Media Ownership

Ill Manors

Production Company:

Film London Microwave - Independent. They train people whilst on the job in order to offer the next generation of filmmakers an opportunity. They offer funding for shortlisted films. 

BBC FIlms - Parent BBC
Their main production company, who also produced/co-produced British films and other films such as Streetdance 3, Fish Tank, Match Point and An Education.

Distribution Company:

Revolver Entertainment - Independent. 

Exhibition Company:

Skyfall

Production Company:

Eon Productions - Parent Danjaq LLC

Distribution Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Parent MGM Holdings - Owned by Highland Capital Management and Third Point Management

Columbia Pictures - Parent Sony Pictures Entertainment - Parent Sony 

Sony subsidiaries - Triumpth Films, Screen Gems

Frozen

Production Company:

Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios - Parent The Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios 

The Walt Disney Studios Subsidiaries - 

Subsidiaries	Lucasfilm[1] Pixar Animation Studios The Muppets Studio[2] Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Company - 

Subsidiaries	Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Theatrical The Walt Disney Company India Pixar Marvel Entertainment Lucasfilm The Muppets Studio Disney-ABC Television Group ESPN Inc. (80%) A+E Networks (50%) Radio Disney Hulu (32%) UTV Software Communications Maker Studios

It's important they own Disney Land because this encourages the advertisement of Disney products. They have the characters featured in their movies, in the theme park. Their theme park is part of synergy.

Owning ABC Television Group also encourages advertisement. 

Question 2 - Exam Plan

"Synergy is a vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audience" To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your chosen media area?"

Synergy is the benefit that results when two or more agents work together to achieve something either one couldn't have achieved on its own. A films merchandise is part of synergy.

Disney uses synergy across markets.

Disney - case studies 

Frozen: Disney stores promote the consumer products which promote the theme parks which promote the television shows - Constant  media synergy - Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

Theme park - names&features of the attraction relates to the films content. 

2nd largest conglomerate in the word. 

Synergy: 2014 sing along version of Frozen. 

Released for digital download on iTunes and Amazon. Released on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Blu-ray includes a bonus feature of the making of Frozen, how they tried to adapt the original fairytale into an animation, four deleted scenes, the teaser trailer, and music videos from songs in the film. 

Video game was released for Nintendo DS and 3DS.

Disney has a whole Disney store for themselves - tons of merchandise such as Olaf cuddly toys, the characters in doll formation, jewellery for younger children. 

Disney attracts all ages.

Tie-ins: merchandise/non media-products. 

Six mini games of Frozen

Toy Story:  Digital 3D re-release of Toy Story & Toy Story 2 - teaser trailers for Toy Story 3.

- Blu Ray/DVD combo release of the films included 'The Making of Toy Story 3' feature.

- Disney Interactive Studios released 'Toy Story 3: The Video Game' prior to the release of the film.

- ABC's 'Dancing With the Stars' featured a performance from the film.

- Sneak peeks of the film shown on the Disney Channel.

- Prior to the release the Disney Channel held a 'Toy Story' day, showing the first two films and sneak peeks of the third one.

Ill Manors - Case study

Synergy: Plan B releasing the Ill Manors CD prior to the release of the movie. 

CD attracts audience through the themes.

Tweet-to-unlock campaign - promoted via digital media and physical posters - hashtag illmanorsalbum - trends on Twitter.

Website advertises the synergetic products. 

T-Shirts with logo, wallets with logo.

Comparison

Disney can promote more. 

Ill Manors is specific to 18-25 year olds. 

Wanted a 15 year old audience but BBFC deemed worthy of an 18 certificate.

Disney has subsidiaries to encourage the promotion of their media products - making it more successful.

Conclusion 

Ultimately, it is by far much easier for media conglomerates than a smaller independent British company to use synergy in promoting their media product. Synergy allows methods of promotion to promote other methods of promotion which makes it an extremely successful marketing tool. 

Representation of Age

Age is a length of time that a person has lived for. A mixture of ages are portrayed in this clip from young to old, through the use of mise-en-scene, camera work, sound and editing. The overall clip seems to look like it has a high production value because of its settings and the costume used for just one 6 minute scene. This extract has a linear narrative because all of its events are in chronological order.

Firstly, the audience are introduced to a lawyer directing questions at a young boy in a courtroom through an over the shoulder shot. This shot lingered for 8 seconds; slow paced editing used in order to create tension. The young boy responds with "yes" three times to the mans direct questions, within just 4 seconds. His single word replies convey him as vulnerable and intimidated by the lawyer, because the lawyer has power over the offender with his well-paid job along with being much older.

An establishing shot is what's used to show the room that the characters are in. It's a court room filled with lawyer's and the jury, with light shining down on the boy. Having this as the setting makes the clip seem more verisimilitude, as a court case with a murderer is possible in the real world. 

