Discuss the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice (DRAFT)

Throughout the film industry, issues are raised by media ownership by both large conglomerates and small independent institutions.  Some of these issues are similar, whereas others are different due to many factors that differentiate larger and smaller institutions.   My American conglomerate case study is Guardians of the Galaxy (here on abbreviated to Guardians) from Marvel Studios, directed by James Gunn and released on the 31^st July 2014 in the UK.  My British independent case study is Kingsman: The Secret Service (here on referred to as Kingsman), from MARV, directed by Matthew Vaughn and released on the 29^th January 2015 in the UK.

Marvel Studios and MARV Films are two very different companies.  Marvel Studios was created in 1993, but called Marvel Films until 1996.  Today, it is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios but owns Marvel Worldwide Inc. also known as Marvel Comics.  Marvel Studios has created 3 multi-film franchises, which have earned over $1 billion dollars in North American revenue alone.  The current president is producer Kevin Feige.  Comparatively smaller and newer, MARV Films, more commonly known as MARV, was founded in 2004 and is owned by Matthew Vaughn who also directs the films.  Their most famous and successful films to date have been Layer Cake (2004), Kick-Ass (2010) and Kingsman (2015).  Both companies have a variety of issues related to their films.

Guardians would be Marvel’s tenth instalment and part of “Phase Two”, their second collection of films released from 2013 to 2015.   One of the biggest issues relating to Guardians was the fact that the original screenplay was written by a woman, Nicole Perlman.  Perlman was enrolled in their screenwriting programme in 2009, something that Marvel was able to do due to its large budget.  She was offered a variety of their lesser-known properties and chose to write about the Guardians of the Galaxy, finishing her second draft in 2011 before Gunn was brought in to contribute in 2012, changing the script to fit his needs.   Having a woman writer for a script is extremely important, especially due to the fact that is extremely unusual to see a woman writing for the screen within this genre, with almost all of Marvel’s films having been written by men, even looking within a small segment of 2008-2015- Perlman is the only woman writer for Marvel within that time period.  However, despite the difference in size between the two companies, Jane Goldman has written the screenplay for four of MARV’s films including Kingsman, as well as many larger films not related to Kingsman such as The Woman In Black (2012).   Both companies demonstrate an important change today in contemporary media practice with the inclusion of more women in the industry, though Marvel is more able to seek them out with their screenwriting programme.

In regards to the production of the film, especially on the more technical side, Marvel and MARV has a surprising amount in common, despite a large difference in budget, with Guardians having a budget of almost $200 million, costing slightly over that, and Kingsman having a budget of $81 million.   Both companies used the same cameras, ARRI Alexa’s, highlighting that in today’s film world despite having a smaller budget, the same quality of film can be made since you can use the same cameras as bigger companies.   However, both companies were trying to do different things with their films, which did mean there was some split between technologies.  Ben Davis (director of photography for Guardians) went on to use JDC Cooke Xtal (Crystal) Express Anamorphic Prime Lenses for the opening 1980s scene due to the aberrations that the lense added giving him the look he was going for.  George Richmond (director of photography for Kingsman) went on to use RED EPIC and Blackmagic cameras for point of view shots.   Both included special effects and CGI, with 90% of the scenes in Guardians including some kind of special effect.  Kingsman’s special effects were much more selected, with certain scenes using CGI.  However, almost all scenes where Gazelle’s (Sofia Boutella) legs could be seen had to include CGI to give the impression that her legs were made of spikes.  Despite Guardians seeming to pay more for their special effects since there were more, both used a considerable amount.

