sale such as the dream catcher. This personal technique of marketing the film entices the consumer the Christopher Nolan as a ‘brand’ helped the marketing of the film. Each of the trailers mentioned Christopher Nolan’s previous success ‘The dark Knight’. Meaning the film had instant recognition.

After the UK premier in July 2010, Inception was distributed to thousands of screens across the UK, US and worldwide. Meaning the filmmakers had to consider subtitles as well as age certificates that both determined the audience of the film. As well as being distributed to cinemas on digital film, Inception was also screened in IMAX cinema’s meaning the filmmakers had to use a wider film of 65mm to achieve the full IMAX experience. However this allowed the film to be viewed by more people, resulting in more money for the filmmakers. Inceptions plot in itself requires concentration, meaning the film was predominately aimed at people aged 16-37.

The British film industry tends to spend less money on marketing and production. Take ‘Attack the Block’ as an example. The film was directed by Joe Cornish and follows a group of youths fighting aliens in London. The budget for the film was £13,000,000, which meant that Cornish would have to think carefully about how the aliens were going to be created because the cost of GGI would be expensive for a lower budget film. Therefore CG effects were only used when absolutely necessary to make the aliens look more realistic. When it came to marketing the film, viral methods such as social networking (Twitter/Facebook) were used to advertise the release. Videos on Blogs and YouTube were also used, this meant that the public anticipating the film could see the actors/actresses behind the scenes of the film. This method of marketing is cheap and often free. It’s also a more personal way of addressing the audience e.g through social networking sites that young people (target audience for the film) use. Therefore the marketing of lower budget films seems to be more important, the marketing is done in a cost effective method meaning it’s not actually costing the filmmakers any money yet the film is being advertised globally in some cases. The film was distributed in cinemas and also shown on Film 4, a production house that’s committed to ‘enhance the British film industry by nurturing and funding new talent’. Which suits ‘Attack the Block’ who used unheard of actors/actresses from the London area where the film was set.

Simon Peg and Nick Frost also wrote the sci-fi/adventure/comedy film ‘Paul’ released in 2011. Greg Mottola, who used CGI effects to create the character Paul, directed the film. The cost of using CGI actually made up a third of the films budget. Meaning the filmmakers were clearly concerned about making Paul the best quality and paid great attention when it came to the production of the film. The film was distributed onto a Blu-ray disc that featured a theatrical cut, unrated version, bloopers, Photo’s, Behind the scenes, a digital copy of the film and access to ‘my movies’ which is an exclusive device that allows the consumer to stream the film onto their phones, laptops or IPods. The filmaker’s may have chose to release the film onto Blu-ray because it can be more personal to the consumer e.g having behind the scene features. Another reason why they might distribute the film onto Blu-ray is that due to the streaming devices, the film can be carried around with the consumer (future possibilities of good word of mouth). 

Class and status -representation

Class and status is being represented as a stressful lifestyle for the two families we are being shown. Both couples in the clip seem to be trying to have a comfortable lifestyle for the family however it's evident that money is the reason for some of their arguements.

At the begining of the clip we are shown a darkly lit terrace house displaying industrial/urban location in which the family live.Which could suggest that money is tight and the family can't afford to have the lights on during the day.  Fast camera cuts, whilst the digetic dialougue between the two parents arguing and using bad language is heard. Creating an uneasy atmosphere from the start. An over the shoulder shot is used during the arguement to illustrate the young girls point of view. The girl seems to be shocked at her parents arguing, yet when the camera alternates to her brother's reaction they seem calm and the arguing of their parents is normal.

Whilst the parents are arguing, asychronus sound of the childrens TV programme can be heard. This may have be aimed to drown out the sounds of the parents arguing. The husband of the stereotypical 'housewife' can be seen in a mid-shot wearing a white vest. This represents his casual style and could conotate his working class status.

