Above The Line & Below The Line Advertising

'Above The Line' is a type of advertising through media such as television, cinema, radio, print, web banners and web search engines to promote brands. This type of communication is conventional in nature and is considered impersonal to customers.

'Below The Line' is efficient and cost-effective for targeting a limited and specific group. This can take the form of tie in's with other products and companies.

Four Quadrant Picture

A Four Quadrant Picture is a marketing term used to describe a film targeted to all audience quadrants: men over 25, men under 25, women over 25, women under 25.

Usage
In the movie business, and it is most definitely a business, everyone is looking to maximize the audience for their picture. A four-quadrant picture is that magical type of film that attracts parents and kids, men and women, and brings in huge amounts of revenue on opening weekend. In the term “four-quadrant,” the quadrants refer to gender (male and female) and age (under 25 and over 25).
For most studios, the goal is to get enough details to line up so that they have broad-based, family-friendly appeal in designing a blockbuster or four-quadrant film. An important aspect of getting that appeal is the ratings system. An 18 Rating can be the kiss of death for a studio trying to market a film featuring pre-teen characters. A lowering from PG-13 to PG can mean millions more in revenue as parents feel more comfortable bringing young children to a given film like Evan Almighty.

Examples
One of the most famous four-quadrant, blockbuster films is Star Wars and all of its sequels. Jaws is another landmark blockbuster film. Other more current examples include Night at the Museum, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Shrek (1-3), Spiderman (1-3), Pirates of the Caribbean (1-3), andWall-E.

Implications
Another interesting by-product of the rise of four-quadrant films in the industry is cross marketing. Those films often are associated with toys and other products that both advertise the film and bring in revenue on their own. In addition, four-quadrant films are powerful vehicles for product placement advertisers looking to show their wares to the largest audience possible.
On the down side, many wonder how much effort is placed on credible, engaging story lines as opposed to marketing opportunities in these behemoth cinematic endeavors.

The Big Six

Major Film Studios

A major film studio is a film producer and production company that releases a substantial number of films annually.

The Big Six film studios are:

1. Warner Bros. Pictures. Comprising a whopping 19.7 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Warner Bros. Pictures is the biggest player in the film industry. Securing the rights to major films like Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, The Matrix and Star Wars have made Warner Bros. the No. 1 name in the business.

2. Paramount Pictures. With 15.5 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Paramount Pictures continues to be one of the most successful film production companies in the world. Star Trek, War of the Worlds, the Mission Impossible series, Transformers and Tropic Thunder are just a few of the popular films produced by Paramount Pictures.

3. Walt Disney. One of the most renowned film production companies in the history of the business, Walt Disney now holds 15.3 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). With highly successful movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Meet the Robinsons and Enchanted, there's no doubt that Disney will continue to play a key role in the industry for years to come.

4. Columbia Pictures. Comprising 12.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Columbia Pictures remains a big player in the business. Some of this company's recent successes include Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, the Spider-Man series and Step Brothers.

5. Universal Studios. 12.2 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures) belongs to Universal Studios, which continues to make millions for the film industry. With major hits like the Bourne series (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum), The American Pie series, Knocked Up, American Gangster and The Incredible Hulk, it's very clear that Universal Studios knows what it takes to make money in this industry.

6. 20th Century Fox. Also known as "Twentieth Century Fox," this highly successful movie production company makes up 11.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). Some of the biggest and most successful movies from this empire include the X-Men series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Star Wars Episodes II and III, and the Fantastic Four.

Roughly 9/10 films in the UK are seen as a result of these distributers

Attack The Block Review

Although I have only watched ‘Attack The Block’ only once, I find it hard to give a full opinion based on just one viewing, therefore I could have second thoughts on my initial on the film, but I will give my honest opinion on the film and what could be improved.
Firstly I thought the film would be another typical sci-fi ‘geek’ movie, but once I got into the films plot I realised that this film was very unique, to the fact that this film was created on a low budget, and in my opinion did pretty well out of the money. The props and special effects used were pretty low key but it worked as it made the film seem more realistic with lower quality explosions. This film was high in my expectations after the last success of ‘Hot Fuzz’ and ‘Shaun Of The Dead’, although it really didn’t meet the standard of this filming quality.

