WRITE THE INSTITUTION PAPER "DISCUSS THE ISSUES RAISED BU MEDIA OWNERSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY MEDIA PRACTICE"

In the film industry it is difficult to make progress and create films that get attention and in turn put into cinemas unless you are already a large company. Smaller companies and the majority of British Film is given a back seat because of the vast amount of American Blockbusters.
Star Wars the Force Awakens is an example of a film that pushed the boundaries though.

Viral Marketing and Convergence helped this film get where it is now, overcoming the mass American film industry; for example their website uses Flash Technology to run a series of awards and reviews as an introduction to the website, giving the audience easy access to information about the film but it also has an option to skip it so this stops the audience becoming bored and switching off the website.
As well as this the website is also packed with Video clips, trailers, pictures and downloads to make the audience feel more involved in the film. Also the downloads are a way of free advertising, for example if someone has the background on their phone or a ringtone friends might ask where it was from and it would help spread information about the film through word of mouth.

Viral Marketing is a new and successful way of promoting films. The film Monsters (2010) used the social networking site Foursquare to set up Infected Zones this allowed people to check into places and get exclusive access and an entry into a prize draw, this encouraged people to look for these zones but also introduced the film to people who knew nothing about it.
Slumdog Millionaire released a Viral Trailer before the film release in the UK allowing people to put it onto blogs and other social networking websites and spread the word of the film.

Although Social networking sites can be used as an advantage of easy advertising they can also have a negative impact. For example if people post bad reviews of a film onto blogs, Facebook, twitter or even YouTube in a video format, this would spread negative views on the film and discourage people to pay to see this film in the cinema. Word of mouth is one of the strongest forms of marketing and if people spread bad reviews this could cause a serious decline in profits, an recent example of this is The Rum Diary (2011) online reviews and newspapers were terrible and so after the first lot of people went to see this film it slowly declined in audience numbers.

To counteract the negative reviews films companies use viral marketing to fight back. Odeon Cinemas gave an extra 50 points to Odeon Premiere Club members if they bought tickets to see The Rum Diary as a way to encourage people to go and see a film that had bad reviews.
Slum Dog Millionaire was predicted to do badly but the actor Danny Boyle and Indie Film enthusiast helped to counteract this. Pay per click adverts were set up and targeted to people who had previously looked in search engines for Pathé, Bollywood, Danny Boyle, Slumdog, Indie Movies etc.This added more than 75,000 new visitors to starwars.com

As soon as a film is released into cinemas downloads of the film can be pirated or watched online. Websites like Pirate Bay and 1channel make this easy to get a hold of the downloads or online versions. To stop this happening, much to the dismay of cinemas, films are being released onto DVD and Blu-Ray much faster than usual. This means people can watch the film once they’ve been to the cinema and don’t feel as much need to download them. An example of this is Alice in Wonderland (2010) which caused uproar with cinemas because Disney released the DVD only three months after it was released rather than the usual four.

In conclusion there are many issues with smaller or British film companies trying to get their films into cinemas. Film Companies are vitally important in the production of films across the world as they are vertically integrated is maximises profits for that particular company. This means they films they produce can have a larger budget, and will be bigger and more dramatic.
As the importance is so large on companies such as Sony, this has a large effect on companies such as Amber Films who cannot afford the major funding, and the profits they make from the films will not be half as much as the likes of Sony and Warner Bros.

The Star Wars: The Force Awakens Guide to Great Franchise Marketing

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-7-force-awakens-marketing-franchises-trailer/

Disability

At the beginning of 'Coming Round the Mountain' the first things that is obvious is the fact the room is divided. The left side is the side of the disabled brothers, Ben, who's side of the room is colourful with teddy bears, a child's room, making him seem abnormal as him. His brother, David(who are similar ages), is the complete opposite as his side of the room is dark. This could be a representation of what he thinks. The medium pan showing his face being calm and collected during his inner dialogue, however the fact that he is thinking about 'killing his brother' shows his true inner hatred. This makes your feel sorry for Ben as you know it isn't his thoughts he is this way making him the Victim. Ben however has a victimising shot as you watch him sleep during Davids inner dialogue, this is too show that even though helpless Ben has some sort of power over his Davids life as he had been given individual time on the camera despite . The music in this scene almost seems to be mocking, it has a slight jolly beat mixed with a slow tune, a representation of both brothers at this time, the disabled Ben being happy and jolly whereas Davids is the slow sad tune.

Next there is a montage edit of black and white depicting the evolution process for the human race, and this with the diegetic overdubbed narration is extremely significant to how able and disabled are compared, Our narrator is infering in the montage that his brother was a mistake in human evolution, connotating to that natural selection will eventually be he end, foreshadowing to when later in the clip he is left to fight for himself. This montage represents abled people to be proper people and how humans should be, and disabled to be mistakes and mutations in evolution.

In the Kitchen the first things your made aware of is Ben. The closeup of his face to make David's description of a 'potato of eye tentacles' an emphasis to make his brother seem like the typical ugly disabled stereotype. But you only really get to see Davids reaction for a short second before the going back to Ben, this constantly happens throughout the whole clip meaning that Ben has the prominence as even if he is not the main focus, the composition has been set so that Ben is in the middle in order to give him power. Although this power is not due to dominance more too the fact that there life revolves around Ben. This would relate to the music as the music seems happy and unaware of the tense scene around them much like Ben. Ben however has a stylish, slurred speech, once again victimising Ben. David however seemed to turn it so that Ben was the villain and everyone was on his side, against David. The Shot reverse shots between David and his parents showed his obvious tension between them but it also separated Ben from the typical conversation as, previously shown, he is slow during his conversation and typically an argument wouldn't involve a disabled person such as Ben as it would upset them so it separates him from 'normality', making him abnormal, no matter how average looking the scene around him is. When Ben is eating this breakfast the foley of the clanking spoon gives this the typical morning feel despite the fact that the music and scenario portrays otherwise.