Looking at distribution, and despite both creating contemporary products within the film industry, both companies still put money into the classic promotional techniques.   MARV created 10 teaser trailers for the film, as well as posters, with the most prominently advertised one being a recreation of the iconic 1981 James Bond For Your Eyes Only poster, with Gazelle’s (Boutella) legs on either side with a glass of whiskey and a gun, and Colin Firth as Harry Hart, Samuel L Jackson as Richmond Valentine and Taron Egerton as “Eggsy” Unwin in between them.  This allowed Bond fans to become interested in the film and to highlight the similarities that were meant to be seen between the two.  This is also a classic example of star power being used, with the two biggest stars of the film, Jackson and Firth, highlighted on the poster.  All lead actors were also interviewed for the film, by both British and American shows and channels on YouTube, allowing the word to be spread around more easily.   Marvel took a very similar route, releasing footage and teaser trailers at San Diego Comic Con as well as on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Youtube and the TV, as well as creating an IMAX preview trailer, lasting around 18 minutes, to prepare audiences for both what the film would be like but also how it would look on an IMAX screen.  However, Marvel did not go down the route of appearing on a large British chat show, which could potentially have created more interest in the film.   Marvel also went with a similar idea of star power, highlighting Chris Pratt on their posters.  However, their arguably bigger star Vin Diesel could not have his fame utilised as well since his character was CGI- it had to be relied on that his name would be enough.  The Guardians posters had a lot more going on with their posters, with a space battle going on behind them.   Both companies also went with more modern promotional ideas, with both creating websites.   MARV created an official Kingsman website, complete with a game to see if you could be a Kingsman agent, links to their merchandise as well as a page about the film, a trailer, their social media accounts (demonstrating the introduction of new media into the film industry), where to buy the film and much more- it is very much the hub of everything Kingsman, including a list of their sponsorship partners such as Adidas.  Marvel created a website specifically away from their Guardians webpage, which linked to the Marvel website.  They created Galaxy Getaways to allow people to find a little bit about the different planets that are mentioned in the film.   This would most likely have been very helpful, as, due to the fact that many people’s names were also somewhat “alien”, it is very easy for planets and names to be confused.   It also was quite novel, as “Launchpad sites” were the location of cinemas, adding to the fun element of the film.   Merchandise was also created by both companies, though Kingsman’s choice of merchandise was very unique.  A sixty-piece collection of clothes was also created with the tailoring company Mr Porter, with clothes made by brands such as Cutler and Gross, George Cleverly, Mackintosh and Bremont.  The cheapest thing to be purchased are Kingsman socks for £20, the most expensive thing is a Kingsman =Bremont ALT1-WT/WH World Timer Automatic Chronograph Watch for £14,250- rose gold with a crocodile embossed leather strap).  Kingsman remains as one of the only film where you can buy full costumes from a film, that were made by the same people who physically made the costumes, specifically made to fit you.  Though a very individual idea, due to the expensive price of the items, it is highly unlikely that many people actually bought things.  The soundtrack was also released by MARV.  Guardians was a lot more typical with its merchandising- The characters of Guardians of the Galaxy were featured on a Subways meal.   A variety of of different merchandise such as toys, stationary, and film prop replicas were made as well as t-shirts and iPad cases among other things.  The soundtrack of music not created specifically for the film was released called Awesome Mix: Volume 1 and since the release has been downloaded more than 1 million times.  The sales of the trailer's main song "Hooked on a Feeling" were raised by 700%.

Creating games was very popular with both companies in regards to distribution and further highlights the more contemporary time of film promotion.  MARV included a game on their website; you could link your phone up to the computer and play the games via that.   This was probably quite effective, unless you didn’t have a smartphone and then you couldn’t play the game.   However, since the target audience was young adults, since most people nowadays have some kind of smartphone, the game introduced people to the film in an interesting way.   Marvel created Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon, which could be found on the app store.   This had the same problems as Kingsman with the idea that without a smartphone you could not play it; as well, the game was not directly linked to the film and only included the same characters, meaning that the film does not automatically spring to mind.   However, since it was a game that could be played by anybody, then it also attracted the much younger audience that Guardians was aiming towards.

Kingsman was released on digital format only, meaning it couldn’t be put in as many cinemas as Guardians was.   However, this didn’t stop its success, as it ended up making a profit of  $414.4 million.   Guardians was released in a lot more formats; as well as digital format, it was released in D-Box screens and IMAX screens.   By releasing it on more screens it could reach a wider audience.   It ended up making a net profit of about $204.2 million.   In regards to consumption, Marvel was able to reach a much larger audience.   However, despite Marvel being able to reach a larger audience, MARV more than quadrupled it's budget in profit.    This highlights the idea that despite the benefits of new technologies to the audience, such as the idea of being more in depth in the action, not investing your film into them does not necessarily decrease popularity- however, due to the ever-changing technology today, it cannot be said that this is something that will continually be true.

When the two films were released on, they were both released similarly to their cinema formats, with the idea that Guardians was released on more formats.  Guardians was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray 3D and digital download meaning that it could be seen on more things.   Kingsman was released on DVD and Blu-ray but was also released on digital HD, making it a higher quality than the Guardians copy.   This once again shows the idea in the change into the audience as producer, and the fact that higher budget films still need to be down to the earth, in the sense of still doing things that lower budget films do.

In regards to piracy, Kingsman was one of the top 10 films, which was pirated in 2015, with over 30,922,937 downloads by the end of 2015.   This may have had to do with the fact that it is not on Netflix and has to be bought or rented from Amazon prime.   Guardians was also pirated over 10,000 times but was less popular to download, since all versions of the film to be pirated were bootleg copies recorded on a camcorder.   This highlights the idea that, due to it being a much bigger company, Marvel would be able to protect it's material easier than MARV could and does show some differentiation between American conglomerate films and British independent films in regards to digital technologies, since Kingsman was consumed illegally many more times than Guardians was.

