Sightseers research task

Production

 

StudioCanal

-What was StudioCanal's original purpose?

To deal with French and European productions

-Which big 6 company has connections with StudioCanal?

Universal studios

-How large is StudioCanal's film library?

It has the third largest film library in the world

 

Big Talk Pictures

-What has been the total gross of ALL Big Talk Films?

-What type of film does Big Talk specialise in?

Comedy

-Who founded Big Talk?

Nira Park

Film4 Productions

-Who owns Film4 Productions?
Channel Four Television Corporation

-When was it 're-established'?

It was re-launched as Film4 on 19th July 2006 

-Which TV channel is it connected to?

Chanel four

 

Bfi Film Fund

-What is the purpose of the Bfi Film Fund?
To provide funding for feature film production and development
-What is its budget pa?

 

Rook Films

Distribution:

StudioCanal

Optimum releasing

 

Budget 

-Where did the idea for the film come from?

Alice Lowe and Steven Oram made it as a short film about their childhood experiences and family holidays

-How does the film qualify as 'British'?

Set in Britain

British actors
British director and producer

 -Other films directed by Ben Wheatley

• Down terrace
• Kill list
• The ABC's of death
• A field in England
• High rise

-Distribution (how many screens in the UK and how long was it at cinemas for?)

-Films reception (how did critics receive the film? What is a BIFA and how many nominations and awards did the film receive?)

 85% on Rotten tomatoes

-Box Office (opening weekend, domestic and world wide)

Opening Weekend

$7,384 (USA) (2 Screens)

Gross
$35,722 (USA)

Weekend Gross

$8,377 (USA) (10 Screens)

Gross - $2,102,166

-Which formats is the film available on?

 Cinema and Internet

-How was it released in the US (formats and release pattern)

Released on TV and Internet 3 days after cinema release

-How was it marketed how did StudioCanal help?

The internet was used a lot to advertise the film

-How was Twitter and Facebook used to market the film?  

The film had a Twitter and Facebook page to help advertise it

-How was Stella Artois involved? What is a Stella Artois bursary?

Stella Artois helped present the premier of the film

Unique funds that directly support the film community

Class and Status

Upper class
1. Arthur Pendragon - Merlin
Arthur Pendragon is the prince of Camelot and later becomes king. He is very rude and arrogant when first introduced but he soon becomes nicer and cares more about others.

2. Daniel Meade - Ugly Betty
Daniel Meade is the editor in chief of Mode magazine as his father owns the company. Daniel takes advantage of his class and status and uses it to get girls.
3. Queen Anne - Musketeers
As shown in this clip Queen Anne is very stereotypical of the higher class as she is married to King Louis XIII and has little useful skills such as cooking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeGq68HGQVU
4. Mycroft Holmes - Sherlock
Mycroft Holmes has a high level job in the government and does follow the stereotype of upper class people. He has a very posh accent and good posture. He wears a suit most of the time and always carries an umbrella

5. Daenerys Targaryen - Game of thrones
Daenerys is the daughter of a king and one of the last survivors of the House of Targaryen


Middle class
1. Betty Suarez - Ugly Betty
Betty Suarez is Daniel Meade's assistant. She comes from a poor family background but managed to get a good job at a top magazine.
2. John Watson - Sherlock
John Watson is a retired soldier and has come back from fighting due to an injury and is now living in London with Sherlock Holmes.
3. Gaius - Merlin
Gaius is the court physician and is respected and looked up to by lots of people.

4. Henry  - Ugly Betty
Henry is an accountant who works in the same building as Betty. He has a good well paid office job and lives in an apartment in the city.
5. Captain Treville - Musketeers
Captain of the musketeers. Is of higher class than the musketeers and is close to the king but is not a royal.



Working class
1. Merlin - Merlin
Merlin is Prince Arthur's man servant. He does not have much respect for Arthur to begin with and stands up to him when he bullies a servant. He comes from a poor farming family and gets the job in the castle after saving Arthurs life.



2. Walter - Ugly Betty
Walter was Betty's boyfriend and has a low paid job in a ruff area of town.
3. Constance - Musketeers
Constance is the wife of a cloth merchant so does not have a huge amount of money to live on.



4. Homeless network - Sherlock
Sherlock uses the 'homeless network to help him get information for his cases. He pays them to help him.
5. Lommy Greenhands - Game of thrones
A dyers apprentice

"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area? 


