What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied?

What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied?

Media ownership impacts the range of products available to audiences in film quite substantially. "The Big Six", including Warner Bros Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios, dominate a huge percentage of the film industry. this is because Roughly 9/10 films shown in the UK are produced by The Big Six and 76.5% of the market is dominated by The Big Six. All are famous for creating such action films as Avatar, Iron Man 2 and Captain America. This may be the reason they are so famous within the film industry as 60% of the UK film audience would prefer to watch an action film rather than any other genre.

This fact is quite significant as to what impact they have on the range of audience. This is because The Big Six mostly produce this genre of film. This makes it harder for any smaller companies e.g. DreamWorks to produce films that can make a profit as big as the bigger production companies. This is for two reasons.

The first reason is because if a smaller production company tries to make a film in a genre that is not action/adventure, this is particularly hard for them because The Big Six are not mixing in other genres to their films to make them appeal to more audiences. For example, Avatar which was distributed by 20th Century Fox, has a science-fiction element to it. This is then appealing to a wider audience, as not only is it appealing to the 60% of the audience that likes action/adventure film, it is involving the audience that would normally not go see an action/adventure film, but love the science-fiction genre. This made the $246 million budget film have a box office of $2,782,275,172, just over 11 times its budget. Therefore The Big Six is etching its way into all the other genres as not this many people would have been to see the film if it was just listed under science-fiction and not action/adventure as well, especially as there are not A list stars involved with the film.

The second reason is, even if the smaller production companies make an action/adventure genre film, they are still competing with the bigger budget production companies which can afford the A List stars, lots of marketing and lots of special effects. This makes it harder for the smaller companies as they cannot afford this, and these are the essential items needed for an extremely profitable film. For example, Dredd (2012 version) and Kill List are both action/adventure films. These were distributed by companies such as Entertainment Film Distributors, Screen Yorkshire, Warp X etc. which are substantially less popular. These films could not afford to do the "blanket marketing" method, which many in The Big Six often use, therefore meaning that not as many people knew about and went to go see these films, making them both flop at the box office as they both loose money.


NOT FINISHED

30 questions

What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?
The British Industry was responsible for 15% of global box office, roughly 600 British films were made in between 2003 and 2010, and only a small percentage profit. The figure improves as budgets rise - with 17% of films that cost more than £10m making their money back.
 
What was this % in 2009?
6.8% global box office profit for UK films
 
What might this change indicate about British film?
Speaking at the British Independent Film Awards (Bifa), he described the British film industry as a "success story" and predicted it would continue to see international growth - especially in China.

What films have been responsible for this change?
Skyfall, Slumdog Millionaire, The Woman In Black and The King's Speech

What % of the British film industry makes a profit?
lower budget films - such as those made for less than £2m - were less likely to make a profit (4%).
The figure improves as budgets rise - with 17% of films that cost more than £10m making their money back. 

What % of Hollywood films make a profit?
17% figure for higher budget films was approximately the same rate of profitability as Hollywood.

How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?
Lower budget films (£2m), the percentage is 4%, whereas bigger budget films (£10m) percentage is 17%, which is significantly higher.

What might we infer from this difference?
By using a bigger budget and using the newest and best technology and stars, the film will have a higher chance of making a profit.

Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers?
From the ages of 18 to 24, both male and female.

Why do you think this might be?
They are able to see the most genres of films, of all age ratings. They are interested in more diverse films.

Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?
The 18 per cent gross income generated by 3D in 2012 continues a slight decline, down from 20 per cent in 2011 and 24 per cent in 2010.

Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall?
Films for children and families e.g. Mars Needs Moms

What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?
The price of 3D films tickets, they were not acceptable to make an entire family pay for them

Who is Paul Greengrass?
Paul Greengrass is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.

How did he describe the British film industry?
Paul Greengrass says the figures do not not tell the whole story.

Speaking at the British Independent Film Awards (Bifa), he described the British film industry as a "success story" and predicted it would continue to see international growth - especially in China.

What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?
A BFI spokesperson said the 7% figure included "tiny budget films that, while commercial success is always hoped for, are successful and beneficial to the industry for other reasons like skills and training development and for artistic and cultural importance".

What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?
It made £4m at the box office - more than twice its budget.

What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?
He said $100m (£61m) movies that "sometimes aren't very good" had an advantage over smaller films because they had a massive budget to sell the film.

What is VOD?
Video on demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand.

What % increase did VOD see last year?
the VOD market has increased by 50% last year

What impact might VOD have on distributers and Studios?
"Maybe VOD is going to change everything because the distributor and the studio might become less important"

What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?
It will outsell the Blockbuster rental stores and they will have to shut down

What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field In England'?
"An independent film managed to get people to come and see it without a studio and without hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising money. That's remarkable - it means British film can do it on its own."

What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of
film making?
"The toughest thing is you make a good film but can you get it to reach an audience? It's events like this and individuals who champion independent cinema that give us a profile and any chance of a mass audience."

Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?
The rules will be relaxed to help encourage more investment in the UK film industry

How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?
The increase in visual effects points will be very beneficial to the effects industry.

Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The
World's End

Film set in the UK - The World's End

Lead characters British citizens or residents - The Kings Speech

Film based on British subject matter or underlying material - The Kings Speech

Studio/location shooting, visual and special Effects - The World's End

British lead actor/majority of cast - Kill List

What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British
films?
George Osborne announced tax relief would be increased from 20% to 25% on the first £20m of qualifying production expenditure.

What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?
James Bond's Skyfall

How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?
To date, the 23rd Bond adventure has earned £94.3m in the UK, beating the previous record holder, Avatar, which grossed £94m in 11 months. Skyfall opened in 587 cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 26 October, and is still on general release.

Rolan Barthes

Barthes codes theory from alexdabriel

Essay

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

To what extent would you agree with this statement, within the media area you have studied?

 

I agree with this statement, I think that they do depend on marketing a lot. If the film is not marketed to the right target audience, then no one will go and see the film, to see the good production practices used.

 Marketing is the main area of the film; it needs to be done right as it is the factor that can make a film a success or a flop. If the producers and distributors spend lots of time and money on marketing, it pays off. One film that did this very well was The Kings Speech, Harvey Weinstein spent a lot of his time and money pushing the film, marketing it everywhere, although the budget was only $15 million, which is a reasonably small budget, a vast majority of this was spent on marketing the film. This was proven a good method as the film managed to make $414 million in the box office, which is outstanding. This is because there was so much marketing throughout the UK that everyone knew about the film. Weinstein had thought of everything, marketing it by entering it into film competitions, making two posters, featuring two separate trailers for the UK and US etc. This proves that marketing is a key aspect of a film’s success as there was a slim chance that this type of film, with such a small budget was going to be such a success without the use of blanket marketing. This is because only 7% of British films make a profit and of films costing £10 million or more, only 17% make a profit.    

Marketing is key within the making of a film, and it needs to be timed right. To make a film successful, the timing, place and actual type of marketing need to be correct. 

All three are very important. Timing means that the film needs to be marketed at the right time, for example if the films trailer was advertised on the TV. Warner Bros would not advertise a new children’s Disney film at 10pm as they would not be showing the trailer to the right target audience. They would need to advertise the trailer either during or just after school times, not late at night when none of the target audience will be watching.

This links in with the place of marketing. This is equally important as the timing as they need to be making sure they are marketing to the right audience. For example, a horror film with an aged 18 rating, like Dredd, will not want to be marketed on the children’s channels at peak times.

 Distribution is also a very important part of film making. The film needs to be distributed around the UK and US as much as possible, because the more places and times the film is played, the more chances there are to view the film. If a film is only played in the cinema a few times, there is less chance of people going to see it. Tie-ins are also a very good way of helping make a film a success. The use of tie-ins helps create more of a buzz around the film before it is released. A recent example of this is the link between the new Hunger Games: Catching Fire film and Subway. When you buy a product from Subway, the sandwich shop, there is a code inside that offers you the chance to win free tickets to see the film and uncovers secret content about the film. This was release 2 months before the film’s release to help people familiarise themselves with the film before its release date. They have also partnered the film with a charity, which lets you help feed children if you take a picture of yourself with a cardboard cut-out of the stars of the film, which are located in Subway. This will help the film as it is partnering it with something helpful and people will learn about the film whilst helping the unfortunate.

In conclusion, I think that marketing and distribution to a specific audience are very important as they are vital to have if a film is to be a success.

King Speech Case Study

The Kings Speech
The King's Speech is a historical drama film. Colin Firth plays King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. The men become friends as they work together, and after his brother abdicates the throne, the new King relies on Logue to help him make his first wartime radio broadcast on Britain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939.

Britishness
This film is quintessentially British. The setting, costume and dialect show this from the first scene of the film. I believe that this is why it was so successful, as it shows Britain is such a good light.

Box Office
Defying all odds, the film was the highest earning film on its opening weekend in the UK and Ireland. Taking in £3,510,000 and only showing in 395 cinemas around the UK and Ireland.

The film's reception
The film received great reception all around the world. This is proven with the fact that in the US, it made $355,450 out of only four cinemas. Then, there was such high demand for the film, they previewed it in 1,543 screens, to then make $138 million overall. For its success, it holds the record for the highest per-cinema gross of 2010.
As well as this, the film got great reviews.
Mark Kermode says "The American particularly loves films about British monarchs developing a relationship with somebody from.. and in this case, not only a commoner, but a commoner from the colonies, cause therefore, they love the idea of the monarchy, and they love the idea of being connected with the monarchy, and they love the idea of the friendship somehow transends the monarchic bounce, so you have all that... There is no doubt that this has got Oscar written all over it" also "The film is brilliantly played, it is a fantastic performance when Colin Firth wins his awards, as I am sure he will."