Overall, the main issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practices are the new prevalence of women within the industry; the idea that despite having a smaller budget you can still make a quality of film similar to bigger companies; classical methods of promotion are still being used although they are being interspersed with newer ideas; that currently newer technologies such as IMAX (though not so new anymore) are still not as vital to a film’s success as they may yet turn out to be; and finally that piracy is still an issue that appears to affect smaller budget films than bigger ones.

Disability RE-Write

Coming down the mountain- Representation of Disability

In the extract from coming down the mountain, disability is represented as being very difficult both for the people affected as well as for the people who have to care for them, which can come out in various different ways such as through cruelty to those around you or the person who is disabled themselves.

Our establishing shot for the scene already classes the two brothers, Ben and David, as binary opposites of each other.   Ben represents disability as he is the disabled brother.   In our aerial shot of the room, Ben’s half is extremely bright and colourful compared to David’s dark and much more neutral side.   With these two comparisons, Ben appears to already be labelled as a child, since bright colours are very often symbolic of children, connoting to the idea of innocence and not understanding the world.   Children are often very much protected by those around them, and in this way it could be seen that Ben is very much being treated like a child, protected but also looked down upon by those who look after him.   There is a physical distance between Ben and David within the room, with their beds being on opposite walls; the mise-en-scene in regards to the physical layout of the room is already suggesting that there is distance between Ben and David and beginning the ideas of the difficulties of being a carer for someone who is disabled.

We hear David’s edited in voice over as the camera zooms into the room, as if we are joining David in the room.   Due to our first introduction being with David, it can be assumed that the preferred reading of the director would be to pity David and agree with what he believed.   However, we are very soon challenged in this with David’s very first line to the audience being “Last summer I decided to kill my brother”.   This is very confusing to the audience, as we assume we are meant to be on the side of David though he begins with such an awful statement, which almost fits in with the mise en scene that is on his side of the room, such as the skull by his window.   We dissolve into an arc shot at mid-close up of David.   We are very close to him and he is half naked.   With this being our first encounter with David, the bareness of him seems to appeal to the idea that he is very vulnerable, despite his emotionless face.   Though we may consider Ben vulnerable due to his disability, which we can also see with the cut to a close up of a sleeping Ben since in sleep everything is very vulnerable, this once again fits in with the idea of the difficulty of caring.   The fact that David is awake and Ben is asleep also appeals to the idea of protection, as in most situations where survival instincts are needed, the idea of ‘keeping watch’ is a common one.   However, this is the complete opposite of what David has already said and this scene begins to take on a more predatory look.   Due to the emotionless of David’s face, which is merely blinking, emphasised by the arc shot, it almost becomes the idea of a hunter stalking its prey ready to kill.   The irony of this scene is the non-diegetic music playing in the background, with the piano music reminiscent of science fiction, but also strangely bubbly for such a dark scene.

Once again, we dissolve into a black and white montage of the stages of evolution, as David’s voice over continues, talking about the idea of chance that we are able to be here at all.   This emphasises some cruelty from David once again as he calls his brother “a big potato with eye tentacles” as if he is calling his brother a mistake.   We once again are challenged about our loyalty to David as a character, as the ferocity seems unprecedented, since Ben can’t help the way he is.    Again, the music seems strangely wrong, changing into cheery pop song “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys, which gradually becomes diegetic music on the radio as we are introduced to the lower class estate house that Ben and David live in.   This setting appears to once again suggest the burden that looking after someone with a disability is, as the dining room/ kitchen area does not look particularly spacious.

In this scene in the kitchen, we do see some of where David’s anger is coming from, hearing how Ben “ate all the bloody Weetabix” and seeing the mother and father’s somewhat favouritism in regards to Ben.   Through the use of shot reverse shot, we can understand the problems that Ben and David are having, in regards to the way that David does have to somewhat make sacrifices for Ben.   They sit on opposite sides of the table, once again highlighting the idea that they are very much two separate beings.   We also see the physical contact that Ben and the mother have, with Ben having a kiss on the head and David not.   It can be seen that David’s now seeming jealousy is quite natural, and his anger at Ben somewhat justifiable.   David’s description of how pigs are killed is also somewhat comic despite being mean.   However, the viewer is still unsure that the idea of killing Ben is necessary, despite how hard it is on David.

We move on to a montage of Ben and David’s relationship, seeing them sitting at the dirty bus stop, still within the estate area and the different experiences they have together.   We have gone back to a voice over once again.   We see the ways that Ben annoys David, such as squeaking the toy in David’s ear, which is shown in a close up.   Yet, we also see David pretending to shoot Ben as he is learning to ride a bike, going back again to the idea of innocence and children and David’s horrifying confession about wanting to murder his brother.   We do also see David’s protection of Ben as he discusses the idea of making sure no one will drag him off, with a focus pull to odd-looking man shown at the bus stop.   Despite everything we have seen of David so far, this is almost repentance for what he said.