Mise-en-scene allows the audience to see the costume of the two main characters in this clip. Through a mid shot, the lawyer is shown to be dressed in a black suit with a wig worn by lawyers and his body posture is confident because he keeps his eyes on the offender with his chin up. His confidence confirms that he has had years of experience in the lawyer department, therefore through his job, it is evident that this man has had years of education and work to now be dealing with a murder investigation in a court room, conveying his age as old. Closer mid shots show a few wrinkles present on his forehead which further supports him as an older man. 

A mid shot is again used in this clip to illustrate the boy's attire. He is dressed in a smart suit to come across as presentable to the court room, however his emotions are all over the place. He is insanely pale with dark watery eyes, and he often sucks in his bottom lip. The audience would assume that this is a connotation of him trying to stopping himself from falling apart. His character is very young in this clip, as he is unable to deal with the threat of being put behind bars, and perhaps had lack of sleep over the nights leading up to this day. Younger people are stereotypically weaker than older people, therefore his actions and appearance support him as young because he is clearly struggling to cope; as would any young person being accused of murder. The audience know it is a murder investigation through the sound. The Lawyer traces over actions of a night where the boy wiped "blood from the cupboard handles" and through the "retrieval" of his jacket he'd left at the crime scene. 

This clip consists of mainly over the shoulder shots and mid shots with a close up at the end. In the over the shoulder shots and mid shots, the boy has a direct light shining down on him, whilst the two body guards behind him are unclear. This use of lighting allows the audience to focus on just the boy. The lighting is also quite unflattering because it whitens his complexion and forms a lot of shadow, which demonstrates that even if he is young, kids of his age are capable of murder. The vague, short and slow zoom is used as the boy shakes his head and defends himself with "I'm not cold blooded", but the zoom suggests he could be because it begins to zoom during his moment of thought, not fully confident on being innocent. The boy's body language is never quite still. He shuffles around often, tilts his head and looks across the room. He is clearly uncomfortable which again conveys him as vulnerable and struggling to cope with his situation at such a young age. 

The lawyer talks with fast paced sentences and gradually slows down his words in order to perhaps patronise the boy. He is using his years of experience to his advantage in getting the young boy to crack. Young audiences may perhaps feel sympathy for the boy, because there is such a lack of sound in this clip that when he is quiet and the lawyer is waiting for an answer, it is evident that he is upset and intimidated. Through voice the audience discover that he used to be at Uni, 7 months ago. This means he is between the ages of 18 and 22; young.

A mid shot is then switched towards the crowd in the courtroom, all turning their heads toward the boy waiting for yet another answer from him. Everyone around him are dominant and have more power than he does. A close up shot of another lawyer in this clip, this time female, is used to convey her as perhaps the young boys lawyer who is there to set him free. She looks warily around for a moment and then looks down whilst the man catches the boy out on his lies. Her body language conveys that she is perhaps less experienced than the male lawyer as she looks worried for her case, conveying her as younger than the older man, despite their job.

The sound of a spinner is introduced as soundtrack during the boy's admission to not calling an ambulance. This music can be interpreted as the time running out, as a good 30 second mid shot is held on the boy during this as well. He flickers his eyes from one room to the other multiple times before answering anything, exaggerating his vulnerability. The boy burries his head down onto his hands as a sign of giving up, and then lifts it up whilst crying. He cannot stand up to the man who has power and dominance because he is young and clueless and unconfident, or perhaps just a guilty kid. The shadows on him and the unsaturated tones in the shots denote a negative scene in this clip. He puts his hands up as a sign of "no more". The boy's body language and posture is filled with an endless amount of weakness and fright. The male lawyer eventually sits down, the horror styled soundtrack disappearing with his exit from the screen. 

The clip concludes with a 13 second close up of his face from a high angle, with the question "Did you kill Melanie?" lingering in the atmosphere. Ultimately, age has been represented in this clip as dominant yet vulnerable. 

~

Word Bank:

Connotation/Denotation
Verisimilitude 
High/Low production value
Narrative
Parallel editing (two scenes happening at the same time but being showing separately)
Include 'parallel editing' if it's in the clip.
Screentime/Size they are in the screen will convey how important a character is.
Continuity
Shot reverse shot

Question 2

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

Media ownership is looking at the consequences for a type of business ownership that media companies have, for example, conglomerates have a larger benefit for producing, distributing and exhibiting a movie because of being large media companies. Examples of conglomerates are 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Walt Disney, Columbia, Warner Bros and Universal. These are an oligopoly because they dominate the market in America. Revolver Entertainment, BBC FIlms and Microwave are all smaller independent companies who worked on the low budgeted movie Ill Manors. There are many different issues, both positive and negative, raised by media ownership in the production, distribution and exchange process.