The bus stop shows the greatest differences between the two siblings. The long spot showing not only great distance between the two but also comparisons in them. David being a typical teenager; stroppy, moping as he walks to the bus stop but he also walks fast to try and avoid his brother behind him. Ben however is short and seems to be talking quick happy steps in order to get to his brother ahead, showing admiration to his brother which isn't returned, making Ben look like the victim as he is pushed aside by someone he admires most. Then at the bus stop crowded with other teenagers Ben starts playing with a toys, an innocent childish act that makes him seem abnormal in a crowded area of unruly teenagers. The music then returns to how it was originally, its mocking tone of seeming happy and sad all at the same time. When sitting at the bus stop it is a medium shot to make sure that they both have equal power, never shown separately.

When the scene cuts to Ben riding a bike Davids annoyance is clear as he thinks Ben is much more work that neccessary as he isn't a 'cat or a houseplant'. Once again this is from Davis perspective, but when trying to make ben seem like a villain he turns him into a victim as David'd obvious hatred leads Ben to get hurt as he shoots him with a toy gun. His screams being heard. David had more prominence in this shot but this was to show the power he wanted but he still wasn't getting as much importance as it still let Ben have a powerful shot.

When the scene changes to David up a tree, it is clear he is annoyed by a his brothers inability to do anything by himself meaning he has to do everything for him. This put Ben in the villain position as this scene is from Ben's perspective meaning that he victimises himself as he feels sorry for himself, as he is stuck untangling a kite from a tree as his brother waits with his ice cream. The shot on his brother however is a high angle shot meaning, making it look like he has little power over David.

In conclusion, coming down the mountain seems to represent disabled people in many different ways. It includes many different perspectives that of the average brother, David, who seems to think his brothers disability makes him abnormal, a villain, ugly and a nuisance in his life. Then you have sympathetic view showing him to be the victim everyone around him seems to see apart from his self centred brother. All in all overall it shows teenagers to be unsympathetic and quite evil to disabled people, like Ben, whereas it shows adults to be more considerate and understanding to his condition. This leading me too the conclusion that this Clip mostly conforms to the stereotypes of disability.

Mark Kermode Film Industry Videos

Part 1:

-There are lots of complications with making a movie including media threats from the press.

-The film industry has to basically re-invent itself every year.

-High-risk, high-return business.

-Hollywood Studios are conglomerates and look to produce movies and work with brands that will spread worldwide.

-British film industries are like service providers for the American conglomerates. 

-Screen writers are the basis to all films.

-Screenplays will be re-written thousands of times before they are perfect.

-Actors and directions all come and go during the process of pre-production.

-Development is a long process because trends and ideas change all the time.

-Warner Bros. paid £10 million each to the actors of Spider man Lives which, in the end, was never made.  

-Movies must have a good script to be successful. 

-Directors have list of actors that desire to be in their film however the financial team don't always agree depending on the budget and how much the actor requires to be in the film. 

-Fixed ideas of actors from the director is always a mistake as if they can't afford that actor the won't be as involved in the film.

-Some people believe that if the director loves a film so much they should fund it.

Part 2:

-All audiences are different, some go with the current trendy films whereas others prefer originality. 

-Sequels are risky as they could let the audiences from the first film down.

-7/10 highest grossing films in 2012 were sequels.

-Independent films in the UK are paid for through companies like the BFI. 

-Timing, marketing, audience and distractions all effect when a film comes out.

-UK government give a percentage a film took in back to it. 

-Aside from tax credits, a crucial part played in the financing of the film is by the sales agent who sells the distribution rights.

-Films are made by production companies and screened by cinemas but the two are linked by distributors.

-Independent companies have to have many distribution deals which is done by the sales agent who estimates the distribution rights and assess the risk with distributing a film.

-Raising funding for an independent film company or first time director is hard as they need help to fund their film and produce it all.

-The public also help a film to make money as if they buy tickets to view it in the cinema the production company or director can make money.

-Now an everlasting list of investors that are financing some of the best independent films e.g. American Hustle financed by Megan Ellerson. 

-Buyers who want action films don't see women as good directors which is why women struggle to get films financed more. 

-Cinemas will show whatever sells and most people want to see Hollywood films.

-91% spent at box office goes to the studios.

-300 million dollars in China alone, Transformers 2014

Part 3:

-Movies are normally judged on their opening weekend.

-Production is now part of the promotion of the film.

-Some films are so talked about it influences more people to go and see it even after the opening weekend just so they can be involved in these discussions.

-Getting the stars on magazine covers and talk shows helps to make the film more of an event so it makes it seem that you can't miss this film.

-Every single other distributor is competing against one another and are trying to do the same thing.

-The trailer of a movie can be an event on its own.

-Some people think that all the funny jokes or endings are in the trailer which can ruin the film for the audience or draw them in even further.

-With a rapidly expanding cinema audience, China is now the 2nd largest box office in the World.

-Transformers was the biggest sold movie in 2014 because it targeted this audience as it was filmed in Hong Kong and some extras were picked up from a Chinese reality show. 

-15-35 year olds are the most common cinema audience.

-Window of release, time from America release to English or cinema to DVD.

-Video on demand challenges this as you can stream movies on the same day as it's theatrical release and watch it in the comfort of your own home.

-Some people think if a DVD came out the same day as a film came out in the cinema, the cinemas would be completely empty. 