My first main opinions are that already the film plot is slightly off putting; by it saying ‘A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion’. It sounds like another children’s film, when in actual fact it is for 15 years and onwards. The words should be descriptive and gripping in order for the public to want to see it instead of the film seeming extremely boring and cliché.
 
Some of the characters lines within the film that were meant to be funny, were not as although they were funny quotes they were placed in at the wrong time, therefore not engaging the audience and in fact wasting valuable lines that could have a huge impact on the film, so would not be classed as a comedy as I did not laugh throughout the film.
I also noticed that most of the lines said were very basic and weren’t well spread out or thought about throughout the writing of the film.

On a higher note, the things that I did like were the characters and the way that they were portrayed in the film; by this I mean the way they talk, and their accent. In a way it was amusing as I had not a clue on some of the slang that was said. I liked the fact that some of the characters like Alex Esmail who played ‘Pest’ was attempting to be ‘hard’, tough and cool, but in fact he is still a small boy who still can be a ‘crybaby’ at times, especially when he was attacked by the ‘alien’ and hurt his leg, he was a very over dramatic character and had a thing for the ladies, for example flirting with the nurse the group mugged Jodie Whitaker who played ‘Sam’. Whereas on the other hand the character ‘Moses’ is a very tough character and shows no emotion throughout the film but he somehow makes us feel empathy towards him. When we find out he is only fifteen that really puts into perspective of how unfortunate these boys are, especially when we see his flat and see that he lives on his own, still having got his Spider Man duvet cover, it really hit home.

To conclude my opinion to this film is not too bad, as the budget was used extremely sparingly, but the film did very well out of the budget. Although some of the effects were not up to scratch, and the costumes of the aliens weren't that great, the plot and story line was reasonable. To be honest I wouldn't watch this film in a hurry as I didn't grip onto the storyline and it didn't scare me. It wasn't funny enough to be a comedy but not scary enough to be a horror. The lines that were meant to be funny weren't humorous and for the horror side, although there was some gory scenes, they weren't gory enough to scare me. I would rate this film as a 6 out of 10 based on the effects and the storyline.

Attack The Block - Research Task

Attack the block is a basic plot line, about a teen gang in South London, trying to defend their block from an alien invasion. The film was released in 2011, produced by Big Talk Productions, who are well known for producing 'Shaun of the dead' and 'Hot Fuzz'. The bulk of this film was shot in 67 days and was shot across London from March-May in 2010, with six weeks of intense night shoots on the Heygate Estate.

The characters in Attack the Block have to survive their neighborhood on a daily basis. They understand the geography of their vicinity, how to use it to their advantage, how to improvise weapons, and how to survive.

The storyline of 'attack the block' was based on a trauma, that happened to writer and director Joe Cornish. As a few years ago Joe was mugged at his own home in the area of South London, he described this as a very 'traumatic experience', which then gave him the idea to bring his story to life in a sci-fi feel.

Not a lot of problems occured whilst making the film, but after it was being released in the US, riots were taken place in London, with the sort of youngsters that were shown in the film. Also Joe Cornish had to remove fifteen pages of the script prior to the shooting of the film because of budgetary constraints.   

The soundtrack for the film was an original score composed by Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton of the popular electronic dance music group Basement Jaxx, and Steven Price except for the song played during the end credits ("Youths Dem Cold" by Richie Spice).

1. "The Block"
2. "Sam is Mugged"
3. "Round Two Bruv"
4. "It’s Raining Gollums"
5. "Tooling Up"
6. "Moses is Arrested"
7. "Tell Me I’m Dreaming"
8. "Throat Ripper"
9. "Rooftops"
10. "Moses - Ninja"
11. "Just Another Day"
12. "They Want Moses"
13. "Actions Have Consequences"
14. "Eat My Hat"
15. "They Fell Out of the Sky"
16. "I Need to Finish What I Started"
17. "Turn the Gas Up"
18. "Moses vs. The Monsters"
19. "Moses the Hero"
20. "The Ends" - Basement Jaxx

5x5

5 favourite magazines
-Vogue- is an American fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 19 national.
-Elle-Worldwide magazine, women's fashion, beauty, health and entertainment.
-Company- is a monthly fashion, celebrity and lifestyle magazine published in the United Kingdom.
-Cosmo-is an international magazine for women.
-Nylon-is an American magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Its coverage includes art, beauty, music, design, celebrities, technology and travel.