As the clip progresses a long shot of the husband carrying out a manual job in a heavily industrialised area. The synchronus digetic sound and jumpshots of him hammering could conotate his previous fustrations with his wife because the scene then changes to his wife alone in the kitchen and the hammering can still be heard for a short time afterwards.

The house is quiet, and continuety editing is used through longer camera cuts, creating a more relaxing and realistic scene. As the woman bites into her sandwhich the digetic sound of her chewing can be heard and shortly after the sound of water. The woman could be eating on her own as a way of comforting herself from the stressful household.  The pace of the scene dramatically increases as the digetic sound of water rushes into the kitchen along with the woman screaming. The camera shot vary from a high angles shot, showing the woman scrambling on the floor, to a over the shoulder and close-up of the characters face.

The audience is shown a contrasting character compared to the womans husband. This man is dressed in a suit carrying a briefcase, we are also shown his car in a long shot. Suggesting that he has a higher job title compared to the womans husband. Once the leaking tap has been fixed the neighbour (smartly dressed man) share a kiss. It seem that this isn't the first time that the two characters have been intimate. Suggesting a possible stereotype for working class-lower class citizens. Non digetic synchronous sounds of a mysterious piano is played in the scene, this connotes the bad that is taking place in the scene and the music helps to make the audience aware of this.

Later in the clip a close up of the mans face also shows the daughter in the foreground, similarly to the mother on her own in the kitchen. The camera then cuts to the street where the audience is shown a long shot of the industrial area. We can also see a neighbour and people walking along the street who are dressed similarly to the characters being represented in the clip.

The clip speeds up again as the smartly dressed man enters his busy household. A typical working class housewife is being represented looking after the children and arguing with daughter. Which is similar to the other family. As soon as the man leaves the house the scene has slowed down again. The changing pace of the scene has an effect on the audience's ideas about the working class families being represented.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pJhL-A8XyE&feature=player_embedded#!

Practice Questions

The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions

The Joe Cornish film ‘Attack the block’ Features strong cultural slang therefore in order for it to be viewed International in multiple languages, subtitles had to be added. Due to the heavy cultural slang, subtitles may have to be added to ensure the audiences understand the British humor. Another film that faced the same problem is the British comedy ‘The Inbetweeners’, produced by Film4 and Bwark productions. Before the film, ‘The inbetweeners’ started off as episodes following the lives of four teenage boys. The film also features British youth culture, therefore they use slang.

Trailers are a crucial part of marketing a film. The language used in most movies  is tailored for a British/US market. Take the 2011 film ‘Paul’ for example, a Working title film (British company) that created an international trailer to suit international and global audiences.

Another issue raised on targeting local and national audiences would be age categories for films decided by the British board of classification. Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ action film was given certificate 12. Meaning nobody can view the film who is under the age of 12, due to the film containing either strong violence, drug usage, strong language or discreet sexual activity. This would have an effect on who the film was being marketed for, due to Inceptions challenging plot and ‘action’ genre, the film was targeted at a sophisticated audience. The film was originally aimes at young men aged 16-30 due to the action plot, however with the love story between Leonardo Dicaprio and Marion Cotillard also make the film attractive for both genders.

Mass marketing techniques such as international trailers, posters, billboards, T.V spots and the exhibition of the film all aim to target local and national audiences du to marketing companies marketing films in such an aggressive way meaning the consumer can not escape it. 

How important is technological convergence for industries and audiences within a media you have studied?

Technological convergence is a bit part of the British film industry, due to the ever-changing and modernising world. There are positive and negative effects of technical convergence.

Christipher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ was released through Warner Bro’s pictures in 2010. The film reaped huge benefits when marketing, through technological convergence. It’s estimated that the film spent $100 million on marketing alone. This included creating the fully automatic website that features the trailer, advertising to the user where they can buy the film on DVD and Blue ray disc, that includes special features such as explanations of the dreams.