Firstly, conglomerates such as Walt Disney (The Walt Disney Studios) and Columbia (Sony Corporations) were able to successfully make progress with their media products such as Disney's Frozen and Sony's Skyfall which both got incredible amounts of attention and in turn put into the cinema. Smaller companies and the majority of British Film is given a back seat due to the vast amount of American Blockbusters which dominate the cinemas. BBC Films who produced Ill Manors and Revolver Entertainment who distributed Ill Manors struggled more with creating a film that their target audience would enjoy, because they are low budget companies with very little money and therefore have to spend it wisely. Institutions have to be positive that the initial idea of their film is going to be good and therefore an overall success. A range of decisions are thought about in deciding the suitability of a film, from the choice of director to the storyline, whether it be in 3-D, HD or digital; all of which can affect costs and the audiences response to the movie for both conglomerates and independant companies. 

Furthermore, the production stage for Ill Manors and Skyfall were completely different. Skyfall had a budget of $150-200 million whereas Ill Manors had just a minute £100,000 budget in comparison. Skyfall, due to being produced by a large production company, Sony, were able to use a host of well known famous stars such as Daniel Craig and Judi Dench. Whereas most of the cast of Ill Manors were unknown or first time actors, making the characters in this movie less interesting and appealing to an audience. Skyfall used exotic and varied locations around the world which keep the audience interested and fascinated because it would be difficult to become bored with a film that explores so many different settings. Ill Manors setting was a lot more geographically specific because Plan B wanted to convey the social corruption amongst the streets of London, and therefore filmed in just one location. Special effects are effective in producing a captivating and interesting movie, and Skyfall used a lot of expensive ones in order to convey more dramatic scenes and increase the excitement amongs the audience. They also had expensive action sequences, for example the highly produced fight and chase scenes. Ill Manors used no special effects whatsoever, and although this film may not have needed any, it is still something that made it lose out on that wow factor that Skyfall has. There were also less action in the dramatic scenes of this movie aswell, causing it to be a complete opposite to Skyfall, and not in a very good way. 

Moreover, the differences in distribution for Skyfall and Ill Manors was again, extremely different. Skyfall's marketing campaign was huge and extensive; it first brought out a teaser trailer and then brought out the official trailer. This trailer currently has 23,060,791 views compared to Ill Manors trailer with 741,717 views. The trailer to Skyfall was shown at the start of many cinema releases, such as The Bourne Legacy, 21 Jump Street and The Hunger Games. By playing it at the start of these movies, it will attract middle aged audiences, those who enjoy the same genre and "spy" plot along with the theme of action and drama; all of which Skyfall contains. Posters advertising the movie were placed all around London, on various billboards, tube stations and buses. This was successful because it meant that the advertisement of this film would be circulating around a constantly busy city to a variety of age ranges, as the target audience for Skyfall is 15-55 year olds. On the official Skyfall website, the audience were able to find out what cinemas were showing this film, what times and then how to book the tickets. The premiere information was also found on their website, along with news and pictures of the film and the official Skyfall trailer. Ill Manors marketing was very specific and highly targeted, and they had to mainly use web 2.0 in order to advertise this movie because of it being a low budget film. Social media was it's main source of marketing, as Ill Manors also had their own website with links to the DVD and Blu-Ray copy to purchase, stills from the footage, videos and also a link to Plan B's album featuring the soundtrack of the movie. Ill Manors created a Facebook account to promote the movie, where they posted clips from the footage, held competitions for the viewers and advertised limited editions of the movie. Shares on Facebook allow friends of friends to see the post, and the shares on their Facebook posts are very limited from minimum 2 and maximum 20. If their posts get no shares, only their likers will see their posts, not their likers friends, which has a large effect on their marketing campaign because hardly anyone other than those who were interested in the page (currently 29,000 people) will see the movie promotion, therefore making the distribution of Ill Manors less successful. Skyfall were able to use synergy, for example Sony PS3, phones, games, the DVD, TV, soundtrack and the film were released at the same time, whereas Ill Manors couldn't use synergy to the same extent by just releasing the DVD and the soundtrack at the same time as the film Skyfall had a series of huge premieres all over the world; Ill Manors didn't. Skyfall also used cross promotion through a range of companies all advertising Skyfall - Heinekein, Omega, Sony TV's, Coca-Cola etc. Product placement earned $50Million, $44M for just Heinekein alone. Even though the distribution for Ill Manors was less lavish than Skyfall's, it was still successful, grossing £256,288 on its opening weekend, more than double of it's £100,000 budget, which proves that its marketing campaign was a success nevertheless.