-The effort of marketing really matters to promote films.

-Britain try to make original content not compete with Hollywood.

-When it comes down to showing films, the future is simultaneous distribution with audiences choosing when, where and how they watch their movies.

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

Disney is a multi-media conglomerate that has been around since the 1920’s and has expanded to become the well known industry it is today. It is vertically intergrated, having control of all the processes of making and showing it’s movies. It also owns it’s own companies to promote any of it’s creations – some even established by Disney itself, such as Disney Channel, Disney Media Networks and even theme parks and shops.

 During the production stage of Disney movies including new Star wars the force Awakens owned by new subsidiary Lucas film which they bought in 2012 for $4.05 billion, the role of digital technology is used to get the best out of the movie being created, such as CGI and live action, and Star Wars being part of a 10 movie industry based upon a SCI-FI outer space opera uses a mixture of CGI, face capture and blue screen mixed with live action to bring their universe alive. These go well when marketing a film by releasing a trailer, as the audience get a view of what has been incorporated in the film. Although the first Force awakens trailer released an action-packed trailer full with a mix of new characters as well as the nostalgic John Willaims score and introduction of the original characters Han Solo and Chewbacca, the director, JJ Abrams, failed to include a story along with it, to recreate the period of technology when the originals came out, not able to get all these spoilers and information about the film before it can come out, JJ wanted to recreate the magic and mystery that the 1970's had in film as technology like YouTube and on-line websites couldn't ruin films for audiences, as he personally felt that the magic in the film industry had been taken away by more modern technologies, this was affective in marketing as audiences went into the cinema with only speculation on what the film could be, which made the film only more talked about making it trend even more, with every trailer beating records set by the last trailer for the most views in 24 hours on a youtube video trailer.

Furthermore, digital technologies were also used for viral marketing, as images of a real life sized Millennium Falcon, which is a ship that fans would instantly recognise and associate with ‘Star wars’ was leaked online, which meant fans could spread the pictures and publicity for the film was being created due to this association of a well-known actor and a vehicle from the films, so this is part of synergy, and digital technologies effectively helped to market the product, so it is very important for technologies to be involved in marketing. This also created "hype" for the film as fans online went hysterical knowing that there could be a chance for the original cast coming back, as this image was released before any details of the cast were also released.

Digital technologies are important in the consumption of the product as well, as many members of audiences would use it in order to view the product. As part of the exhibition of ‘The falling’, it was released in August 2015 on DVD, Blu-ray, 3-D Blu-ray and was available for digital download. This meant that that the audience members, mainly male and female aged under 25 in these two quadrants of the four, would be able to view the film in a way that appealed to them, as they could download it from iTunes, and provide digital technologies they couldn’t do so to consume the film, so the role is very important. In addition to this, Digital technology allows for apps for phones and tablets to be created and downloaded, as part of marketing the media product. This is extremely beneficial for both institutions and audiences.

The force awakens hasn't released on Blu-ray currently and there were apps created for ‘The Force awakens’ that could not have been made without digital technologies. The app included a ‘virtual reality’ of the scenes, in which users could walk around their favourite sets from the film, and there was another called ‘Disney infinity 3.0’, which was available to download from the App Store on iTunes. This allowed the audience to consume the product of disney toys and allow users to play with their favourite characters from star wars against favourite characters from other disney movies, this synergy allows users in a different way and interact ‘The Avengers’ franchise, Pixar films and as well as the star wars franchise, and as technology has developed, it meant a greater audience was being targeted and the role of digital technologies in marketing and consumption is extremely vital in generating awareness and create an appeal. 

 In the distribution stage, it is faster and more efficient to distribute your movie by digital means rather then by film reels. This also allows for more places to show your movie and for your movie to get a better review and promotion by the best method of marketing – word of mouth. Digital distribution also helps to get your movie out and exhibited on a deadline that is specified. Not only does this mean that you receive praise for not delaying the films exhibition, but you also can arrange special previews which boosts your marking. These could be made to be prize-draw previews creating digital competition so that people are aware of the movie’s release and will get them eager to see it.

 Finally, the exhibition is the part that confirms if the movie is a hit or flop. Usually, reviews are given via cross-media purposes but opinions on the film are also done by word of mouth. The proliferation of cross-media formats has made it easier for people to see movie reviews on sites such as rotten tomatoes, IMDB and the like. These also have apps, twitters and other forms so it is available on mobiles. People will be able to see whether a film is worth watching while at the cinema. Films can also be exhibited on websites like Netflix or Lovefilm – so doing premiers on such sites may further increase the movies popularity.

To conclude, the role of digital technologies has a large impact on the marketing and product consumption in my media area as the proliferation of technologies has now become so advanced that people are affected by this on a daily basis, making promoting products and film easier, and since Disney are a vertically intergrated, conglonerate they can use synergy to promote their movies/products, making it twice as easy for them.



The falling was released on blu-ray on 24th august 2015

Distribution of films

The force awakens

On November 28, 2014, Lucasfilm released a 90-second teaser trailer to promote The Force Awakens. It was screened in selected cinemas across the United States and Canada and in theaters worldwide in December 2014. It was also released on YouTube and the iTunes Store, generating a record 58.2 million views on YouTube in its first week. Critics compared the brief footage favourably to the production values of the original trilogy.

 The Hollywood Reporter called the trailer "perfectly potent nostalgia", praising its mix of old and new.

Empire was impressed by the continuity with the first films – "the feel of classic Star Wars" – but noted the absence of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher and speculated about the significance of the new characters.The Guardian wrote that the use of the Star Wars fanfare by John Williams reinforced brand loyalty among fans.