Due to ever changing technology it’s also possible for the public to download the film from the website, which is a quick and easy method that’s likely to grow throughout the film industry. However with the advances in technology and consumers wanting things on such demand,  the filmmakers also face illegal downloads and piracy. These factors can be damaging to the films profits.

The film 'Inception' was shot using 35mm camera with key scenes film on a 65mm format. Yet the special effects and visual effects seen on the film are truly outstanding. The film includes around 500 stunning visual effects created by Paul franklin. He used CG based effects (not GGI) to create the zero gravity scene in the hotel.

However, new technologies can be hard to get a hold of due to their sometimes high costs. Inceptions budget was $175million and produced by a large company being Warner Bro’s. Therefore the film had the funds to create such brilliant realistic effects. 

Compared to ‘Inception’,  ‘Attack The block’ (directed by Joe Cornish) had a much lower budget of  £13million. This meant that the sci-fi/horror comedy film battled with trying to create the aliens without using expensive GGI effects. Instead the filmmakers only used CG effects when absolutely necessary to enhance the practical based creatures and maintain the quality of the film. In result the film still produced good quality and

When it came to marketing the film, the marketing team used viral methods. Such as Facebook, used to create competitions and advertise the film. Using viral technology to market the film is a great way of reaching out to a mass audience and is usually cheap/free. With young people spending up to five hours a week on social networking sites, ‘Attack The Block’ could also reach out to the target audience being aged 15-25.

The film used various camera’s supplied by ARRI media. Despite many discussions over whether to shoot anamorphic 35mm camera, Joe Cornish chose not to. Although anamorphic shooting allows a wider camera view, the cost of shooting anamorphic would have taken a large some of the films budget.

Stars of ‘Attack The Block’ Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are also the writers of the sci-fi/comedy/thriller, ‘Paul’.  Directed by Gregg motola the film again used viral methods to market the film, such as video blogs of the characters behind the scenes of the production. This meant that the marketing team were able to reach out to the target audience and make the film eagerly anticipated for. As well as this, the video blogs benefit the actors/actresses individually as fans can watch them off set as opposed to on the ‘big screen’. Co- Writer Simon Pegg used a Twitter (social networking) account to promote the film and it’s release. After the opening weekend, that made approximately $13million, the film was then released onto DVD and Blue-ray. The blue ray disc is in HD, making the overall picture quality more realistic. The Blue-ray disc for ‘Paul’ included a featurete that explained the evolution of the special effects work. The bonus disc also includes access to MY MOIVES which is an exclusive feature that allows consumers to stream movies to their iPhones/computers. Meaning the film can literally be taken all over the world through technological benefits. ‘Paul’ was produced through the British film industry ‘Working Title Pictures’. Working title film shave a huge backing from universal pictures (who also own 67% of the company). This means universal can help the British company with marketing to a mass audience across the US by using viral methods or general word of mouth.

When it comes to screening a film, technological convergence has mean’t that people can pre-book cinema ticket. Ensuring to the film company that people are interested as well as being a quick and reliable method for the Consumer. 

Attack the block

Director: Joe Cornish
Made by FILM 4
Genre: Science fiction/ comedy/ horror
GGI effects: To create the aliens. The film-makers only used CG effects when absolutely necessary, and to enhance practical effects for the creatures rather than replace them completely.the glowing mouthful of large, carnivorous teeth were achieved by animatronics.
Stars: Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker, Simon Pegg. Joe Cornish aslo used unheard of actors/actresses that he though represented the people in the location of the film.
budgets: $13,000,000 (estimated). The film was shown on 352 UK screens during the opening weekend.
Marketing: The marketing team used viral methods. Such as Facebook, to advertise the release of the film. As well as videos on youtube of the actors/actresses. Press junkets and trailers were also realised. The films website is fully automated with the soundtrack and animations put into place as soon as the user visits the site. 
DVD: The film was released on DVD and DVD blue ray (HD).




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