Additionally, aspects such as the films format will affect the exchange of a film. For example, a film shot in digital is easily distributed to cinemas all over with the simple use of a memory stick. Whereas the traditional 35mm films reels are far larger and more awkward and expensive to distribute, limiting the quantity of copies and also exhibition to audiences. The format also decides the fundamental quality of a feature and its overall appearance. The exchange rate for Skyfall was once again more of a success. Skyfall opened in 580 cinemas - over 1000 screens in the UK and Ireland and managed to break the box office records, and overtake the highest grossing film of all time, Avatar. Ill Manors didn't manage to break any box office records as it's gross was so small, nor did it get to the top of the DVD or Blu-ray charts on the day of the release. Because cinema's couldn't risk showing a film that wouldn't definitely attract a large amount of audience, as being a British film, Ill Manors was played in much fewer, selected and niche cinemas, meaning that less people knew about it and less attention it got. Ben Drew wanted Ill Manors to attract an audience of 16 years olds and above, but becuase of it containning such dramatic violence, drugs, alcohol and horrific language, it was rated as an 18, meaning that anyone younger than this age were unable to even view it in the cinema if it was brought out in their local one, causing Ben to lose out on lots of audience and furher affect it's total gross on the opening weekend. 


Following on from the target audience of Ill Manors, audiences in general are affected by media ownership. Skyfall was aimed at a huge mainstream target audience: 15-55 year olds. They had a core male target audience with a wider secondary female audience, straddling broad cross sections of class, ethnicity and sexuality. It was aimed at more of an international audience so the dialogue/script is less specific than Ill Manors which uses contemportary urban colloquialisms. Ill Manors was aimed at 16-24 year olds, and heavily pitched at a male audience, yet as mentioned previously, was rated an 18, therefore meaning that part of Ben Drew's target audience were not able to view the film in a cinema. 
  Ultimately, Skyfall and Ill Manors convey how media ownership plays a massive role in the production, distributuon and exchange of a film, whether it be its downfall of its claim-to-fame. The companies involved are extremely important to a film' success, as they provide the bulk of a film's existence - the budget - which can either limit or widen the choices which can be made when producing and distributing a movie. 

Question 2

9610 - candidate number

Using Disney as a good example, do a post about synergy and how it is easier for a media conglomerate than a smaller independent British company.

Synergy is the benefit that results when two or more agents work together to achieve something either one couldn't have achieved on its own. Examples of synergy from Disney would be their High School Musical CD, High School Musical game, High School Musical DVD and High School Musical outlets.

Disney uses synergy across markets, many relating to the films they release, as the company's feature length films are its cornerstone products. They are marketed before launch through partners, agencies, competitors and subsidiaries, often promoting the films through advertisements on the television channels that Disney owns. When the film is launched, the company continues to gain marketing synergies, often by franchising consumer products to other companies, further promoting the product and generating more profit. More popular films are often used in the Disney theme parks as attractions for visitors, where the names and features of the attractions relate to the films content. Disney also advertises all of its products on web 2.0, where information is available to a worldwide audience, as well as fans and critics creating their own publications about Disney's products. 

Walt Disney pioneered synergistic marketing techniques in the 1930s by granting dozens of firms the right to use his Mickey Mouse character in products and advertisements, and continued to market Disney media through licensing arrangements. These products can help advertise the film itself and thus help to increase the film's sales.

Further examples

• The Walt Disney company allows some other corporations to use their characters, such as Mickey Mouse.
• The use of soundtracks, i.e. Daft Punk working on Tron Legacy.
• Merchandise - Toy Story franchise, Marvel entertainment.
• Special Deals inside the DVD/Blu-Ray boxes.
• Pre-Movie Adverts on the DVD, as well as in cinema.

Synergy and 'Toy Story 3'

- Digital 3D re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 - teaser trailers for Toy Story 3.

- Blu Ray/DVD combo release of the films included 'The Making of Toy Story 3' feature.

- Disney Interactive Studios released 'Toy Story 3: The Video Game' prior to the release of the film.

- ABC's 'Dancing With the Stars' featured a performance from the film.

- Sneak peeks of the film shown on the Disney Channel.

- Prior to the release the Disney Channel held a 'Toy Story' day, showing the first two films and sneak peeks of the third one.

The Disney stores promote the consumer products which promote the theme parks which promote the television shows. The television shows promote the company. This could also be described as constant media synergy, wherein everything within a franchise promotes everything else. Toy Story 2 toys were sold in McDonald's happy meal boxes and advertised on the packaging. This is a fun way of advertising a movie because every child who goes to McDonald's gets a happy meal. This type of synergy is successful because those who have seen the movie will then be interested in the McDonald toys, and those who have the toys may be interested in viewing the media content in a cinema.