Vanity Fair was the first magazine to release an exclusive cover issue devoted to The Force Awakens. The magazine, released on May 7, 2015, featured exclusive interviews and photos of the cast photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

 At the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, in addition to a panel with many of the actors, a behind-the-scenes look at the film demonstrated the film's use of practical sets and effects. It was positively received, with Nigel M. Smith of The Guardian writing: "The featurette's angle is a strong one and connects with fans of the original trilogy in an incredibly poignant way. It also does a sly job of teasing Fisher's new look as Leia and Simon Pegg's mysterious involvement as a rumored alien in the movie, without actually showing the actors in action." 

Smith compared the marketing strategy for the film to that of a previous Abrams film, Super 8, saying "the promos... are notable for what they tease, not what they give away."On December 11, 2014, Abrams and Kennedy released a series of eight mock Topps trading cards revealing the names of several characters. On April 16, 2015, a second teaser trailer, this one lasting two minutes, was shown at the opening panel at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the reaction to the trailer was "staggering... the entire room of almost eight thousand people just leapt to their feet and roared, I mean I can't think of anything I've ever been to – other than a rock concert – that felt quite like that." The trailer was viewed over 88 million times within the first 24 hours of release, breaking the record.

According to the Guinness World Records, the second teaser trailer amassed 30.65 million in 24 hours, setting a new world record for the "most viewed movie trailer on YouTube in 24 hours."The event was broadcast live by Verizon on YouTube, StarWars.com and in movie theaters. The trailer shows many of the new characters and the first footage of Chewbacca and Han Solo. 

The Huffington Post's Graham Milne wrote that the trailer "was an affirmation of something that we'd long been told was never going to happen. This was a gift. This was faith rewarded. About damn time."

Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm presented a look at The Force Awakens at Disney's D23 Expo in August 2015. Drew Struzan—who designed the poster artwork for the previous Star Wars films—produced a commemorative poster given to the event's attendees. In October 2015, Lucasfilm unveiled the theatrical release poster and a third trailer. 

The poster omitted Luke Skywalker and revealed a Death Star-like "orb." The trailer debuted during the halftime break of Monday Night Football, before being released online. The reaction to the trailer by fans on social media was "frenzied", with Lizo Mzimba of the BBC writing that "perhaps the most significant thing about the final trailer before the film's release is how little of the story it reveals." Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph felt the trailer was "a perfect blend of old and new, in keeping with the old-fashioned Star Wars aesthetic." The trailer received 128 million views in 24 hours, a new record for the most views of a trailer in 24 hours. 

16 million of the views came from its airing on Monday Night Football. At the end of October, Air France announced a "Flight and Cinema" package, providing customers who book select flights to Paris transportation to a theatre to see the film, since France is one of the first countries to release the film On November 6, a Japanese trailer for the film was released. After seeing the new trailer Forbes' Ollie Barder stated the trailer gave him "hope" that the film would not "let us all down like the prequels did... [with] a worthwhile story this time." 

On November 23, a partnership with Google was announced, in which Google users could choose to affiliate themselves with either the Dark or Light Side, which would change the appearance of their Google websites. Additionally, Disney teamed up with Verizon to create a virtual-reality experience for Google Cardboard.

On December 17, 2015, select theaters across North America aired a Star Wars marathon, airing the six previous Star Wars episode films in 2D, followed by The Force Awakens in 3D. Attendees received a special lanyard featuring exclusive marathon art.

BBFC 12A rating for

VIOLENCE

There are frequent scenes of moderate violence, including use of blasters and lightsabers, and dogfights between spaceships. Sight of blood and injury detail is limited and brief.

THREAT

Occasional scenes of moderate threat include characters being interrogated using 'the Force', which it is implied causes them pain, and characters being held at lightsaber-point.

There is infrequent use of very mild bad language ('hell', 'damn').

The falling

BBFC 15 rating for

sex

The strongest sex scene features significant thrusting and partial buttock nudity, although there is no strong detail. In other scenes, sexual activity is mainly implied, with an emphasis on characters' faces, rather than on any mechanical detail. One scene is incestuous. A man is also seen with his hands down his trousers, implying masturbation, although once again there is no strong detail.

There are also strong verbal sex references to orgasms and virginity.

Distribution

What are the FDA?

Film Distributors' Association Ltd. (FDA) is the trade body for theatrical film distributors in the UK - the companies that release films for UK  cinema audiences.

Originally established in London in 1915, FDA liaises and works with many individuals, companies and organisations. FDA's Council, or board, comprising a senior representative of each member company, normally meets six times a year and considers only matters of generic interest to film distributors.

FDA is a voice for UK film distribution

We represent a distribution stance in regular representations to and consultations with the BFI, the government and other trade organisations in the film industry. We are also a passionate advocate of distributors' pivotal role in the well-being of the whole film economy.

We are a founder member of Cinema First Ltd, a generic marketing body which works to increase and broaden the UK cinema audience across the board.

Film is an influential, dynamic part of the UK's creative economy and FDA is engaged in the industry's on-going efforts to combat film piracy and theft. We are members of the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Alliance for IP. Visit our dedicated section on film piracy.

We are also represented on the British Screen Advisory Council (BSAC), a forum for the discussion of policy issues affecting the audio-visual industries.

FDA is a substantial supporter of the UK film industry - geared mainly towards the next generation of filmmakers and audiences

We are a long-standing key sponsor of the National Film & Television School at Beaconsfield Studios, whose graduates usually populate the crews of several feature films released in UK cinemas each year.

What is a Distributor?

