Tuesday 8 January 2013

TV drama representations terms.

T.V drama representations key terms.
  • mise en scene - the whole shot, including props/costume/scene/characters etc.
  • camera work - the range of shots used to show the scene of the clip.
  • editing - the use of cuts, graphic matches, fades etc to create realism.
  • sound - diegetic and non diegetic, ambient and contrapuntal, dialogue and effects/music.
  • diegesis - the world of the charcters, diegetic sound is in the diegeseis.
  • stereotypes - the way we see people by there basic characteristics.
  • representation - how mise en scene/camera work/editing/sound represent a specific stereotype.
  • cut - changing from one shot to another (there are a variety of cuts).
  • direct address - talking to the audience.
  • continuity editing - this is simply put in chronological order.
  • propps theory - showing a avriety of character roles.
  • todorovs theory -covers a basic plot for all stories of equilibrium/disequilibrium/new equilibrium.
  • barthes' theory - enigma codes such as semic, symbolic, cultural and action codes.
  • strauss' theory - showing binary opposition like good vs evil etc.
  • gender - men and women and how they clash and are stereotypically different.
  • disability - also including ability, this shows mainly negative stereotypes that are contrasted.
  • ethnicity - showing how people see different of people of different skin colour.
  • regional identity - stereotypes shown mainly through settings and accents.
  • age - how people change with time, or don't change with time.
  • class and status - amount the classes shown by material objects, accents and connections.
  • sexuality - gay/straight/bi these have negative stereotypes in most cases.
Audience and institutions key terms.
  • IMAX - high resolution cameras shown on larger screens.
  • 3D - just 3D instead of a standard film, film can be converted to 3D.
  • Digital distribution - films distributed online rather than via a hard copy.
  • Ownership - The big six/independent companies (i think).
  • 4 quadrant - all areas of the audience, each quadrant refers to different ages and genders.
  • Release - different release such as global/wide release, straight to DVD, mid release etc.
  • Marketing - methods of advertisement used for the film franchise.
  • TED talks - online videos about the latest tech used for Tron is a fake TED talk.
  • 35mm - filmed on tape and is costly in comparison to digital.
  • Digital - cheaper and more versatile filming technique, used in most cinemas now.
  • Blockbuster - a big budget film from the US using expensive technologies and A list stars etc.
  • The big six - major companies including Paramount, Warner Brothers and Universal.
  • Target market - the people who the filmed is aimed at.
  • Synergy marketing - marketing using other brands and products to broaden the market.
  • Technological convergence - the use of DVDs, T.V, subscriptions, online, cinemas etc.
  • Institution - the production companies, global/independent.
  • Box office - where the figure can be seen for most film including the budget and opening weekend.
  • Streaming - putting a film online with a viewing cost.
  • Subscription T.V - such as sky who charge for the viewing of movies.

film facts.

  •  Distributors prefer digital distribution, because it saves them the expense of making film prints, which may cost as much as $2000 each. {useful in the UK for cheap productions}
  • Digital projection also offers increased flexibility with respect to showing trailers and pre show advertisements and allowing theater owners to more easily move films between screens or change how many screens a film is playing on, and the higher quality of digital projection provides a better experience to help attract consumers who can now access high-definition content at home. {all cinemas see this as a bonus}
  •  UK 300 cinema screens were converted to digital projectors as part of a UK film council initiative. {now many more in the 000's}
  •  With digital cinematography, however, on-set monitoring allows the cinematographer to see the actual images that are captured, immediately on the set, which is impossible with film. {better for directors}
  • 35 mm film cameras cannot be sized down below a certain size and weight, as they require space for a film magazine and a film transport mechanism that have a minimum size effectively determined by the physical size of the film. While some digital cinematography cameras are large and bulky, even compared to full-sized film cameras, others are extremely compact, and offer features such as the ability to detach the camera head from the rest of the camera, allowing high quality images to be captured with an extremely compact package. {in slumdog millionaire small SLR's were used}
  •  For the last 25 years, digital cinematography using prosumer cameras has had clear cost benefits over shooting on 35 mm or even 16 mm film for so-called "no-budget" productions. {most useful for the independent companies}
  • Rick McCallum, a producer on Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, has commented that the production spent $16,000 for 220 hours of digital tape, where a comparable amount of film would have cost $1.8 million. {goes for most films}

US blockbusters.