5  favourite television programs
-New Girl- After a bad break-up, Jess, an offbeat young woman, moves into an apartment loft with three single men. They find her behavior very unusual, the men support her most of the time.
-Surburgatory-A teenage girl moves from the city to the suburbs.
-2 broke girls-Two young women waitressing at a greasy spoon diner strike up an unlikely friendship in the hopes of launching a successful business - if only they can raise the cash.
-Made in Chelsea-Following the lives of classy people, in a real life, reality.
-Big bang theory-A woman who moves into an apartment next door to two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.

5 favourite movies
-The inbetweeners-Four socially troubled 18-year-olds from the south of England go on holiday to Malia.
-She's the man-When her brother decides to ditch for a couple weeks in London, Viola heads over to his elite boarding school, disguises herself as him.
-The hangover-A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him.
-Love actually-Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
-Bridget Jones-A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.

5 favourite actors/actresses
-Leonardo DiCaprio
-Jennifer Aniston
-Julia Roberts
-Hugh Grant
-Adam Sandler

5 favourite websites/apps
-Blogger- is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries.
-Tumblr- is a microblogging platform and social networking website, allowing to post multi-media.
-Instagram- is a free photo-sharing program and social network, allowing to edit photos with filters
-Twitter-is an online social networking service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages
-Google-A search engine website.

Skins-Overview

In the final episode of Skins, we firstly see Mini in the hospital still recovering after going into labour, although she has fallen out with her best friend Liv from previous history between her and her ex boyfriend. Liv tries to make up with Mini, attempting to talk to her just like old times, but fails to maintain a conversation with her. Meanwhile Alo is planning the perfect party for the exam results, with Mini in hospital, she is allowed to go to the party for one hour only. We soon see that she suffers from contractions and is rushed to hospital, and later on gives birth to her daughter with the support of Liv and boyfriend Alo.

Mini is one of the main characters in Skins, but is well known for her bitchy personality and unfriendly presence. We see her change though out series six, from a sly character, blossoming into a good friend of everybody's. Although Mini is a very fashionable character, since she became pregnant, she has been wearing more 'tramps' looking clothes, as none of hers if her. Her style now consists of tracksuit bottoms and an old hoodie, whereas before she would have worn minuscule skirts and revealing tops.

The genre of this television series is easily recognised as a teen drama, as all the characters are aged 17-18 yeas old. We can also tell this by the genre of music played in the background and at the many parties they attend. It is usually R&B, Dubstep, etc. Also the camera angles as the school is often shown with an 'Establishing Shot', showing the audience that most of the time the story is based at the teenagers school.

Good Cop

Sav is the main character of the TV Drama ‘Good Cop’ and is represented to the audience at the scene of the first episode. We see him running down a dark, deadly silent street in the pouring rain, with a golden glow from the streetlamp. The pathetic fallacy of the scene really portrays the characters feeling of sadness, anger and maybe guilt

We see that Sav is troubled when he enters his house, with racy, pounding music and that he is heavily breathing and dripping with sweat. When he enters the room we see that he has blood smothered on his hands, which gets transferred onto the door. We can also notice that the wallpaper is vigorously ripped, which could also portray anger. The audience can also see a gun which is repeatedly shown, maybe to create an effect, and it makes the audience question the title of the TV drama ‘Good Cop’, by this I mean whether or not he is a bad character. At the moment the audience perceive Sav as an angry and negative person.

When we see Sav meet Cassie and the little girl Libby, we can tell that he is unwelcomed by Cassie, and we question whether or not the pair have had previous history, and whether the little girl is his daughter. Whatever had gone in the past Sav is trying to rekindle whatever relationship the pair had, in an apologising friendly way.

Sav has a great bond with his best friend Andy and partner in his work; it is very similar to a ‘bromance’, they have a friendship like any other friends, which includes banter and jokes. Whereas when they are both at the diner, Sav seems very distracted by Amy the waitress, and is disturbed when he sees a man intimidating and harassing her. He is annoyed with this and even though he is off duty he can’t help himself but to get involved. He helps the young waitress and gives the angry man a warning. This shows that Sav loves his job, but is also very committed, and is almost like he is always on duty.