 In terms of shorts, a distributor is an individual or organisation who will represent your film at festivals and markets around the world and who will attempt to sell it to television (including terrestrial, cable and satellite), airlines and other companies that show short films. The major short film distributors in the UK are (in alphabetical order): Dazzle, Futureshorts, Network Ireland TV and Shorts International.

In terms of features, a distributor is generally an organisation who handles the theatrical release of a film in a particular country as well as the marketing and circulation of films for home viewing (DVD, Video-On-Demand, Download, Television etc). Often feature films have different distributors representing them in different territories and different distributors handling the home-viewing circulation. Independent film distribution in the UK is generally managed by indie distributors such as Metrodome, Optimum Releasing and Momentum.

For a film to be distributable, you will need to make sure you have all the right assets in place. As well as assets, distributors will require a clear paper chain - clear contracts and license deals so that they know that you are legally allowed to sell all the different elements of your film on to a third party


Distribution Deals
 It is up to you to negotiate the rights a distributor will acquire in your film i.e. you may want to hold back distribution rights in certain territories. If you conclude a deal it should be formalised in a written distribution agreement. Some clauses to look out for are:

Territory: this specifies the countries in which the film can be distributed by the distributor.

Term: this sets out the period of time the distributor will hold distribution rights in the film.

Rights granted: the agreement should distinguish between the media rights granted to the distributor (theatrical, video and DVD, television rights etc.) and those media rights which are reserved to the producer e.g. radio rights. You should determine whether the rights granted are exclusive or non-exclusive. If you agree to exclusive rights, it will stop you allowing others to show your film within the specified media/territory/term.

Producer's warranties and representations: the producer will be asked to provide assurances that there is no infringement of copyright. 

Gross receipts: this means all monies actually received by the distributor from the exploitation of the film before any deductions have been made.

Net proceeds: this is the amount payable to the producer from the proceeds derived from the exploitation of the film after costs incurred by the distributor have been deducted. Costs can include distributor fees, commission and expenses.

Expense caps: there should be expense caps in order to prevent the distributor claiming unreasonable amounts, which would reduce the amount left for the producer to recoup.
Distributor's obligations: Distributors should use their best efforts to realise gross receipts from marketing and exploitation of the film.
Accounting: The distributor should be under obligations to maintain accurate and true records of sales and expenditure and the producer should have the right to receive regular accounting statements on the film. 

Termination: You should pay special attention to the circumstances in which you can terminate the relationship with the distributor. If your distribution agreement is for a long period of time and a better deal comes along during that period, the wording of such a clause will often determine as to whether you can end the existing agreement.


UK film distribution guide
You may hear or read a great deal about some actors and filmmakers. You may go regularly to local cinemas and watch lots of films at home.

But did you know that, right at the heart of the film industry, there's a dynamic sector working to deliver the largest possible audience to every new release? This is the distribution sector andGet the full picture!Get the full picture! it's vital to the health of the whole film economy.

 Distribution is the highly competitive business of launching and sustaining films in the market place. Like other forms of entertainment, the film business is product-driven: the films themselves are the reason why most people buy cinema tickets. But how do people get to know about the range of films on offer, or coming soon, in the first place?

 How do they come to feel they want to see particular films and go to the cinema to do so? UK film distributors alone spend around £300 million a year on bringing new releases to market, and building awareness and interest among audiences. It's a fast-moving, highly competitive, high-stakes business.

Mock exam

QUESTION 1

Class and status in the Merlin season 1 episode extract is represented well by the director James Hawes well in the clip through the use of camera, editing, sound and misc-en-scene.

In the extract the first shot appears to be from a slightly elevated level from our protagonist, the first shot pans as Merlin walks to create an establishing shot, this shot shows a luxurious castle like indoor courtyard with stain glass accompaniment.  Firstly, this shot represents class and status as the environment clearly juxtoposes our main character, with a light violin non-diegetic rift. Merlin is represented by the higher angle out of place as the audience is looking down on him. It is obvious this shot was used to demonstrate Merlin isn't allowed here, the scene and camera shot is used to represent Merlin's social status to be very low and to be of a class not suited for nice formal environments.

In the clip class is represented to be a heavy influence on people, Merlin when in a room looks through a lady's objects, the use of fast paced editing cuts really represents how curious lower classed people are of upper class culture, through the use of shot reverse shot showing close ups and under the shoulder shots of his hands really demonstrates the representation of lower classes bewilderment to upper class customs.

As Merlin searched through these objects a hay object is shown, using a zoom this emphasises how this this object is different from the others, in this sequence of quick paced editing the zoom to the hay object has many significations, indexical signifies of hay are a lower class use of bedding, this sticks with the theme of curiosity Merlin has, this emphasises how Merlin is confused why someone of a higher class has a lower class object, the clip represents the conflict created when different classes mix.

Misc-en-scene and sound represent class throughout the clip continuously, people of low class are shown with bleak coloured clothing whilst people of social significance ever in class or status wear brighter or shiny clothing for example as the lady approaches Merlin she is shown to wear a colourful purple dress, or the antagonist in the fight wearing shiny armour. But significantly, non-diegetic sounds also represent class and status in these two characters aswell, as the lady approaches non-diegetic sounds which are very formal build up slowly, making the scene more intense, as these two classes clash non-diegetic sounds are used to almost make people of higher class seem more important, as in the scene the purple dressed lady is cored as she walks in by a small string orchestra. Differently, as the fight happens there is a prevalent switch and juxtaposition of non-diegetic tones, the fight showases an environment of a lower class shown by diegetic sounds of animals, as animals signify farmyard, Light quick based violin rifts in major key key represents the informal class of the market area yet for the castle, the non-diegetic tones are much more formal in a minor key, representing higher class to be alot more serious and formal.