The distributors of Ill Manors (Revolver Entertainment - a smaller independent company) cannot use synergy in the same way as Disney can, and this is a major disadvantage. It's an uneven playing field between conglomerates and small independent companies. Ill Manors used synergy through Plan B releasing a CD with the soundtrack of the movie before the film was ready to be consumed. Having a CD out first means that the audience may be interested in the themes explored in his music and therefore feel intrigued to view the movie. The campaign combine both traditional and digital media and was kicked off by the release of a tweet-to-unlock campaign that was promoted via digital media and physical posters that included the hashtag illmanorsalbum. Plan B released this music video as a protest video to create awareness. His Ill Manors album went straight to number one in the Official UK Album Charts upon release in July 2012. SkyFall didn't need the CD by Adele to do well as much as Ill Manors did. The Ill Manors website is also an example of synergy because there are links on this website which take the viewer to the page where they can purchase the normal DVD and the Blu-Ray version. This encourages the promotion of Ill Manors. T-Shirts were also designed with the logo of Ill Manors printed on the front of the material. If people walk around with this shirt on, it also promotes the movie which is a further example of synergy. 

However, Ill Manors were not able to bring out as many merchandise products as Disney because their audience are for people aged 18 and over. Plan B wanted to attract 15-25 year olds, but done the film no favours by presenting a title which the BBFC deemed worthy of an '18' certificate. This risks it losing under 28 audiences which means the film may not have made as much money. Disney attracts children as well as teenagers as well as adults, which gives them an advantage when it comes to merchandise and box office profits. You wouldn't be able to advertise Ill Manors pencil cases and teddies for example like Disney can with the characters featured in their movies. 

The union between Pixar and Disney have been an incredibly successful business strategy played out by Disney, and financially a hugely profitable move. Below are some more examples of Disney's subsidiaries which enable this media conglomerate to dominate the market. With all of these subsidiaries comes the opportunities for successful synergy because they can all work together and promote each other. 

Revolver Entertainment does not have this luxury because they only have their own company to work with. Without subsidiaries, it makes synergy a lot more challenging, hence this is so easy for Disney because they own a ridiculous amount of other companies.

Ultimately, it is by far much easier for media conglomerates than a smaller independent British company to use synergy in promoting their media product. 

Question 2

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the media area you have studied?

Digital distribution is the delivery of media content, such as video, over an online delivery medium such as the Internet, thus bypassing physical distribution methods such as compact discs, DVDs and paper. It has affected the marketing and consumption of media products in a variety of positive and negative ways.

Firstly, digital films are large computer files which can be written to DVD-ROM, sent via broadband, transmitted via satellite, with virtually no shipping costs and isn't much more expensive to show in 100 cinemas as 1. These are major positives for distribution companies because it saves them having to worry if their physical film is delivered in time to the cinema's playing their movie. Film prints are very expensive (£1500-£3000 per print) and are also expensive to ship and collect when the film finishes its run. They run and run until the quality of the footage eventually becomes of less good quality than it was in the first showing. By using digital copies of a media product, the twentieth show will be just as good as the first, with no worry of the footage eroding and becoming unprofessional. Also, unless where the film is being played will be a guaranteed hit, it is risky to send film to a lot of cinemas, whereas digital films can be opened and played simultaneously around the world. 

Furthermore, an extensive viral marketing campaign was created in order to promote Disney's Frozen which contributed to it's massive success. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment were the distribution companies behind most of Frozen's releases. To begin with the promotion of an upcoming movie, a trailer is released and shown on television, YouTube ads and pop ups etc, which is a way in which digital distribution affects the marketing of media products. YouTube requires web 2.0 which is where the Frozen trailer was uploaded, currently viewed by 28,554,570 people. The teaser trailer was first published to attract their audience. Disney also released a second trailer onto YouTube, currently viewed by 17,963,990 people, and this is where further footage from the movie can be seen before being viewed in a cinema. Therefore, three trailers were aired on television and on Web 2.0 before the release of this Disney phenomenon. On YouTube, the Frozen trailer would often be advertised at the beginning of any video someone clicked on; they would have the option to 'Skip The Ad' after 5 seconds, however the 5 seconds is a clever tool on YouTube that gives people the chance to see if they're interested in watching the whole trailer. After the movie was released, Disney continued to make smart marketing decisions. They created a sing-along version to extend theatre life and keep their screen in the cinema busy. They also announced an upcoming Broadway musical based on the film, and pounced on the opportunity for Indina Menzel to sing at the Oscars; the singer behind Let It Go which is one of Frozen's most popular songs. Disney also released a CD of all of the songs featured in Frozen which further encourages audience to watch the movie as they may be interested in the songs they're listening to. Frozen also has their own website, where unique videos of the film can be found, Let It Go sung in 25 different languages, a variety of games for all of the children to be entertained. There's a Frozen gallery found on their website of stills from the film, a 'products' page which takes the viewer to their DVD and Blu-Ray section etc. A wide range of Disney merchandise is also advertised on Disney's store online; another marketing device which increases the number of Frozen fans. Due to Disney being part of The Big Six, it is expected that their marketing of Frozen was so successful, digital distribution encouraging this success.