Sav deals with the victims of the dead baby extremely calmly, although he is confused as to who or what killed the baby, as there is blood stains all over the baby’s cot. He is trying to figure the mystery but keeps it quiet and doesn’t make any accusations at this stage.

We see at the start of the film he is perceived as ‘bad’ then on the beach, he seems apologetic for his previous reactions involving Cassie, and now he is seen as a ‘good cop’ with his heroic actions. The audience is now trying to figure out whether he is a good person or not.

Camera Angles

Long Shot: Shot which shows all or most of a fairly large subject and usually much of the surroundings.

Close Up:  A picture which shows a fairly small part of the scene, such as a character's face, in great detail so that it fills the screen.

 

Medium Shot: In such a shot the subject or actor and its setting occupy roughly equal areas in the frame. In the case of the standing actor, the lower frame passes through the waist, so hand gestures can be still seen.

 

 Point Of View:  A shot made from a camera position close to the line of sight of a performer who is to be watching the action shown in the point-of-view shot.

 

Two Shot: A shot of two people together.

 

Establishing shot: Opening shot or sequence, frequently an exterior 'General View' as an extreme long shot.

 



Scene One- The Idea

Source one: Sources Of Inspiration

• Remakes:Charlie and the Chocolate factory was remade in 2005 from the original version produced in 1971 different characters and development in technology all contribute to the success of the new version.
• Real Life Events:Calender Girls was made from a real life story in 2003.
• Original Ideas:The film Ted was made in 2012 from an original idea, these are the most valuable commodity in the film industry.
• Adaptations: The Twilight Saga was adapted first from the author Stephenie Meyer's series of books. The first one being 'Twilight' these books inspired major success and can generate publicity.
• The Producer:Producers are akways looking for great ideas for new films and its them that decides to make this 'great idea' into a reality. E.g Wlt Disney
• The Director:A director can visualise a script and make it into a reality, they know how to take a story and put it onto the screen. E.g Steven Spielberg.
• The Writer:the writer defines and clarifies the whole idea, the plot and the main characters and turns it into something tangible. E.g J K Rowling
• Treatment:The writer will then write a treatment, a one page description of the plot and the main characters. E.g J K Rowling writes a treatment for The Philosophers Stone.
• Pitch:A pitch contains all the information the producer needs in order to sell the idea to financiers to commission a script.

Scene Two- Development Finance

• Pitching the product: The producer uses the treatment and pitch, plus her powers of persuasion, to get money to develop a script.
• The production company: The producer approaches film production companies for development money, but they have projects of their own.
• Sales, distribution and broadcast: The producer can offer the future sales and broadcast rights to the film in return for money to develop the script.
• Public Investment: The producer can also apply to a public funding body such as the UK film council for a development grant.
• Private Finance: The producer can even pitch the film to private investors, in the hope that they will support the project.
• Tying down the writer: Writers have agents who represent them in their dealings with Directors and Producers. Writers with a great idea still need to get their work to a Producer and convince them to make their film and pay for them to develop it.

Scene Three- Script Development

• Synopsis: First the writer creates a synopsis and he and the producer agree, or not, on the key scenes and events in the film.
• Step Outline: There are as many ways of writing as there are writers, but most writers create a step outline to plan their script.
• Drafts: Part of the writers fee is conditional on delivery of the first draft. This can be the hardest part of screen writing.
• Revisions: Once the writer and producer are happy, the draft is sent to the financiers, all of whome will have their own ideas.
• Final draft: When everyone is happy with the script, it is locked off and becomes a final draft, then the writers get paid.
• Sales Treatment: The final stage of the script development process is the creation of the sales treatment. A sales treatment is a synopsis designed to sell the film to potential financiers.

Scence four-Packaging

• What is packaging: The producer and director must now package the script into a full commercial proposition, ready for financing.
• The cast: One common way to make the project more commercial is to attach well known stars to the script.
• The heads of department: Respected, commercially successful heads of departments carry considerable clout with knowledgable finaciers.
• Detailed budget and production schedule: To turn the film into a proper business proposition, the producer must know how much it will actually cost to make.
• Finance plan and recoupment schedule: Potential investors will want to know how the producer plans to raise the money and how she plans to pay them back.
• The complete packaging: The producer has packaged the film into a viable commerical propersition, now its time to see what people think of it.