During the fight the antagonist steps onto a see-saw like object looking down at Merlin on the floor, this use of a low angle shot puts the audience in the position of the lower class citizens looking up at the higher class man being agressive, this shot is used to represent people of higher class to look like the enemy of lower class citizens. As this is the first episode director James hawes intentionally used this shot to present and establish this class struggle quickly, presenting to the audience to have sympathy for the lower class as the shot is used to put the audience in the "shoes" of the lower class, the extract represents sympathy in this shot for the lower class.

Finally as Merlin: our protagonist, talks with the antagonist editing is used to represent the dominance of higher class as this use of shot reverse shot using over the shoulder shots show more of the antagonist in the quick paced  editing style even as he taken his first shot at Merlin, he jumps out of shot at a over the shoulder angle representing by this long take that higher class dominates lower class in the clip, as Merlin dodges and comes back the shot signifies that the audience prospective should be mainly focused on the higher class man.

In conclusion class and status are represented in the clip to be two conflicting things, the conflict of higher and lower class is represented to be dominating by higher class.

QUESTION 2

Technological convergence and synergy are very important for institution and audience, yet there is a real juxtaposition between larger conglomerates and independent companies in the film industry. My case studies of Star Wars: The force awakens and BFI's The falling starring Maisie Williams can help identify that.

Disney recently bought Star Wars production Lucas Film in October 2012 for $4.06 billion, and Disney being one of the larger 6 main conglomerates produced the seventh instalment of the franchise, Disney are owner of 4 main subsidiaries, walt disney studios (owning Marvel, Pixar and their own record label) , Media network(TV, radio and internet), Disney Resort(owning the park companies). Disney have used their subsidiaries which are important as this helps them produce a huge synergy, including their subsidiary of merchandise.

Star wars all time gross is around $30 billion with 138 games grossing $3.7 billion, but 2 lines of toys, the first prequel selling 3.75 billion units and another with company hasbo between 1995-2011. Disney now after the release of the force awakens released a whole new toy line, yet this time synergy between Walt Disney and their Marketing subsidiary now is helping their profit growth and are expecting $5 billion 12 months after the films release of 17th December of 2015/

Differently, the falling was given £750,000 by BFI to produce the film making around £375,000 in box office, BFI (British Film Institute) and BBC films produced the film. The juxtaposition between these 2 films are huge as the force awakens is likely to gross $1.9 billion and from George Osborn £20 million of their $200 million budget was gifted to them, the falling unlike Star Wars didn't show technological convergence and synergy like star wars did.

In marketing, Star wars were aware of their audience being predominately male had marketing synergy with Cover girl and max factor being female products this use of synergy is important to Disney or Lucas film as an institution as more female audiences are encouraged to see the film starred by Daisy Rigley, John boyega, and original cast of Carrie Fischer, Mark hamil and Harrison Ford.

Director JJ abrams when producing the film reconstructed the original trilogy, to try to recreate the magic. After recent success of new Imax 3D technology Abrams was unsure whether to use original 35mm film with a 2,35:1 aspect ratio or 20mm film as technological convergence of cinemas are more supportive of it as cinemas can charge more for Imax making better gross profit. Abrams went with the 35mm and used 20mm to accompany secondary shots using camera rigs for 3D technology. From this Abrams' conformity demonstrates the growth of technology and how it converges with film.

The falling wasn't filmed in IMAX, and only shown in 2D for 4 weeks emphasising how important technological convergence is to audience, and audience are more likely to watch a film of better technology.

Disney when creating the force awakens website teamed with subsidiaries Disney Studios and their media network, promoting Disney's synergy. The sight is comatible with mobile devices, tablets and computers showing virtual reality. Technological convergence is apparent in this as they include synopsis of the films, trivia and reviews excluding the use of other websites such as IMDB and Wikipedia converging different technologies into one platform. Critics claim a real reason the falling didn't gross profit was due to this ignorance of marketing and technology, due to the fact the budget was small of course only showing 1 trailer compared to 3 the force awakens released.

Disney are planning to release the force awakens on blu-ray with their second screen technology, which allows consumers to sync the film with from second screen apps to access featurettes from their devices, smartphones or tablets. These include bonus scenes, triva and BTS. This is an example of technological convergence which is important to the institution and audiences as consumers of the product are more gratified which markets it better making more profit for the institutions.

Synergy is important to the Disney Institution when producing John Williams score, Disney Studios could produce this using their own record label, releasing this on December 17th also creating more "hype" for audiences, hearing this grows nostalgia levels making the film more profitable as different media platforms are released and saving the franchise money through the synergy of Disney's subsidiaries.

In conclusion the used synergy and convergence is important to the institutions as it can save them money and help them produce more consumables yet ignorance of this like the falling is important to audiences as it determines if they will want to see it or not. As the feelings only real marketing was inclusion of Game of thrones Maisie Williams.

Documentary notes

Pre production:

Pre-production is a fairly loose term which refers to the tasks undertaken before production begins. Exactly what is included in this stage depends on the medium and situation.

For a small video company, pre-production may refer to everything that happens before shooting begins, for example, meeting with the client, research, storyboarding, location planning, etc.

For feature films, pre-production is more specific and only begins when other milestones have been met such as financing, screenplay, casting and major staffing. In this case pre-production includes:

• Location scouting
• Prop and wardrobe identification and preparation
• Special effects identification and preparation
• Production schedule
• Set construction
• Script-locking (semi-finalisation of the script)
• Script read-through with cast, director and other interested parties

Production:

In film and video, production refers to the part of the process in which footage is recorded. This is what most people imagine when they think of a film being made — actors on sets, cameras rolling, etc. The production phase is also known as principal photography.