HARRY POTTER:

British film with British actors of which main characters are unknown.
The other members of the cast are made up of many high profile A list actors.
Produced by Warner Bro's.
The film was filmed in the UK on a large budget.
The film series has had a profit in total of $6 billion.
very stereotypically British bringing in a large US audience.
action figures and other products and services still make them money other than DVD sales.

TRON:

Tron used adventurous ways of marketing such as fake TED talks.

SKY FALL:

Marketed using lots of media convergence and synergy.
Examples of marketing are thing such as a Pepsi advert and the theme tune by Adele.
Stereotypically British, similar to the idea of Harry Potter.
Over 80 million on the box office in the opening two days.

UK films.

KICK ASS:

HOW IT WAS PRODUCED-
·         It was made on a budget of $28 million.
·         $8 - $9 million was spent on special effects.
WHAT IT WAS BASED ON-
·         Based on comics from marvels chief writer Mark Millar.
·         He also worked on wanted which took $350m.
PROBLEMS WITH MAKING IT-
·         There was false promotion as the trailer included some humor.
·         This idea of humour is thought to have given viewers the idea it was a bit of a spoof.
HOW THEY SAVED MONEY-
·         The final box office figures were just over $96 million worldwide.
·         They saved money by filming in the UK.
·         The cast was very low budget without any big A-list stars.
TECHNOLOGY USED-
·         Set in Manhattan, filmed in London using green screens.
HOW RATING AFFECTED PERFORMANCE-
·         The film was rated a 15.
·         This meant that a large portion of the target audience (teenage boys) could not go and see the film.
·         Also some of the more extreme scenes would have to be removed.
CONTROVERSY-
·         The film was not seen as well in the US as the girl in it says c*** which meant more people went to other films.
PROMOTION-
·         Posters were made that featured the characters on separate sheets.
·         More posters were produced to show the heroes in more detail, these also included web addresses for each character which in fact lead straight to the Kick Ass website.
·         Advertising costs were nearly $10.5 million and Lions-gate, the distributors, took a large cut of the box office figures.
THE SOUNDTRACK-
·         Material ranging from Elvis to The Prodigy.
·         Soundtrack snippets from 28 Days Later and Sunshine.
THE INBETWEENERS:

Summer release as teens off school.
Then the DVD had a Christmas release to maximize sales.
Targeted a particular audience of teens to keep good reviews.
Had an advantage of already having a very successful series behind them.
The storyline was very real so can be related to.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE:

Only used small digital SLR cameras as they are cheap and compact.
These cameras made for a more realistic fell with real reactions in the streets.
Used a popular TV show to get in the UK audience.
Went bigger than expected when it was liked at a UK film festival.
This brought on a wider release and new marketing campaign.
It was originally meant to be a straight to DVD release that made small profits nationally.

THE KINGS SPEECH:

Used the British theme and royal family as a selling point.
Had separate trailers on for the US had more sound effects and added components.
low budget British film which made big profits. 
two posters introducing the main characters. 
the posters followed the keep calm and carry on poster format.

THIS IS ENGLAND:

Did a lot of advertising via social media such as twitter.
They have a basic website in order to promote the film further.
Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 10 wins & 14 nominations.
Budge £1,500,000 (estimated).
Opening Weekend $18,430 (USA) (29 July 2007) (1 Screen) £207,676 (UK) (29 April 2007) (62 Screens).
Posters were also a part of the marketing strategy
Shane Meadows own website had links to the film bringing his fans to it.
Being a film 4 production they advertised and showed on channel 4 as well.
Skyfall advertising.
  • The single written for the film by Adele hit number 1 before the film was released.
  • The BBC programmes such as 50 years of Bond cars lets people who don't know much about the film get a chance to know what all the hype is.
  • There are many adverts that have taken advantage of the new 007 film being big. For example Coke Cola and Pepsi have adverts with a Bond theme.
  • It is all over the magazines like FHM and the likes of.
  • Sky has created a dedicated James Bond movies channel where all of the Bond films from 1962 can be seen which gives Skyfall a big advantage as its target market are already interested.
  • On the new Coke Cola can there is a 007 style graphic to go with their adverts.
  • The film has a typical trailer which is shown via the internet and on T.V. which allows the viewer to get into the plot.
  • There have been various posters released and Billboards are out in major cities and towns along with 007 graphics on the sides of buses.
  • There is a visit Britain poster out which has him on saying live like Bond.
  • A giant banner was put all around the I MAX cinema before the premier that brought a lot of publicity by itself.