Scene five-Financing

• The market: Finaciers can be anywhere in the world. To secure the investment she needs to make the film, the producer must travel.
• Investment: Private individuals, production companies, and public bodies all invest in films. The producers lawyer draws up contacts to seal the deals.
• Pre-Sales: The producer can also rasie money from 'pre-sales', selling the rights to the film before it's even been made.
• Banks and cap funding: These are the departments of banks that specialise in film finance as they invest in commercial projects and also offer loans.
• Completition bonds: Most financiers insist that a completition bond is in the place before they agree to invest. This is the insurance for the production.
• Green Light: Once all the essential insurance and fundings are secured the film gets the green light

Scene six-Pre-Production

• The kick-off meeting: Once all the heads of department are hired, the shooting script is circulated and pre-production begins in earnest.
• Casting: The casting director, with the producer and director, begins the long process of indentifying and casting the actors.
• Storyboarding: Storyboarding are the blueprints to the film, where every shot is planned in advance by the director.
• Production design: The production designer plans every aspect of how the film will look and hires people to design and build each part.
• Special effects planning: Effects shots are planned in much more detail than normal shots. and can take months to design and build.
• The production unit: The first ad, the line producer, and the production manager make up the key logistic triangle of the production.

Scene seven-The shoot

• First day of the principal photography: This is the key moment in the film production, shooting begins, and funding is released.
• Camera: The camera department is responsible for getting all the footage that the director and editor need in order to tell the story.
• Lighting and sound: Once the lighting and sound have set up and hair and makeup have been checked the shot can now begin.
• Acting: The actors as the only members of the film personnel that will be seen by the public, have a lot of responsibility, to make the film a huge success. Actors need to create a plausiable world and pretend that they are not surrounded by the crew of camera men and producers.
• Special physical effect: Every special effect is carefully constructed and must be filmed with a minimum risk of injury to cast and crew.
• Chain of command: Film productions are run with milatary precision.If they fall behind schedule, the financiers and insurers may step in.

Scene eight-Post production

• Rough Cut: As the processed footage comes in, the editor assembles it into scenes and creates a narrative sequence for the film.
• Post production sound: Once the picture is locked, the sound department works on the audio track laying, creating and editing every sound.
• Digital effects and titles: Digital effects are added by specialist effects compositors and titles and credits are added in a compositing suite.  
• Grade and colour: The final stage of the picture edit is to adjust the colour and establish the fine aesthetic of the film.
• Final mix: After picture lock, the rough sound mix goes to a dubbing theatre where the sound mixer sets the final levels.
• Final cut: After the final cut the film reaches full lock, it is now finished and ready for duplication. 

Scene nine- Sales

• Selling the product: To help sell the film to distributors the producer secures the services of a sales agent. A specialist in film sales. 
• The trailer: To help sell the film a trailer is made in order to show busy film buyers the most marketable aspects of the film.
• Sales Toolkit: The producer and the sales agent collect everything they will need to sell the film to distributors.
• Taking the film to the market: The market is saturated with films so the producer must go to great lengths to attract attention to the film.
• Screenings: A high profile screening at one of the top film festivals can be great for generating heat around a film. 
• Deals: The producer now has a hot product and can negotiate good deals with the distributors around the world. 

Scene ten- Marketing

• The marketing team: To help sell the film to distributors the producer secures the services of a sales agent, a specialist in the film sales.
• The audience: Knowing the audience is essential and the marketing team runs test screenings to see how the film is received.
• Advertising: The potential audience for the films is targeted with the posters, cinema trailers, tv spots and other marketing materials.
• Press and media coverage: Television, radio, newspapers and magazines can all help create positive word of mouth about a film.
• The internet and new marketing models: The birth of digital media and the internet has flooded the world of information, but has also made niche marketing possible.
• Selling the film: In order to get the film to audiences the distributors must negotiate a deal with the cinemas to screen it.