In large feature films the beginning of the production phase marks the "point of no return", i.e. the point at which it is no longer financially viable to cancel the project. At this point it is almost always cheaper to continue until the project is finished than to deal with the financial fall-out of canceling.

The goal of principal photography is obviously to record all required shots, however it is fairly common to shoot "pick-up" shots in post-production. Pick-up shots may be required when a mistake is noticed, a script change is made (this is unusual), or even if a performance is deemed to be unsatisfactory.

In music, production usually refers to the creative direction of a project. Unlike a film producer who is more of a manager, a music producer has a very hands-on role in the creative development.

Distribution:

• A film distributor is an independent company that acts as an agent for a filmmaker (or film production company) to market and circulate a film in festivals, theaters, television, home video (DVD, Video on Demand, Download, etc), and for educational purposes (curriculum tool, conferences, social/cultural/educational organizations, etc.).
• Educational distributors - release films and other visual programming that can be used as educational tools. They may distribute to: schools, libraries, universities and colleges, museums, media centers, conference programmers, social and health service providers, professional/employee associations, government, community and grass-roots organizations
• Home video distributors - release films in various forms that can be purchased for home viewing. This includes VHS, DVD, Video on Demand, Internet Download, Pay-Per-View, etc.
• Television - release films and other visual programming to network and cable TV, public access TV Theatrical - release feature, documentary, and short films to the theater circuit

Synergy and convergence of Star wars compared to the falling

Disney are one of the 6 larger conglomerates and after 2012 expanding their cross-media ownership for $4.05 Billion to own subsidiary Lucas Film, producers of the Star Wars Franchise. Disney's revenue in the fiscal quarter of 2015 to nearly $13.4 billion. Disney are made up of four subsidiary divisions- The walt Disney Studies(Owning of Marvel, Pixar and animation and Lucas Film, including Film studios, record Labels); Parks and resorts(Theme Parks); Disney consumer products(Merchandise, publishing), Media networks(TV, radio, internet). Disney are an example of cross-Media ownership and this benefits them as it allows them to use synergy within separate subsidiaries.

Obviously, The force awakens is just another instalment of one of the biggest Film merchandise synergies ever selling  3,850,000,000 units of Kenner toys between 1978-1985 then selling 5,537,000,000 Hasbro units between 1995-2011 when the separate trilogies came out, as well as 138 video games sold making $3,400.000,000, In total the franchise before the Force Awakens had a revenue of $28,000,000,000 approximately. 

Toys and collectables are the most mass produced merchandise of Star Wars you can get. There are tens of thousands of toys collected by tens of thousands of people starting in the 1970's following the initial release. 

There is a huge amount of Star Wars clothing and accessory merchandise in numerous retailers. There are shirts, leggings, shoes, hats, costumes, hair accessories, wigs, makeup, jackets, jewelery, baby clothes, sew on patches, bags, underwear and so on. You can buy this kind of merchandise from almost anywhere online and in high street stores such as Forbidden Planet and exhibitions like Comicon, where people also dress as the characters. This is only popularized by Lucas Film delivering their product on more than one media channel. 

The Force Awakens being the most anticipated film of 2015 has been marketed well through Media Synergy, Media synergy is the way in which different elements of a media conglomerate work together to promote linked products across different media, and The force awakens unlike The smaller independent film The falling didn't lack this at all, Sky have a channel dedicated on Sky Movies to the Star Wars franchise called Sky movies Star wars, this channel's advertising is obviously marketed at the fans where I can see a number of media conglomerates working together to sell and promote their products, for example CoverGirl and star wars have partnered on Force Awakens styled make-up, Duracell and Star wars partnered also to advertise batteries and other produces, Subway in 110 countries selling Star Wars force awakens kids meals and even Max factor also.
Their Media convergence in more Make-up lines has significant connotations, The Force awakens use of Media convergence is to market the film to a larger audience out of Star wars' stereotypical audience, marketing at females as Star wars' target audience is stereotypically known as more male, this use of media synergy is blatant to help push this new instalment onto a larger audience. 

Synergy is used in the Force awakens in many ways, The poster is of the film promotes different sub-parts of the film, its soundtrack scored by John Williams, The soundtrack alone shows the application of technological convergence and cross media convergence as cross media the soundtrack can be accessed by purchasing a CD or downloading on Itunes and by listening to the music whilst watching the film, Using the Apple platform to access The force Awakens shows how convergence has been used, but Technological convergence the soundtrack can be accessed/Purchased/Consumed via the internet, ipod, mobile phone via Itunes and the ever growing Youtube which The force awakens even has their own channel to converge that market. Another use of Synergy used by Disney is that their subsidiary Walt Disney Studios record labels can produce John Williams score.

Differently, previously Star wars merchandise would have been made seperately, but now synergy has been used in the different subsidiary of Disney in Disney Consumer products, The Force awakens has a new fresh range of Toys and other Merch, In cinemas as The force Awakens was played merch Odeon and Lucas converged to help sell new merchandise to fans coming to see the film, Disney expect an Ancillary revenue of $5 billion 12 months after the films release alone.

Disney used synergy to promote the release of The Force awakens by releasing the John Williams score through Disney's record label. The album generated publicity which encouraged people to see the film, as there is a form of nostalgia towards the soundtrack being very recognizable. 