I think a huge part of a films success relies on marketing so cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in marketing. Marketing a film can be good but if it is not exciting and different nobody will notice it among other advertising. Cross media convergence is good as it means that lots of people can find out about a film through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. These are examples of convergence as the company making the film is not joining with Facebook it is just using it to gain publicity. I think using social media is very good advertising as lots of people have Facebook and Twitter so lots of people find out about the film. I think this is especially good for films aimed at teens and young adults as they use the social media much more so will be more likely to see the marketing. An example of cross media convergence is companies releasing film trailers on YouTube as they are not joining with YouTube to advertise their film they are using the technology available to them. Another example of convergence is when films have their own Facebook page like Iron Man 3 did as this increases awareness and lets lots of people know about the film. This was good for this film particularly as Iron Man has a large fan base that has a high percentage of teens or young adults who regularly use social media. I think cross media convergence is good for film marketing as it is cheaper for the film makers and it gets lots of people to know about the film through social media.


Synergy is also good as it increases awareness of the film as well. Synergy means that film companies can pair up with other companies and help promote each others products. An example of this is when Audi joined with Iron Man 3 and produced a car to be used in the film. This is a good method of marketing as it makes people aware of both products and promotes the film as well. I think cross media synergy is good for films as if they pair up with well known brands like Audi then they can appeal to different target markets. I think the brand the film decides to have a partnership with can affect who they attract to watch their film. If a films was to pair up with a brand like Coca Cola they would probably find they could appeal to a lot of teens and adults who like to drink the product whereas if a film was in a partnership with Haribo they would find they were appealing to a much younger audience. For this reason I think that synergy can be good as long as the partnership is appropriate for their film audience. I think having a good partnership is good for films as it means they can attract the audience of their partners product as well as their own audience. Another example of synergy is when a film company has a partnership with a app or game making company and gives them the rights to make a game based on their film or using characters from their film. This can also be good as this is not done very often which means you can get lots of publicity and attract new audience with it. Another example of synergy is Frozen releasing a recorded version of Let it Go on their CD where they had a partnership with Demi Lovato who sang the song for them. Different marketing like this is good as it stands out for things like trailers and poster and makes your film more interesting.




I think that using cross media convergence and synergy can be good for films as it is different and makes your marketing campaigns stand out form others if it is done right. If you are using synergy then you need to have a partnership with the right kind of brand as you need to appeal to people you want to come and watch your film. There would be no point for a film like Frozen to have a partnership with a company such as Audi as the film is aimed at children and the product is aimed at adults. This partnership would not work as you would be attracting the wrong people to your film. I also don't think that a film like Frozen would do very well with an app or game as younger children that would want to see this film may not understand how to play a game about it or may not have the access to it. However more younger children are playing with technology more recently so they may find that some of their audience would appreciate a game. I think a game or app for a film would work better for a film such as The Hunger Games as the people who would watch this are older and use technology more frequently. Using cross media convergence is also good as lots of people use social media so there is a big audience to reach out too however I don't think certain films would do as well with this. Films such as Iron Man will do well on social media as the audience is teens and young adults and this is the type of person who uses the media a lot. Films like Frozen could do well on YouTube as lots of their young audience will want to listen to the songs again so by releasing videos of these onto YouTube they can attract a younger audience. I think however films such as Frozen would not do so well on Facebook as it is aimed at younger children and Facebook is more for teens and adults. I think the release of a CD works better for films like Frozen as kids like singing Disney song so they can attract the right audience for the film. I think that cross media convergence and synergy are a very important part in marketing as they help attract the correct audience and promote the film. However film companies have to be careful what partnerships they make as they need to be appealing to the right age group and audience for their film.

"Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices"

To what extent do you agree with this statement?

I think that marketing plays a big part in the success of a film because a main reason for a film’s success is the amount of people that go and see it therefor the amount of money the film makes. If a film is well advertised then more people will find out about it therefore they are likely to get more people going to see it. This means that the more advertising you do the better publicised your film is so films that are backed by big companies will find it easier to do this as they have the money to do it. This means that films such as Iron man 3, produced by Marvel Studios, had a big enough budget to use advertisement such as a Facebook page and a car driven by Tony Stark being at the premier etc. Films made by huge companies are at an advantage as advertising is a key part to gaining fans and interest for the film. I also think that film series e.g. Harry Potter and groups of films like Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and The Worlds End, all including Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, will do better as they have more opportunities to build their fan base. Fans of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are likely to watch their films and as more people watch them, more people are likely to watch any other films where they are both involved. The same for Harry Potter as there is already a huge fan base from the books so instantly there will be people wanting to watch the film. As the films go on they will increase their fan base even more as more people find out about them or read the books and become interested in the films.