On Frozen's opening weekend, it grossed $67,391,326 (USA) and £4,704,940 (UK). Four months and two Academy Awards after its release, Frozen officially surpassed Toy Story 3 as the top-grossing animated film to date, which makes it the first billion-dollar movie to come out of Disney Animation Studios. Even if someone hasn't seen the movie, they've no doubt heard about it somewhere online. Between the official Disney promos, the YouTube video of a dad and daughter singing along in the car to Let It Go (nearly 15 million views) or the couple Sam and Nia miming and acting "Love Is An Open Door" in a car with their baby in the backseat (20 million views), Frozen is inescapable, which was exactly Disney's plan. Frozen is now out on DVD and Blu-Ray, and also available on Netflix and LOVEFiLM, in order to reach a wider audience. However, institutions may not always look upon digital distribution as such a positive thing, as many websites can allow the consumers to view films illegally online and for free, which means that the film will not be making its money back from the budget, which means the companies who worked on a film will lose profit. This was not such a huge problem for a massive film like Frozen, but for a smaller, low budget film such as Ill Manors, it can be.

Ill Manors could not afford to create such a large marketing campaign as Frozen's, yet online methods still successfully promoted the movie. Their trailer uploaded to YouTube currently has 740,990 views which is a dramatic difference to Frozen. Ben Drew was able to advertise Ill Manors through his album which he brought out prior to the film's release date. He was the one who directed the making of the movie. An Ill Manors website was also created to encourage the marketing of the movie. People are able to access the trailer from this website, view stills from the movie, a synopsis and the album based on the film. A Facebook account was also created in trying to promote this low budget movie by independant distributing company Revolver Entertainment. These methods of marekting all required Web 2.0 which helped the instituion to get their media product to reach their target audience of 18 and 18+ year olds. Those on the higher side of teenage years all use the internet, which is why using social media is an effective way to market a movie. In order for this media product to reach a wider audience however, the distribution company would need to consider more methods of digital distribution. This would of course mean more money needed for the production company, however is something that would boost their income from Ill Manors. Ill Manors grossed a figure of £256,288 at Box Office on its opening weekend, which is more than double of it's budget of just £100,000. It's a small amount of money at Box Office, however their profit was definitely successful.

The consumption of media products is affected by digital distribution in mainly a positive way. Those who are interested in a movie that has been advertised but do not wish to pay the extortionate prices of cinema tickets and food, are able to at some point access a film in the cinema, on the internet. Usually uploads of new movies have been put on the internet illegally, nevertheless this doesn't stop a consumer from viewing the content for free in the comfort of their own home. In some cases, viruses are then found on people's laptops and computers from viewing this illegal content which causes the consumers problems. Illegal downloads are all fun and games until your piece of kit pays the price.

Ultimately, digital distribtion holds the potential to affect the marketing and the consumption of media products quite significantly. The internet's popularity is continously escalating over the years, which has an impact on the must to go and see movies in a cinema because of the continuing development of technology.

Technical language

Representation of ethnicity

Slow tracking shot establishing location of smart wear character bumping into an old friend.

Over the shoulder shot of Tel and Benjamin, names made clear through sound - dialogue.

Shot reverse shot conveying the clothing of the two characters.

Tel wearing a necklace, with dreadlocks (mise-en-scene).

Benjamin in a slick suit (mise-en-scene).

Dialogue - "Bro" "Man" "Ganja" stereotypical 'black talk'.

Continuity within their conversation.

Benjamin's body language (mise-en-scene) is uncomfortable, tries to interpret 'black man' body language.

Location (mise-en-scene) - Plush hotel

Zoom into Ben's face when Tel says "that's the old Benjamin right there man" - he's uncomfortable, tension rises, absence of fact.

Question 2

Question 2

What is the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences?

Technological convergence is the tendency that as technology changes, different technological systems sometimes evolve toward performing similar tasks; they come together in one object. An example of technological convergence would be a smart phone such as an iPhone or Android. These devices perform an assortment of tasks all in one piece of kit. You are able to use a camera, access the internet, download movies and apps, use voice recorders, text and phone people, use social networking sites and film videos. Some iPhones have Siri which is a voice in the device that you can speak to and ask questions to, it replies to your question no matter what it is, almost like a friendly robot. It's almost inevitable that with progress, technologies become more complex and are most certainly able to handle more tasks. Digital Convergence has allowed Technological Convergence to happen; it's where you're able to previously separate technologies such as voice data video sharing resources and interacting with each other. A mobile phone will soon become a device that caters for all of your needs. 