New technologies are used by disney in the production of their films. The force Awakens was filmed in digital 3D using 35mm lens with a 2,35:1 aspect ratio(Cinemascope), Originally they wanted to shoot in Imax 70mm film instead being a more popular technology, but used the 70mm film to accompany certain shots, this subtle approach to filming the force Awakens reflects the popularity of IMAX 3D techonology with film studies. Studios like IMAX 3D for a number of reasons, serveral recent 3D releases have been hugely successful such as Avatar which grossed $2.7 billion. Cinemas can also charge more for tickets to see IMAX 3D films. Use of IMAX 3D also helps to tackle piracy and encourages people to pay to see the film at the cinema, as pirated copies will not be in 3D. Filming in IMAX 3D is more costly than 2D. The force Awakens used the Pace fusionm rig, a 2 camera rig which films images simultaneously.

New technologies have benefits and disadvantages for companies like Disney. Proliferation of Hardware and Widespread has lead to increased piracy, as well as offering a wider range of entertainment choices competing for the audience's attention. A consequence of this has been declining DVD sales. In order to combat this Disney have developed their use of digital distribution and electronic sell-through. Disney recently launched Studio all access which allows consumers to purchase a copy of the film and then access it in a variety of formats on a range of devices. for Example the Toy Story 3 DVD came as a multi-pack featuring DVD, Blu-ray, streaming  and digital download copies. Disney are also planning to launch Video on demand service to allow consumers to instantly access their films through cable and digital television. Disney are planning to release The force Awakens on DVD product Second screen which allows users who have bought the blu-ray editions of certain films to download an app for a tablet, phone or computer. Whilst they watch the film consumers can sync this app with the film allowing them to access a range of additional content( Trivia, games, storyboard,etc.). This use of Technological convergence allows the experience of the consumer to be more interactive. It also benefits disney by encouraging consumers to purchase their products.


LucasFilm subsidiaries: Skywalker sound, THX, Lucasarts and Lucasfilm animations. Now owned by disney.

The Force Awakens Audience and Institutions COMPARED to The falling

COMPLETEDAs of November 2015

POST-PRODUCTIONAs of November 2014

Completed principal photography.

PRODUCTIONAs of April 2014

Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn revealed on April 2 that the new Star Wars had already begun filming and most of the cast was set.

PRE-PRODUCTIONAs of October 2013

Producer Bryan Burk stated that principal photography will likely commence in Spring 2014.

DEVELOPMENTAs of November 2012

Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine screenwriter Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for the new Star Wars film. JJ Abrams will direct. Slated for a 2015 release.

ANNOUNCEDAs of October 2012

Upon purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney, the studio announced a targeted 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII. Followed by additional Star Wars films every two to three years.

CONCEPTAs of October 2010

Star Wars The Force awakens-

Representatives from Lucasfilm met with Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to agree to produce Episode VII in the UK. Osborne also committed £25 million ($37 million) of public money towards the film, claiming it was a boost for British culture and the film industry. The Falling Didn't even have that big of a budget just demonstrating how large conglomerate industries, their Budget was funded solely by BFI with £750,000 independent film producers cannot try to compete with these larger conglomerates just on the bases alone of how films are produced in industry. 

production spaces at the Bad Robot facility were converted for shooting of Episode VII for the benefit of shooting a minor portion of the film in the United States

The Force awakens like any film had production risks, with the large budget spent can it make the money needed to make profit, The Falling didn't make a profit which raised the ideas of the 4 risk questions
What level of audience will it attract?
Level of Funding neccessary?
Is it Marketable?
Will the funding make a Proditable return?

Well, The falling was a 15 rated Drama mystery, and being a british independent film audiences obviously weren't as interested why it grossed a total £359,082

The film was set in an old mansion like grammer school with off set countryside shoots, this low budget makes sense as no special effects or expensive effects were used.

This Film wasn't marketable, only 1 trailer came out, the only aspect which was slightly marketable was the fact game of thrones Maise Williams was set to star, fans of the show may have been interested.

Will the inclusion of famous Maise Williams the film could have made profit, as well as the low budget Profit could have been made as it is a well organized well shot put together film

Differently, 

The Force Awakens had a huge advantage on its side, Star wars being a massive influence in Pop culture and the Star wars trilogy revolutionizing the way film is made, as well the more recent prequels didn't receive well with fans, the original star wars came out almost 40 years ago so older audiences and newer younger audiences, fans of the ever growing merchandise and smaller franchises( Clone wars, Lego etc.) were attracted to this movie.

Star Wars originally was made great by its revolutionary practical effects, and the prequels were dubbed for bad CGI use, The force awakens filmed on 35mm IMAX supporting cameras de-constructed the originals by piece to remake what made the orginals so great and the prequels unloved: Practical Effects, Light humour, How it was shot, real sets and not green screen, Blue screen used instead of green, casting relatively unknown actors, crafting ships and props to life size as well as re hiring John Williams to score the movie. In December 2015, The Mail reported that Ford will be paid $25 million plus a 0.5% share of the revenue. Ridley and Boyega each will receive $460,000 plus a share if the movie grosses over $1 billion. Fisher received $1.5 million and Abrams was paid $5.1 million plus a 2% share of the revenue. For the original 1977 film, Ford was paid $10,000 (equivalent to $39,000 in 2016).  The Budget was neccessary for the idea created by JJ. abrams. 

Star Wars Episode I although unliked by fans, it grossed $1,027,044,677 

worldwide, and if in plateo with the idea of long awaited sequels first instalment grossing well Jurrassic World's $1,668,984,926 or The Hobbit's $1,021,103,568 or even Toy Story 3's $1,063,171,911 can prove this, it was almost inevitable that The Force awakens would make profit, infact the force awakens £200,000,000 budget was made profit of £45,000,000 in the opening weekend.