We begin our new scene in the school with an over the shoulder shot of David drawing a horse.   The drawing is very good, and the idea of it being on its hind legs as if it is about to ride connotes to the idea of freedom.   This could link to the idea that David wants to be free from Ben, but also that Ben may be stopping David from pursuing his art in someway.   We also David’s intelligence in this scene as he highlights his historical knowledge.   The teacher is very judgemental of those without knowledge in her class, and this links back to the idea of Ben having problems being disabled, as intelligence is valued and he still has the mind of a child in many ways.   This is also shown through the fact that David looking after Ben is known as ‘babysitting’, as if Ben is truly a small child.   Ben’s innocence is further shown on the bus, as his fear appears to be prominent as he clings on to the seat in front of him.   We feel sorry for Ben, since his brother has abandoned him, especially as the sad piano soundtrack heightens the emotion.   Ben’s eyes are particularly focused on in slow motion as the sound effect of children’s laughter is heard in the background.   He seems very alone.

Regional Identity Stereotypes

Northerners-

• Hate Margaret Thatcher and blame her for unemployment- all working class
• Unhealthy- like gravy on everything, chips with everything
• Big drinkers
• Stubborn
• Stupid
• Friendlier than Southerners
• Save their money
• Community orientated
• More rural
• More chilled out- go at a slower pace

Southerners-

• Middle, Upper-class OR cockney
• Rude
• Spenders
• Fast paced
• Intelligent
• Condescending
• Built up city space- don't understand green space

Digital Technologies Re-write

*corrections in yellow*

Evaluate the role of digital technologies in the marketing and consumption of products in the area you have studied

My American conglomerate case study is Guardians of the Galaxy (here on abbreviated to Guardians), from Marvel, directed by James Gunn and released on the 31^st July 2014 in the UK.   My British independent case study is Kingsman: The Secret Service (here on abbreviated to Kingsman), from MARV, directed by Matthew Vaughn and released on the 29^th January 2015 in the UK.

My case studies come from Marvel Studios and MARV films.  Marvel Studios was created in 1993 and was called Marvel Films until 1996.  It is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios but owns Marvel Worldwide Inc. also known as Marvel Comics.  They have created 3 multi-film-franchises, which have earned over $1 billion in revenue each.    The current president is producer Kevin Feige.  Comparatively smaller, MARV Films, also known as MARV was founded in 2004 and is owned by Matthew Vaughn, who also directs the films.  Their most famous and successful films to date have been Layer Cake (2004), Stardust (2007), Kick-Ass (2010) and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015).  Both case studies used a variety of different digital technologies in the marketing and consumption of their products.

One of the biggest aids to marketing using digital technologies was the use of social media and websites by Marvel and MARV.   James Gunn, Kevin Feige and the official Marvel Twitter account were consistently posting about Guardians during its pre-production, production and post-production phase.   This was used to get people interested in the film from the very beginning and keep people updated on how work on the film was progressing.   Marvel also put up bloopers from Guardians onto YouTube to further indicate that the film was fun and worth watching.   Marvel used many of their own accounts to post about Guardians, which may have been a little unsuccessful since they were also posting about many of their other films at the same time.   Marvel also created websites and webpages to get people interested in the film.   For example, Galaxy Getaways was created to allow people to find a little bit about the different planets that are mentioned in the film.   This would most likely have been very helpful, as, due to the fact that many people’s names were also somewhat “alien”, it is very easy for planets and names to be confused.   It also was quite novel, as “Launchpad sites” were the location of cinemas, adding to the fun element of the film.   They also created a webpage for the film; this was somewhat more boring as it merely linked back to the original Marvel website.    MARV took a somewhat similar approach; they created social media accounts specifically for Kingsman on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, as well as other social media sites.   This could easily have been more effective than Marvel using their own since it was all Kingsman.   However, it also didn’t have the same personal touch as was had by James Gunn and Kevin Feige using their own accounts, since Matthew Vaughn doesn’t have a Twitter account.   They also created a Kingsman website which linked up to a game, the merchandise and people who were in the film, to introduce people to the film in an interesting way.   Overall, in regards to marketing using social media and websites, both Marvel and MARV came up with unique and interesting ways to advertise their products, though Marvel did fall down on its decision to use its one Twitter account to post major news about Guardians as it could easily be lost in the other posts that may come up regarding comic books or other films.

In a very similar way to using social media and websites, creating games was very popular with both companies, and encouraging cross media convergence by incorporating both computers and phones.  MARV included a game on their website; you could link your phone up to the computer and play the games via that.   This was probably quite effective, unless you didn’t have a smartphone and then you couldn’t play the game.   However, since the target audience was young adults, and most people nowadays have some kind of smartphone, the game introduced people to the film in an interesting way.   Marvel created Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon, which could be found on the app store.   This had the same problems as Kingsman with the idea that without a smartphone you could not play it; as well, the game was not directly linked to the film and only included the same characters, meaning that the film does not automatically spring to mind.   However, since it was a game that could be played by anybody, then it also attracted the much younger audience that Guardians was aiming towards.   Once again, both Marvel and MARV had a similar idea in regards to advertising with the creation of games; both executed the idea in different ways.   Due to the general hassle of connecting your phone up to the computer however, I feel Marvel's game would have been more successful as it would have been easier to access.