The importance of technological convergence for audiences is that they have access to everything in one product, and for institutions it's that the audience are tied to only one product. The main positive of technological convergence that stands out is the fact that people have a more broad access to films; there's many more ways to watch a movie than in just the cinema. New technologies have affected film because when it comes to the consumption stage, there is an increase in Blu-Ray discs where the quality is in higher definition for the consumer, home cinema, online streaming, DVD and PVR's. Skyfall is an example of a movie that can be viewed on online video streaming sites such as Netflix and Putlocker. Exhibitors have responded to this by making the cinematic experience more unique for the audience to try and keep an audience visiting the cinema. Ways they have done this is through creating premium seats which are a lot bigger and more comfortable, along with D-Box seats which offer chairs with motion; your cinema chair is synchronised to the film and mimics movements and vibrations on screen - immersive cinema at its very best. It is also accessible through a disc on an xbox. The title of the movie is the title of the main song featured in this film, Skyfall by Adele. Her song was released before the film was brought out to advertise it. The official music video for this song contains footage from the movie, and the effects in the movie are the effects behind the lyrics in the lyric video as well. which is accessible on a smartphone. Media industries are diversifying so that they produce and distribute across several media - for example, a newspaper with an online version and audio podcasts or the coming together of video games with films e.g. Quantum of Solace and Avatar. Skyfall also has a game version on the xbox which helps to promote awareness of the movie and allow the audience to interact with the storyline and characters. Those who are interested in the game, would perhaps also be interested in viewing the movie and vice versa; this would not usually be the case if it wasn't for technological convergence. 

The internet acts as a hub and brings together many aspects of the film making process, such as the film itself, the trailer on YouTube, film poster, news, interviews, official film sites and blogs, fan sites and blogs. The downfall of this however would be the overall price of the cost for all of this. It's miles more expensive to bring out a game copy, work with a famous artist, advertise on tele and youtube and Facebook etc. 

The question is asked though how mobile phones are affecting film making at the production, marketing and exhibition stages? 

Question 2

Write an illustrated essay outlining all the ways possible to consume and produce films, with advantages and disadvantages.

The ways in which a film is consumed and produced is consistently increasing with technology, and an example of this would be Technological convergence. This is the merging of different technologies giving audiences access to media content (e.g. TV and films) from a variety of platforms in one system. Profliferation of hardware has changed audience consumption of film because in previous years you would usually have to wait until a film came out at the cinema to watch it, and there would be no access to online movie streaming unlike there is currently. Online, many people can access movies for free from sites like Putlocker and Megashare which would mean that the cinema would lose out on these profits. Therefore, it can be seen as a negative for the production company behind the movie, however a positive for those who cannot afford to go to the cinema. In the old days, only being able to watch a movie in the cinema puts pressure on the production company because it results in them having to compete against other films available in a highly saturated market, as audiences can consume films from numerous platforms. A positive with the proliferation of hardware however, for the distribution company, is that majors like 20th Century Fox would be able to spend more on advertising on areas such as the TV, radio stations and billboards where everyone would be likely to notice it. They'd also be able to develop more advanced web interactivity and print more copies of a film, whereas smaller companies such as Revolver Entertainment may not be able to take this risk without unknown box office returns.

Some positives of technological convergence would be that more people would have access to films from different platforms such as the cinema, online downloads, dvds and blu ray, iPhones and tablets whilst on the go. This would also mean that the audience would be able to watch any film that they fancy whenever they want to. Technological convergence also creates new opportunities for distribution and exhibition. The negatives of this however would be that the problem of piracy and lost revenue would grow which could effect production companies, and there would be less control on audiences by film distributors and exhibitors. This therefore means that if someone was to stream a movie online and they were only 12 years of age perhaps, they would have access to any movie regardless of it's certification. This results in young children watching movies that are extremely grown up for them and what should not be allowed to be watched by anyone younger than the classification number. 

Expanding on the topic of the cinema, this is an excellent way to consume a movie. You can go with friends which increases the profits and sometimes a bundle of people just go to spend time out together. A cinema offers a greater viewing experience than that of your home because the movie will be screened in high definition and sometimes 3D movies are created for the benefit of an audience. At the cinema you can buy snacks and relax whilst watching the movie, as every cinema room is large and has plenty of comfortbale room for everyone situated in there. Cinema's tend to make more money with food and drink than they do with the actual cinema ticket, without the food and drink sales cinemas would make an extreme lack of money and therefore there would be nowhere for new movies to be screened.