Scene 11- Marketing

The premier- A high-profile, star-studded premiere is used to launch the film to the public with an explosion of media coverage. This is how fame really helps to sell films, stars have loyal fan bases following their careers already, this is why casting the right actors/actresses is so important. An example of a recent high-profile premiere is 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' starring Emma Watson.
UK cinemas- The UK has over 3,500 cinema screens, although not all are British-owned, or show British films. Cinemas are the most important market for any film, as success at the box office can guarantee increased revenues in subsequent 'windows' (DVD sales and rentals, hospitality, broadcast, product licensing).
Prints and logistics- Distributors supply the exhibitors with prints of the film, the more screens the film is shown on, the more prints are needed.
Box office performance- Data about film attendance is collected continuously, and used by the cinemas to decide which films to cancel and which to prolong. if a film is underperformin, cinemas simply cannot afford to risk losing valuable income waiting for a film to become more popular.
Revenues- The exhibitors take their share of the box office receipts, after which the distributors recoup their marketing costs. The box office gross is just the starting measure for what everyone involved will make from the film.
Recoupment- Once the distributors have been paid, the financiers can recover their investments, as laid out in the recoupment schedule. Even if the film is a hit in the box office , the costs of marketing and exhibiting means that the producer is unlikely to see large profits once the exhibitor and distributor have been paid. So, the profits are most likely to come from DVD sales and broadcast.
Scene 12- Other windows

Hospitality- Hospitality sales for hotel channels and in-flight entertainment can bring in millions in additional revenue.
DVD and video- UK audiences spend more on DVDs than on cinema tickets, so success on DVD can compensate for box office failure.
Broadcast- Television is the final source of revenue. Rights are sold separately for pay-tv showings and terrestrial broadcast.
The game of the film- Rights for computer games and other product licenses can be extremely lucrative sources of additional revenue. The is a huge growing popularity in video games and is even seen as a threat to the future of film industry.
Profit?- Once the film has made a profit, the producer and key creative people can reap their rewards. But sometimes even if the film has been a big hit, if the deals at the financing stage were not favourable they might not get much back at all.
The end?- The final income from a film is never know, distribution continues for years and years and it may even be re-released in the future as an anniversary special for example.

Selected Key Terms for Institutions and Audiences - The Film Industry

Selected Key Terms for Institutions and Audiences - The Film Industry

Selected Key Terms for Institutions and Audience

An institution (in the film industry)

Definition: any company or organisation that produces, distributes or exhibits films. The BBC makes films with their BBC Films arm; Channel4's Film Four produces films, Working Title also produce films, as does Vertigo Films, etc. Some institutions need to join with other institutions which distribute films. Vertigo Films is able to distribute its own films, Channel Four distributed Slumdog Millionaire through Pathe. Working Title's distribution partner is Universal, a huge US company which can make, distribute and show films. The type of owner ship within an institution matters as, for instance, Channel 4 and the BBC are able to show their own films at an earlier stage than other films made by other institutions. They are also better placed to cross-promote their in-house films within their media organisations. Use you work on Film Four as the basis for most of what you write, Moon is a good cross comparison as Duncan Jones had to create his own institution just to get the film made.


Distribution and Marketing

Definition: the business of getting films to their audiences by booking them for runs into cinemas and taking them there in vans or through digital downloads; distributors also create the marketing campaign for films producing posters, trailers, websites, organise free previews, press packs, television interviews with the "talent", sign contracts for promotions, competitions, etc. Distributors use their know-how and size to ensure that DVDs of the film end up in stores and on supermarket shelves. Distributors also obtain the BBFC certificate, and try to get films released as the most favourable times of the year for their genre, etc.


Examples:
Universal distributed Working Title's The Boat That Rocked; Pathe distributedFilm4 and Celadors' Slumdog Millionaire after the original US distributor, Warner Independent went out of business. TRON was heavily marketed across a variety of mediums, Moon struggled to get press attention and Duncan Jones had to really push the film  in obscure places like Popular Mechanics etc. The Kings Speech was distributed by Momentum (a susiduary of Aliance films) who are a major independent film distributor.


Exhibition
Definition: showing films in cinemas or on DVD. Media attention through opening nights and premieres How the audience can see the film: in cinemas, at home, on DVD, through downloads, through television, including premieres, the box office take in the opening weeks; audience reviews which includes those of the film critics, ordinary people, cinemas runs; awards in festivals, The Oscars, BAFTAS, etc.