I also think that distribution is a big part of a film’s success. Again, if a film is made by a big company then they can afford to distribute their film more broadly or to other countries. If you are able to distribute your film to other countries then you’re instantly able to extend to a wider audience. However good distribution doesn’t guarantee success for a film. If you get bad reviews then people are less likely to want to see your film. Even big film companies that are well known for making good films are not guaranteed success because of good distribution e.g. Big Talk Productions made Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz which were successful however when they made Attack the block they got bad reviews which would have  stopped them from being as successful as they could have been. Even if you get bad reviews it may not stop your success. For example if something like The Avengers got bad reviews it would probably not stop them from being successful as it was such a huge and highly anticipated film and Marvel films before it were very successful.

 

Good production practices do have some part to play in the success of a film. If a film is not very good then it is hard to advertise it to make it look really good. This can be done by picking the best bits and using them to advertise but if the film is given bad reviews then it may not be as successful. If you have a good film you are more likely to get good reviews and have more people watch it. When people watch it they are likely to tell others what it was like so if it is good you will get more people wanting to go and see it from hearing about it. However good production on its own will not help the film succeed as there have been films that are well filmed and very good but didn’t do as well economically such as Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. Having a good film helps promote it as if you get awards or actors in the film get awards for their role then you get more publicity and more people will know about the film. Having A list stars in a film is also going to be good for the film as they will often have a large fan base who will watch their films. This means if you have lots of A list stars you will instantly have a huge group of people who will want to watch the film. This means you may have to rely less on advertising to get people to know about the film however if you have lots of A list stars in your film it is likely you have a big enough budget for advertising as well. 

 

A wide variety of advertising can really help a films publicity as it makes more people aware of the film and interests more people in it. Films that release teaser trailers or countdown trailers will gain publicity as people will be interested in the film. I think more obscure advertising such as releasing an app or making an official Facebook page is good for a film as it makes them stand out and attracts more people to watch it. I think good advertising is the main reason films are successful as if you don’t advertise then nobody will know about the film so there will be less people watching it. Good advertising means lots of people will know about the film and hopefully go and see it.

 

Overall I think that just advertising or distribution alone won’t guarantee the success of the film as films can be well advertised but not be well distributed and therefor isn’t available to as many people. If a film is well distributed it is available to lots of people but if it is not advertised then not as many people will know about the film therefor less people will go and see it. I think that good production, marketing and distribution are all needed to help make a film successful. If these things are used alone then they can each help the film be successful but without the others there are limits to how well it can do economically. Therefor I do totally agree with the statement ‘successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices’.

Sexual representation

http://prezi.com/swglwdbyk30d/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

The Avengers

The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

(how does who owns a media company influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?)

The Marvel Studios made The Avengers and as Marvel is owned by Disney they have enough money to have a huge budget for their films so the quality can be better they can get better actors etc. therefore the film should be more successful. Small companies can make good films and make money from them but they are often likely to have a lower budget so may not be able to have such good special effects etc.

 

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

(how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)

All Avengers related films were created by Marvel so that The Avengers could be made. Captain America, Thor and the Iron Man films were only really made so that The Avengers could be made. Because Disney is a huge company they have the money to be able to advertise The Avengers and collaborate with smaller companies to help promote their film. Disney had promotional partners such as Dr Pepper and Harley-Davidson that helped promote their film. Marvel uses Acura cars as the official cars for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and they did the same for The Avengers as they provided a one off car for Tony Stark to drive in the film.

 

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;

(how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blue Ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?)

The Avengers was released on DVD, Blu Ray, Blu Ray 3D and digital download. People go to the cinema less now as there are so many other options available to them. More people are buying films online or watching them on websites like Netflix.

 

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

(how and why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's, consoles etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the cinema to watch a film)

Because lots of people use things like Netflix to watch films on computers and mobile phones The Avengers released a directors cut so it can be watched on your phone. This makes it easier for people to watch the film therefor more likely to buy it.

 

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

(can you think of examples of how different technologies have come together to help the film industry?) 

Technologies such as the internet have helped out the film industry as they make it easier for people to watch films with websites like Netflix etc. This means it is easier for people to access the film and then more people are likely to buy it through the internet or watch it online.

 

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

(how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?)

The British copy of The Avengers was given a new name (Avengers Assemble) so as not to get confused with a British TV show with the same name. The British copy also had a less graphic version of Agent Coulson's death so it would not be rated too high and stop younger audience from being able to watch it. 

 

The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

(what is your opinion on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?)

I think that it is good that the film is available to people in more forms as it makes it easier to watch the film and means the film gets more money. I don't think it was necessary to change the title for the British copy as it is not likely to be confused with a TV series.

The big six infographic

https://infogr.am/the-big-six-walt-disney-pictures