The television is a great way to consume movies, because channels like movies4men, moviemix and Film4 exist on freeview where movies are often aired to an audience. You can also use Netflix as a way to consume movies. Netflix has reported profits of $53m (£32m) during the first quarter of 2014, and revealed plans for a subscription price increase. The internet video streaming firm said it added 2.25 million new members during the period,  bringing its total global membership to 48 million. It also announced that a potential "one or two dollar increase" in monthly rates for new members later that year. This would be the downfall of streaming movies like this; the rate will always be increasing. The more successfull a company like Netflix becomes, the more they will charge for people to use their services.

Overall, there are many ways that an audience can consume films and many ways that production companies can produce films as the film industry will always continue to grow and develop the more technology that begins to evolve, along with the future ways to consume movies that will at some point develop also.

Question 2 - Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American business magnate, cartoonist, animator, voice actor and film producer. As a prominent figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, he is regarded as a cultural icon, known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during the 20th century. As a Hollywood business mogul, he and his brother Roy. O. Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company.

The Walt Disney Company started in 1923 in the rear of a small office occupied by Holly-Vermont Realty in Los Angeles. It was there that Walt Disney, and his brother Roy, produced a series of short live-action/animated films collectively called the ALICE COMEDIES. The rent was a mere $10 a month. Within four months, the ever-growing staff moved next door to larger facilities, where the sign on the window read "Disney Bros. Studio." A year later, in 1925, the Disney’s made a deposit on a Hyperion Avenue lot in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. Construction began on the new studio shortly thereafter. During the next 14 years, many changes took place at the Disney studio: Mickey Mouse was "born" in 1928, followed by Pluto, Goofy, Donald Duck, and the rest of the Disney gang.

In 1937, Disney's innovative first full length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was released to critical acclaim and worldwide success. In order to expand and meet the expectations of his audience, Walt saw a need to increase the size of his studio. With profits from Snow White, he made a deposit on 51 acres of land in Burbank and began designing a modern studio specifically for the purpose of making animated films.

Next to Electric/Plumbing was the Special Effects shop, where the craftspeople created the myriad of unique effects that have come to be associated with Disney films. Flying cars, spaceships, miniature paddle wheelers, and medieval armor that comes to life are just some of the effects produced by this department.

The Paint Shop, which is in another large metal building, does everything from spraying cars and furniture to be used on a movie set, to spraying the set itself.

In the 1950s, as live-action films increasingly played a major role in the success of the studio, so did the inclusion of visual effects. Such memorable films as 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Darby O'Gill and the Little People began a tradition of combining complex optical effects with miniatures and matte paintings to create rich fantasy worlds on the screen. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Process Lab, renamed Photo Effects and then Visual Effects, was home to the distinguished artists and technicians responsible for the effects seen in Mary Poppins, The Absent Minded Professor, Blackbeard's Ghost, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete's Dragom, and Tron.

All charts are ranked by international theatrical box office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights and merchandise. Animated family films have performed consistently well, with Disney films enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home video era. Disney also enjoyed later success with its Pixar brand, of which the Toy Story films and Finding Nemo have been the best performers; beyond Pixar animation, the Shrek, Ice Age, Madagascar and Despicable Me series have met with the most success.

Frozen is one of Disney's most successful animated movies produced within the last three years. It has swept across the world, whipping kids into a crystal frenzy, lightening parents’ wallets as of the past weekend (Jan 29 2014) by over $810 million. The Disney picture just surpassed "The Lion King" to become the second most successful original animated feature, and it has "Finding Nemo" in its sights.

"Frozen" still has its China release — a now highly lucrative market —  and with its soundtrack selling in the millions, a “sing-along” version of Frozen was released in selected theaters on January 31 2015 complete with on-screen lyrics and bouncing snowflake.

Early teasers and trailers for "Frozen" didn't feature princesses in tiaras, instead opting for boyish hijinks between snowman Olaf and reindeer Sven, as well as an emphasis on the fvm’s action sequences. It was an interesting gamble, but not without precedent.

Disney pulled the same sleight of hand with "Tangled" in 2010, effectively packing theaters with testosterone-fueled half-pints, who then were subjected to a picture about a very longhaired princess. That still leaves the question, why are even boys coming back for seconds and thirds with "Frozen"?

Every Tuesday morning, Pixar co-founders Ed Catmull and John Lasseter fly down to Walt Disney Co. headquarters in Burbank. The following day, they catch a flight back to their offices in Emeryville, Calif., where Pixar is based. The two execs have been at the helm of Disney’s entire animation division since CEO Bob Iger acquired the smaller animation house for $7.4 billion back in 2006 (a sale that turned the late Steve Jobs, who helped start Pixar, into Disney’s largest shareholder at the time). Lasseter, famous for his colorful shirts, is known as the creative whiz who helped bring iconic movies like Toy Story to life (a new installment in the popular franchise is currently in the making).