Examples:
Slumdog Millionaire almost never got distribution. Its early US distributor, Warner Independent was a victim of the economic downturn and went out of business. The film's makers then struggled to find a distributor! Then Fox Searchlight stepped up and "the rest is history". The 8 out of 10 Oscar nomination wins ensured that the film has been the greatest British success in awards and in box office for nearly 60years.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/boyle-reveals-slumdog-millionaire-was-nearly-never-made-1331821.html

Motherhood took just £86!
Moon. Initially Sony Pictures Worldwide were due to distribute the film but they specialise in straight to DVD features. Following positive reaction following its Sundance film festival the rights were acquired by Sony Classic Pictures who gave the film a limited release in the US in Cities like New York and LA.

Exchange

Definition: The unintended use of an institution’s media text (i.e. a film) by OTHER PEOPLE who use the film or parts of it to form new texts. What happens to a film, etc. after the public get their hands on it using digital technology. 

Examples:
People unconnected to the institution/ film using WEB 2.0 applications such as YOUTUBE, Blogger, Amazon film message boards, TWITTER, Face-Book, discuss the film or edit parts of together to form a new text which the may then put a new soundtrack to and publish on YOUTUBE, etc. When you add a trailer from a site like YouTube on your blog you have been engaging with exchange. Look back to MArk Kermodes video regarding piracy and the new release strategies for films like Ken Loach's "Route Irish" (Loach has reportedly steeled himself for a frosty response from critics and anticipates an underwhelming box office, noting the difficulty he faced securing a distribution deal. Though pragmatic in his view that “people don’t make films to communicate; they make it as a commodity”,an unorthodox release strategy utilising Sky Movies Premier - which will place the film (and by extension, its subject matter) in a wider public sphere than it might otherwise have reached – suggests he hasn’t given up on pedagogy entirely.) or the Jack Ass 3 release on DVD and Sky Box Office.


Vertical and Horizontal Integration

Definition: Absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product's manufacture from raw materials to distribution.


Example:
Vivendi Universal have integrated film, music, web and distribution technology into the company, including owning big stakes in cables and wires that deliver these services. Therefore they are vertically integrated because they own all the different companies involved in film, from production to distribution to exhibition. They are also horizontally integrated because they have all the expertise for producing media content under one roof – films, TV, magazines, books, music, games thus being able to produce all the related media content for one film under the same roof (see synergy). This is important for the control the institution has over their product/film.


Synergy/Synergies 

Definition: The interaction of two or more agents (institutions/companies) to ensure a larger effect than if they acted independently. This is beneficial for each company through efficiencies in expertise and costs.

 

Examples:
Working Title know how to make films and they have formed a business partnership with Universal, a massive US company, who have the experience and size in the marketplace (cinemas, stores, online, etc.) to distribute them. (They create the marketing campaign to target audiences through posters, trailers, create the film’s website, free previews, television and press interviews featuring “the talent”, drum up press reviews, word of mouth, and determine when a film is released for the best possible audience and the type of release: limited, wide, etc.) Channel Four’s Film 4 and Celador Films(Celador also produce Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and films, too) benefited by pooling their know-how, experience and expertise to jointly produce Slumdog Millionaire. These companies formed a business relationship with France’s Pathe to distribute this film. In the UK Pathe helped create the poster, trailer, website, etc. In the USA the film found another distributor after being nominated for the Oscars.


Viral Marketing

Definition: A marketing technique aiming at reproducing "word of mouth" usually on the internet and through existing social networks. YouTube Video pastiches, trailers, interviews with cast members, the director, writer, etc. You can find interviews of “the talent” trying to gain publicity for your case study films on YouTube. Find some clips from the films we have studied to help you in the exam.
Guerilla MarketingDefinition: The use of unconventional and low cost marketing strategies to raise awareness of a product. The aim is usually to create “buzz” and “word of mouth” around a film. Unusual stunts to gain publicity (P.R.) on the film’s opening weekend, etc.

Examples:
Sasha Baron Cohen created “buzz” before the release of his film “Borat” by holding fake press conferences. The studio also accessed the popularity of YouTube by releasing the first 4 minutes of the movie on YouTube, a week before it’s release, which can then be sent virally across the nation. At a special viewing of “Bruno” Cohen landed on Eminem “butt first” from the roof MTV Awards venue, dressed in as an angel outfit with rents in the rear end.


Media Convergence
Definition 1: Convergence of media occurs when multiple products come together to form one product with the advantages of all of them.