DRAFT FOR DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION

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

   Digital distribution affects marketing to a great extent when looking into marketing and consumption. In the UK this is just as apparent as in the US, for example posters are still the biggest form of film marketing out there but for how long? Many other forms of marketing are having a breakthrough such as social networking sites and you tube which both provide free worldwide marketing. This is a great advantage to media production companies as it also allows for more specific target markets to be reached so that the right people turn up to watch  film.

   Independent companies in the UK such as Film 4 are big players in the use of marketing through social media networks and the likes of as they work on an extremely tight budget and don't want to attract the wrong people into a cinema to watch their film as this could end up with a whole host of bad reviews. An example of marketing to attract a niche audience was shown when Film 4 marketed for kick ass as they did not aim for a four quadrant audience, they aimed at the youth/teenage market and succeeded. The film wasn't made for people older than this but did bring in a variety of viewers. To get these viewers they put the age rating at 12A so that anyone below 12 would have to bring along an adult.

   Companies in the US including all of the big six would prefer it if the transfer from cinema viewings to online sales did not happen completely as they cannot guarantee that they will dominate such a large portion of an online market as they do the cinema market. As long as the profits are there to be got in cinema the global institutions will always be able to hold their own as they can afford to market and distribute to the target markets of cinema. the consumers of the online market are looking for a lot for a little, so more films for less money but the cinemas market are more likely to pay more the quality and experience of a 2 hour showing in perfect comfort. this is where the online market is beginning to breakthrough as more and more people get the likes of 3D in in their own homes and home technology also gets cheaper with time the cinemas have nothing different, they need to bring something new to the table. An example of this is the gradual rise of I max.

   I max is a unique way of watching a film used by batman's director Christopher Nolan. It has a crisper image than any other cinema screen and is far better than any affordable home technologies.A UK institution could not afford the use of anything close to I max any therefore that is why they struggle to take control of any substantial portion of the cinema nationally let alone globally. But with the experience of viewing via digitally distributed films being down to the viewer themselves it is much easier to hit a larger market online and it also allows for cheap advertisement and a closer relationship between consumer and distributor. This is shown by ..... and the success of  this is England that used social media and became a very successful film. Even though it looks like this is going to be a way for the small independent companies to hit the global market but I can't see it happening because social media and on demand viewing is all good but the big six can do this to through subsidiary companies and if needs be through themselves. 

  No matter how cheap or accessible the marketing and distributing of film s becomes for smaller companies in the UK on a tight budget the global companies will always be able to advertise their ideas better to consumers. they may do it through conventional and digital techniques and they may have to change their marketing strategies but they not lose the majority share in the global film market anytime soon.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

'Media production in dominated by global institutions, which sell their products and services to national audiences.' To what extent do you agree with this statement?
  • The US have a larger budget as they have the big six. These companies then have the ability to make big blockbusters. For example James Bond is a large budget film that easily made the $250 million back in the first weekend. This film is also a film that is an example of an  american film made British with British actors and so on.
http://alexparrasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/film-four-questions.html

http://ryanwillslcmedia.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2012/10/how-is-media-convergence-important-for.html

http://ryanwillslcmedia.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2012/11/how-to-train-your-dragon.html

http://jackgogertyasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/kick-ass-notes.html

http://amberkelseylcmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/universal-studios-presentation.html

http://sophiehacklcmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/view-is-it-possible-for-british-films.html

 http://alexparrasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-kings-speech.html

http://alexparrasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/kings-speech-seven-points.html

Tuesday 20 November 2012

5 + 5 = 1

5 + 5 = 1

sentences

  1. film 4 releases 6 films a year on average.
  2. It became a freeview channel in 2006.
  3. Film 4 gets given a budget from channel 4.
  4. They produced the inbetweeners movie and slumdog millionaire.
  5. It is run by Tessa Ross.

words

  1. 6 films.
  2. Freeview.
  3. Inbetweeners.
  4. Channel 4.
  5. Tessa.

the word.

  1. ALTERNATIVE.