Digital technology was also used to market through adverts such as teaser trailers, interviews and posters on websites.   The Guardians cast did almost all of their interviews in America, although they were also interviewed at the UK premiere.   However, many of the interviews could be found on YouTube, allowing them to be seen by people in countries all around the world.   The teaser trailers could be found in the same way- on YouTube, on TV as well as in cinemas and even in IMAX theatres.   This meant that a variety of people were able to find out about the film in a variety of different ways.   With Kingsman, the adverts could be also be seen in cinemas, online and on TV.  However, they were not given a trailer in IMAX theatres, as they weren’t showing their film in IMAX theatres either.   This meant that less people would actually be able to find out about the film, though this wouldn’t be a particularly large amount.   Many Kingsman interviews were British-led, but there were also interviews in America, meaning that more people could be targeted.   Similarly to Guardians, the interviews could be found online.   Posters for both films could be seen on film websites and blogs specifically, as well as popping up at the sides of web pages.   Traditional methods of advertising are still obviously used, which can be seen through this use of interviews and posters, and also demonstrates that despite the difference in budget, that the films would still advertise in the same way as their most effective method of campaigning.

Kingsman was released on digital format only, meaning it couldn’t be put in as many cinemas as Guardians was.   However, this didn’t stop its success, as it ended up making a profit of  $414.4 million.   Guardians was released in a lot more formats; as well as digital format, it was released in D-Box screens and IMAX screens.   By releasing it on more screens it could reach a wider audience.   It ended up making a net profit of about $204.2 million.   In regards to consumption, Marvel was able to reach a much larger audience.   However, despite Marvel being able to reach a larger audience, MARV more than quadrupled it's budget in profit.    This highlights the idea that despite the benefits of new technologies to the audience, such as the idea of being more in depth in the action, not investing your film into them does not necessarily decrease popularity.

When the two films were released on, they were both released similarly to their cinema formats, with the idea that Guardians was released on more formats.  Guardians was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray 3D and digital download meaning that it could be seen on more things.   Kingsman was released on DVD and Blu-ray but was also released on digital HD, making it a higher quality than the Guardians copy.   This once again shows the idea in the change into the audience as producer, and the fact that higher budget films still need to be down to the earth, in the sense of still doing things that lower budget films do.

In regards to piracy, Kingsman was one of the top 10 films, which was pirated in 2015, with over 30,922,937 downloads by the end of 2015.   This may have had to do with the fact that it is not on Netflix and has to be bought or rented from Amazon prime.   Guardians  was also pirated over 10,000 times but was less popular to download, since all versions of the film to be pirated were bootleg copies recorded on a camcorder.   This highlights the idea that, due to it being a much bigger company, Marvel would be able to protect it's material easier than MARV could and does show some differentiation between American conglomerate films and British independent films in regards to digital technologies, since Kingsman was consumed illegally many more times than Guardians was.

Overall, both Marvel and MARV were very similar in the use of digital technologies in regards to marketing and consumption.  Both went down more traditional routes in regards to the teaser trailer, the posters and the interviews, but also went into the idea of new media in regards to Twitter.   They also went into the idea of more modern technologies by making apps or games.   However, Marvel could better protect its film from being pirated which does show, that despite both being successes, in the fight against piracy, the American conglomerate won.

The Business of Film with Mark Kermode- Podcast

Development Hell
"A matter of life or death"
Have to re-invent yourself every year. Some start ups become a thing/business in themselves
High risk, high return business
Looking to create worldwide brands that they can put across many different platforms
British Film Industry- service providers for America (Matthew Vaughn)
Nobody knows anything in Hollywood, what movies are gonna work, whether a director will be wanted or not, whether a producer will be wanted or not
Screen-writers are the basis of everything, bad script = bad film
Have to use showmanship to get films off the ground- Donnie Darko, Jason Schwartzman originally cast (didn't do it) which got other stars introduced
Take nothing for granted
Your screenplay will be re-written
Development Hell- when something has been in development for too long
Cheaper to not make a movie- tent pole movies can cost up to $200 million
Abundance of content but no effective filter
Films are driven by casting- stars sell pictures- insurance of bankability
Under the skin- 13 years in development
Development hell can make a better film overall
BFI Film Fund- fund commercial films
Have to try and get people to distribute your film- many ways to do this (calling in favours, getting stars, screening films etc.)
Lots of talent, need to exploit it