Criticism of the film
The King's Speech has received widespread critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 94% based on reviews from 233 critics; their average rating was calculated as 8.6/10. It summarised the critical consensus as: "Colin Firth gives a masterful performance in The King's Speech, a predictable but stylishly produced and rousing period drama." Metacritic gave the film a weighted score of 88/100, based on 41 critiques, which it ranks as "universal acclaim".  Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film a full four stars, commenting that "what we have here is a superior historical drama and a powerful personal one." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave four stars out of five, stating, "Tom Hooper's richly enjoyable and handsomely produced movie ... is a massively confident crowd-pleaser." Richard Corliss of Time magazine named Colin Firth's performance one of the Top 10 Movie Performances of 2010. The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists welcomed the film, and launched their "Giving Voice" campaign around the time of its commercial release.
Le Monde, which characterised the film as the "latest manifestation of British narcissism" and summarised it as "We are ugly and boring, but, By Jove!, we are right!", nevertheless admired the performances of Firth, Rush, and Bonham Carter. It said that, though the film swept British appeasement under the carpet, it was still enjoyable.
Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms and the daughter of King George VI, was sent two copies of the film before Christmas 2010. The Sun newspaper reported she had watched the film in a private screening at Sandringham House. A palace source described her reaction as being "touched by a moving portrayal of her father". Seidler called the reports "the highest honour" the film could receive.

Web 2.0 and Exchange
The film had a Facebook page, where people could write their reviews of the film and to help promote the film. The distributors launched a YouTube account so that the trailers could be released on YouTube as well as being shown on the TV and in the cinemas. This also means that when people are talking about the film, they can show their friends the official trailer of the film as it is in the internet, this will then increase sales as more people may be able to watch the film if it is shown using more medias.

Production Issues

 They could not get Geoffrey Rush at the beginning as his agent would not read his script, so they had to post the script for the film through his letter box, which is considered a bad thing to do in the film industry. Geoffrey then read the script and immediately liked it and took on the role. If they had not posted it through his letter box, or he had not decided to read it then they would not have one of the big stars they had hoped for.  

 

The film's origins

The film origins from the original happening of the kings speech in 1939.
"Seidler (the writer of the film) read about George VI's life after overcoming a stuttering condition he endured during his youth. He started writing about the relationship between the monarch and his therapist as early as the 1980s, but at the request of the King's widow, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, postponed work until her death in 2002. He later rewrote his screenplay for the stage to focus on the essential relationship between the two protagonists. Nine weeks before filming began, Logue's notebooks were discovered and quotations from them were incorporated into the script"

The finance
The film had two investors, Prescience Film Finance/ Aegis who put in almost $10 million and Molinare, invested $320k.

The production companies

 The film was produced by Momentum Pictures and The Weinstein Company. The Weinstein Company are famous for pushing their films to be a success by marketing them, this is why The Kings Speech succeeded like it did, because Harvey Weinstein pushed this film.

 

Distribution and Marketing IssuesMomentum Pictures(US), Aegis Film Fund(UK), Weinstein Company and FilmNation Entertainment were the distributors. The issues associated with the film's distribution is the fact that one company is more famous than the other, for example the US company are bound to be more famous than the UK company.

 

Major Issues Facing British Film Makers

http://www.witteringproductions.com/documents/The_British_Film_Mainfesto.pdf

Regional identity!

I am from Warwickshire/Leicestershire.

When someone is in a bad mood, I say they are "Mardy". Recently I found out that's not a word that's used all around England. I have been told, even by people who live 15 minutes away from me that I speak poshly. 

I think I can tell where someone is from by their accent but not by their clothes or the way they spend their money.

I believe that people from rural and urban areas are slightly different in the way they have been brought up, but that doesn't mean that they are completely different in their personalities. In some people, you can tell where they grew up, some you can't. It doesn't define you as a person. 

In the past, you could definitely tell between rural and urban backgrounds as they were so much more different years ago, now there are some aspects that are the same. 

Essex- Stupid, dumb, silly, no education, rich, fake tan

Essay Research - Big Six

MONEY.

- Budget.

• Bigger budgets
• Bigger investments
• Multi billion dollar companies
• Internation conglomerates
• Bigger stars
• More SFX
• More location
• Higher profile director
• More/better marketing

- Directors

• Attract well known directors
• Quentin Tarantino
• Peter Jackson
• Michael Bay
• Steven Spielberg
• Christopher Nolan
• James Cameron

- Marketing

• Do more/more expensive
• Blanket marketing (lots of it)

- Studios

• Well known
• Famous brands
• Successful
• They make 'good' films

- Cast/stars

• A list stars
• B list?/well known
• Robert Downey Jnr
• Angelina Jolie
• Christian Bale?
• Tom Cruise
• Leonardo DiCaprio

- Screens

• More screens
• Longer runs

- Producers

• Famous
• Will aggressively push their films
• For example, Harvey Weinstein (not big six though)
• More money (again)

- Technology

• Latest developments
• e.g. 3D, 4D etc.
• For example, Avatar took 10 years, developed cameras to shoot film

- The Big Six dominate 76.5% share of the market
- 60.1% of audience members prefer action/adventure genre
- Roughly 9/10 films shown in the UK are produced by The Big Six