 

Examples:
More and more films are being marketed on the Internet and on mobile phones. You no longer need even to buy the DVDs or CDs as you can download films and music directly to your laptop, Mac or PC. Blue Ray DVDs can carry more features than ordinary DVDs and can be played on HD televisions and in home cinemas for enhanced/cinematic picture quality. You can save films on SKY digital, Free-box digital players, etc. You mobile phone has multiple features and applications. With media and technological convergence this is growing year on year. Play-Stations, X-Boxes and the Wii can can connect with the Internet and you can play video games with multiple players.


Technological ConvergenceDefinition 2: The growing interractive use of digital technology in the film industry and media which enables people to share, consume and produce media that was difficult or impossible just a few years earlier.

Examples:
For instance, the use of new software to add special effects in editing; the use of blue-screen; using new types of digital cameras like the one Danny Boyle used in “Slumdog Millionaire” (The Silicon Imaging Camera to shoot high quality film in tight spaces); you can use the Internet to download a film rather than go see it in the cinema; you can watch it on YouTube; you can use special editing programs like Final Cut Pro to edit bits of a film, give it new soundtrack and upload it on YouTube; you can produce illegal, pirate copies on DVDs from downloads and by converting the film’s format; you can buy Blue Ray DVDs with greater compression which allows superior viewing and more features on the DVD; distributors can use digital software to create high concept posters; cinemas can download films to their projection screens and do not have to depend on a van dropping off the film! The is also the Digital Screen Network. There are tons of ways in which technological convergence affects the production, distribution, exhibition and exchange by prosumers. ( A prosumer is someone who not only consumes (watches films) but also writes about them the Net, blogs and make films out of them, often uploading them on sites like YouTube, etc.

A Mainstream Film

Definition: A high budget film that would appeal to most segments of an audience: the young, boys, girls, teenagers, young people, the middle aged, older people, the various classes in society. Distributors often spend as much or more than the film cost to make when distributing mainstream films that are given wide or universal releases.


Example:The Boat That Rocked was a mainstream idea and was given the mainstream treatment on wide release. The film flopped at the UK box office on release ( and has not done too well since mid November 2009 on release in the USA. This was mostly because of its poor reviews, particularly from “Time-Out”. However, when young and older audiences see the DVD they generally like the film because of its uplifting storyline and the well-chosen soundtrack.


Art House Films

Definition: A low budget independent film that would mostly appeal to an educated, higher class audience who follow unusual genres or like cult directors that few people have heard of. Therefore it is usually aimed at a niche market. Foreign films often come under this category.


Examples:
The low budget film, Once (2007) which found a specialised, boutique distributor in Fox Searchlight fits this label. (FOX the mainstream company usually distributes big budget film and blockbusters); So does “Juno” from 2008 which began as a low budget film about teenage pregnancy that the big studios thought too risky to touch – but it found popularity through its touching storyline, engaging music and its Oscar nomination for best script. Like “Slumdog Millionaire” the film crossed over between art-house cinemas and audiences to mainstream ones because of the recognition it received from Canadian film festivals and award ceremonies like Britain’s BAFTAS and the Hollywood’s Oscars.


Ratings bodies BBFC - The British Board of Film ClassificationHow your institutions films are rated will affect audiences in so far as WHO can see them. Remember that sex scenes, offensive language, excessive violence, the use of profanity, etc. can affect the rating and certificate the film receives and therefore affect who is able to see the film.

Institution and Audience- Films

This summer I went to go and see TED. The trailer looked hilarious so thought I would give it a whirl. I wanted to see the film as it seemed different from others. Firstly I thought it was another childrens film but gave it time, and it turned out to be the perfect humour for my age.
 I loved the film as it was very light hearted and extremely easy to follow. I loved the fact that the teddy bear wasn't a cute 'normal' teddy bear but a 'foul-mouthed, dope-smoking, hooker-loving teddy bear'.


Secondly I saw the film Hanna, which was on television a few weeks ago. The film was released in 2011. The film is basically about a 16-year-old girl who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin. The genre of this film was out of my liking, as I prefer the comedy films in comparision.
 

The film was gory and violent I really enjoyed it, although halfway through it was very hard to follow and became confusing. Also the ending was on a badly made cliff hanger, it made me feel that there was no moral to the storyline, therefore wasn't worth watching.