Getting to the Screen
The success of the film is based on profit over audience reaction- audience reaction comes second
Birdman earned less than American Sniper but won more Oscars (more popular?)
Create original films that strike a chord with audiences
Finding favour with an older audience- finding an audience underserved and exploiting it
'Sequel'- dirty word in some circles, but can add to more money
America- looking for franchises, British- cottage industry, we don't do that
2014- 7 of the ten leading films were sequels
70% of the market is not in the US (US Film Industry)
2008- financial crash
Film 4 and BBC Films, Pre sales, international distribution deals, BFI- places to fund a film
82% of filmmakers don't make another feature film in 10 years
The Inbetweeners 2- 2.75 million pounds on it's opening day- broke records of British Comedy
Take just over a million to 30 million, 5 million is an average, 7-8 million you know you need specific directors (credibility and success) and cast
Tax rebate- needed- officially a British film to get a tax rebate
Spending on film production rose 35% in 2014
Sales agent- sells distribution rights
Upwards of 700 films released in the UK every year
Academy Awards 2015- Best Picture nominees outside the studio system
Hollywood has been slow to respond to a more culturally diverse society and audience
Percentage of women in crews- 22% in Hollywood, 26% in Britain- pretty much static for the last 20 years
Developing roles for women
Don't see women as action directors- hard to get financing
Over 55 audience- need to be looked at
91% of money goes to studios
Biggest selling film of 2014- Transformers: Age of Extinction

The Business of Showing
Filmmaking- public experience
Production is part of the promotion
Opening weekend- very important
Become part of the cultural moment
Posters, adverts, editorial road show- create an event
Gravity- communicate that something is different, will get in audiences; first weekend- 39% of the audience over 35; event movie, film that had to be seen at the cinema
Festivals are used for marketing and are the first step for the Oscars
Films can disappoint, possibly a surprise
Trailer- art form in itself, different decade trailer tropes
Only industry that can continually lie to an audience- capture the tone over the plot
In it over watching it
5 seconds- 10 seconds need to grab the audience
Film needs to be able to be marketed to get green-light
Viral successes vs hype and expectation over a known director
Digital Ambassadors
15 year olds vs 35 year olds vs 55 year olds
Go bigger over better
China- second largest box office- do things for China
Number 1 at the Box Office? Often the film will still be in trouble. Promote the film instead
Theatres- take 70% share
Film has become more immersive
Traditional distribution models are going
Netflix- over 50 million subscribers

Mock Exam- Question 2- Industry

Technological convergence and synergy is extremely important for the institutions creating the film and the audiences watching as it allows the film to be accessed in many audiences ways by many different people.  This increases enjoyment for audiences and profit for institutions.

My case studies come from Marvel Studios and MARV films.  Marvel Studios was created in 1993 and was called Marvel Films until 1996.  It is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios but owns Marvel Worldwide Inc. also known as Marvel Comics.  They have created 3 multi-film-franchises, which have earned over $1 billion in revenue each.   One of my favourite films from them is my case study Guardians of the Galaxy.   The current present is producer Kevin Feige.  MARV Films, also known as MARV was founded in 2004 and is owned by Matthew Vaughn, who also directs the films.  Their most famous and successful films to date have been Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service (here on called Kingsman).  Both case studies used a variety of synergy and technological convergence throughout the creation of their films, Guardians of the Galaxy and Kingsman.

Both Guardians of the Galaxy and Kingsman were adapted from comic books.   Guardians of the Galaxy was created after writer Nicole Perlman created a script for it (which James Gunn, the director and writer, ended up re-writing).  Kinsman came about after Matthew Vaughn was complaining about the loss of fun spy movies and wrote the screenplay based off the comic "The Secret Service".   The Guardians of the Galaxy comic book had the same name.  Both directors updated the audience throughout the pre-production and production of their films via social media, notably Twitter.

Gunn decided early on in pre-production that he wanted as much reality in his film as possible.  This resulted in over 1,000 prosthetics being made and over 2,000 moulds.   When in production, three of the main characters in the film- Rocket Raccoon, Groot and Thanos- were made using a lot of visual effects (VFX).  This ended up making 90% of the films scene having some kind of VFX in them, with over 2,800 VFX shots created.   Rocket Raccoon was created through a convergence of computer generated imagery (CGI) motion capture and rotomotation.   His fur was created through CGI- a layer of short fur and a layer of long fun had to be animated separately before being put on top of each other, to imitate real raccoon hair.   Groot was created with each branch being animated one at a time, to make the brunches appear like muscles.   Thanks (shown as a hologram through the majority of the film) was partially created through motion capture with Josh Brodin's face being used to make Thanos' speech seem realistic.   Despite the large amount of computer animated scenes, a lot of real life scene were shot as well.   Some of the sets were completely created in real life, such as the prison, which was made of 30,000 pound of steel.   Millennium Bridge in London was used as a location double for the planet Xandar.  The camera used were mostly Arri Alexa T's with Spherical Panavision Primos lenses.   However, during the 1980s scene at the beginning of the film, JDC Cooke Xtal (Crystal) Express anamorphic prime lenses as they were used to provide realistic aberrations.

During production of Kingsman, the film was also shot with almost entirely real scenes.  The church scene, for example, was created of three large chunks of continuous shots, at 1,000 frames per second, sped up to make the video more appropriate to the 15 rating given by the BBFC.   The scene set in near-space was done with blue screen with the balloon created using weather balloons as a guide.   Kingsman was a lot more traditional with its filming, with a lot less CGI.

Kingsman was also a lot more traditional with its advertising campaign.  Trailers for the film could be accessed through YouTube or seen on the television.  Posters were also created for the film and TV interviews were also done.  A Kingsman website was also created, including a Kingsman web game to test if you could become a secret agent.  A sixty piece collection of clothes was also created with the tailoring company Mr Porter.  Kinsman remains as one of the only film where you can buy full costumes from a film, that were made by the same people who physically made the costumes, specifically made to fit you.

Guardians of the Galaxy had a larger marketing campaign.   Going along with the same traditional methods as Kingsman, with the trailer having been mentioned 88,000 times across social media within a 12 hour period of the trailer being released, Galaxy Getaways was also created.  This website was a fake travel agency, meant to introduce the planets mentioned in the film to viewers about to watch the film.  The launchpad sites were the locations of cinemas showing the film.   The characters of Guardians of the Galaxy were also featured on a Subways meal.   A variety of of different merchandise such as toys, stationary, and films were made, as was a game for the phone (Windows, iOS and Android) called Guardians of the Galaxy: Universal Weapon.  The soundtrack of music not created specifically for the film was released called Awesome Mix: Volume 1 and since the release has been downloaded more than 1 million times.  The sales of the trailer's main song "Hooked on a Feeling" were raised by 700%.

Despite being distributed by different companies Guardians of the Galaxy had a very similar release compared to Kingsman but on a larger scale.  Guardians of the Galaxy was shown in 4,080 cinemas in North America alone, being shown IMAX, 3D, Large Format and D-Box.  Kingsman was shown in normal cinema size only.  Both were released on DVD and Digital HD, but Guardians of the Galaxy was also released on Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray 3D.  Kingsman earned $413.3 million at the box office despite a budget of $84 million.   Guardians of the Galaxy had a budget of around $300 million (after spending over their original budget) and earned more than $700 million.

Overall, despite using technological convergence and synergy differently, both were successful.  They allowed their audience to become involved in the film in a number of ways which increased happiness and profit.

Mock Exam- Question 1- Class and Status

Mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound all used together to create meaning.   In this clip from episode 1 of the first series of Merlin, Jones and Hawes work together to create a clip which comments on class and status, showing both royal characters and poorer ones.

We begin the clip with the establishing shot of a young man (Merlin) walking down the corridor.   We can tell he is a poorer character due to the mies-en-scene of his clothes- they are plain and slightly shabby and ragged around the edges.  The soundtrack is extremely ominous, the non-diegetic sound suggesting that something is wrong.   We are then given an action match shot as Merlin walks in the room, adding to the continuity.  As we look at a wide shot of the room as the camera is panned, we can tell it's not his- it is lavish and feminine with pretty fabrics and a huge ornate mirror.  We watch as he walks to the table and slams down the small jar of yellow mixture on the table.  This once again adds to the idea that he has a low status- he is not elegant in any way but more heavy handed, and appears to be fetching and serving for the elite.   The camera is zoomed in as Merlin picks up the straw doll.   Due to it's shape and the ominous music playing, we could believe this this is some sort of voodoo doll.   We also watch as he picks up the leather book with ornate gold on the cover and watch as he picks up the leather book with gold on the cover, and fabric sticking out.   Once again, this appears somewhat magical.

The audience then watches a woman walking down the corridor.   Compared to Merlin walking down the corridor, the woman is much more poised and appears to glide.   She is wearing a large, purple, period dress.   As purple is an iconic signifier of royalty, we can assume that this woman is of high class.  The women goes towards the room and we watch through the quick editing how Merlin has to hide what he has been doing as simultaneously the woman comes towards the door.   We have a close up of her face as she talks to Merlin, in a crisp English accent.   Merlin is a lot more coarse with his speech, using gap fillers such as umms and ahhs.   This once again shows the difference between high class and low class citizens.

We have a mid long shot of the ornate mirror as Merlin turns around to retrieve the jar.   We see the woman transformed, through CGI, into an old woman.   Through VFX this is edited onto the mirror.   The seems sped up as if to demonstrate her haste to get Merlin away.   She is obviously keeping secrets from Merlin and everyone else.   Despite her being supposedly royal their lying appears to make Merlin a better person, despite being a peasant, as we see later, through his argument with Gaius that he believes in some form of justice. They are also both on par due to their magical abilities.

From the beginning, the fight between Arthur and Merlin already seems unfair.   Arthur is a trained soldier, which we can see from his armour; Merlin is merely a poor man.   We also see how Merlin almost gets in trouble for it later, when the guards lift him up, as if to arrest him.   This also links in to the fact that Merlin and Arthur's diegetic dialogue ended up with Merlin, a peasant, calling Arthur, the future king, a prat.  Merlin appears to be above Arthur with his wit and words despite being a peasant.   However, since Arthur's command allows Merlin to be freed from the guards, this demonstrates the power of royalty and having status- he controls Merlin's life and death.

During the fight scene, the fun folky music demonstrates that the fight is meant to be in the realm of slapstick comedy.   We know that no one will really get hurt.   We watch in slow motion at a close up as fruit explodes as the flails hit them.  Compared to this, when Merlin does magic, the actions are sped up, such as the close up of the box moving.   The fight now appears fair, despite the difference in class.

The old man (Gaius) appears to take on the role of parent within the scene, chastising Merlin as the shot reverse shot shows the audience their argument.   This highlights hierarchy in the lower classes.   Gains has a higher status between the two due to the difference in age.

Class and status is represented in many different ways in the clip.   Despite Merlin's poorer roots, he appears to be a better person than the lying royal.   Despite Arthur's confidence in his training due to his riches.   Arthur and Merlin still have an equal fight.   Even in the poorer areas we see Gaius' status above Merlin's as he chastises him.

The Film Industry (Documentary)

Production

• Producer- finds the idea, gets the script, director, cast, money, make it, gets it ready and out. Protects the director's idea
• Choose Idea and Script- explores an idea consistently and truthfully. What is the script referencing? Beginning, middle and end. Instincts and knowledge help
• Package- Producer and director plan- screenplay, key crew, budget, cast----> helps make a judgement
• Investment- television companies, regional film field, groups of potential financiers 
• Foreign Investment- look for co-production deals, more investors= more control, package will tell you where to look 
• Planning- what are the hardest scenes? Do them first. Casting next. Find people on the same page
• Budget- all film is based on investment, finance plan, analysis of the script to make it
• Above and Below the Line Costs- Above= creative costs= key crew, stuff to tell the story. Below= stuff to make the story
• Audience- think of the audience, definable but not formulaic
• Marketing- hidden cost, is there a marketable place for it. America- films are not greenly without an audience being thought of. Britain= production led

The role of a distributor

• Who? Why? How?- promotion is important- arrive at the cinema knowing what you want
• Major vs Independent Distributor- M= makes films. I= buy films
• USP- find it= easier to market. Cast, genre thought of
• Target Audience- core audiences= families and younger adults
• When to release?- what will give it the best chance?
• Research- demographic audiences, ideas, what do audience want
• Budget- experience and guesswork, what can the movie take at the box office ------> how much to spend to get it there
• Advertising/ Publicity- advertising (media), promotion, premiere, actors=star tour

The Campaign

• The Public- stimulated by 200 things by the time they get to work. Looking at the parts to formulate the plan
• The Poster- sell the concept and the genre, first look, stepping stone campaign
• The Trailer- most important key, first and only look= teaser- first, main- tell you the film is out (voice over vs captions, depend strongly on genre
• Foreign Language Films- cover up it's a foreign language film in the trailer
• TV Spots- film title, who's in it, when is it on- pick a piece of film to put in
• The Internet- viral marketing, official websites
• Publicity- PR and press, free editorial space
• Reviews- how a film has been reviewed generally
• Tracking- what percentage of people are aware of it
• Word of Mouth- most powerful marketing strategy ------> previews- advanced screenings
• Opening Weekend- opening day (Sunday), Saturday, Sunday- Monday is make or break

Exhibition

• 2007- highest point in 40 years
• Multiplex Cinema- important change in cinema
• Location- don't mind driving to the movie, parking then needs to be good
• Which Films?- specialised- hollywood, art house, independent, world -----> movies people want to see. Cater to different groups. Personal vs commercial
• Audience- actual and potential, local market business, qualities of the cinema are important, specialised taste but a market
• Digital Cinema- embrace new technology- 3D, streaming, votes. Young audience and old audience. Events out of home experience- no substitute

Piracy

• Hurts production/distribution/exhibition- millions in lost revenue
• Who Loses- cinema, production company, smaller parties suffer most
• Changing World- appalling quality, streaming online, copy DVDs, computers, DIY piracy
• Consequences- makes a difference, not victimless. Bigger budgets are fine, less will be affected. DVD sales are important
• Attack- educational outreach