How important is technological convergence for institutions and audiences in the media area you have studied?

How important is technological convergence for institutions and from Leah Harte

How does media ownership have an impact on the successful distribution of media products in the media area you have studies.

Media ownership has a great impact on the successful distribution of media products in the film industry. Walt Disney is one of the world’s largest media conglomerates. Disney owns many different smaller companies as well, a main one being Pixar. It also owns all of the Marvel characters, apart from Spiderman. Disney is known for producing high budget movies. It is part of the oligopoly of the Big Six, giving it a great amount of power on the film industry.

One of its biggest, recent movies is Maleficent which had a production budget of $170,000,000 USD. Disney made back nearly a quarter of the amount of money spent on the movie on the movie’s opening weekend in the United States alone. Due to the size of the Disney institution, the company was able to produce and distribute their film independently in the US and UK. They used social media to promote their film, which cost little-to-no money and also produced many YouTube trailers and teasers. The film also had its own webpage where people could find out more information about the film. This website also had activities for young children to get them excited for the release of the film. There were also traditional marketing techniques used such as television trailers and posters/billboards which also helped to create awareness and hype for the film. The film was filmed using high-end cameras and was also filmed and showed to the audience in 3D. This helps to deal with the increasing levels of piracy which is a never-ending problem for Disney and the rest of the Big Six.

In 2013, the British Film Institute released an independent film, The Selfish Giant. The film was directed by Clio Barnard, who was already known in the British film industry for her short films and documentaries. The production budget was a massive contrast with the production budget of Maleficent at only £1.4 million. The Selfish Giant was distributed by Film4. There was not much money available for the marketing of the film and so the distributers relied heavily on the reviews that the film was given to promote their film. They also had posters up in the London Underground and also had some page advertisements in magazines. 

The BFI produce films for a much more niche market than Disney does who produces films that can be enjoyed by a large variety of people. Disney can also sell cinema tickets much more easily than the BFI can as they have more money to market and distribute their film. It is also easier for Disney as they have a much bigger and well-respected name for themselves and have many positive connotations attached to their company, therefore they will never have a problem with selling tickets as their films are on very high demand.

This concludes that media ownership has a massive impact on the distribution of films, due to money and name, making it impossible for small companies to be able to distribute their film successfully and compete with the Big Six. Distribution is very important in making back the money spent on a film because if a film is not distributed it is not seen by the audience, therefore no matter how good a film is it cannot make any money.

Evaluate the role of the digital technology in the production, marketing and consumption of products.

Evaluate the role of the digital technology in the production, marketing and consumption of products.

 

Digital technology is vital in the production, marketing and consumption of film. In this essay I will be discussing the role of digital technology in and evaluating its use.

Digital technology is used in many aspects of the production of film- camera, sound, editing software and lighting. Up-to-date technology is very important for making the most effective and visually appealing films. Different cameras are used to get different effects. In The Hobbit, Red One cameras were used and they had 48 frames per minute which created a much more seamless picture and took away the motion blur when the camera moves that is usually seen in cameras that film with 24 frames per second. 3D cameras must also be used for any films that are planned on being released in the cinema in 3D. It is most common for digital cameras to be used in filming. An independent film from 2015, Tangerine, filmed the entire film on an iPhone and edited the film on a cheap app on the iPhone as well. This shows that digital technology for production does not have to be expensive but more expensive cameras will create much better cinematography.

Many films use the software Adobe Premiere Pro, for example Deadpool and Gone Girl. This can be used to edit different shots together and use effects such as expansion of time and visual effects. It can also be used to edit sound and add foley. Another commonly used software is CGI. This is used to add visual effects to films, for example Jurassic World used CGI for the dinosaurs. They added affects to humans to make them look like dinosaurs and used CGI to make objects look like jungle scenery.

Digital technology is also crucial for the distribution and marketing of films. A major way of marketing films in recent years is through the internet and viral campaigns. Social Media platforms allow people to share videos and opinions about film. This is below-the-belt as little-to-no money is put into it; this is just regular people promoting the film online. An example of a viral internet campaign is the prank in the coffee shop which was used to promote the film Carrie. However, some mainstream films will have larger marketing campaigns which will include billboards and television advertising, for example Disney's Maleficent. Sometimes, even more elaborate means are used. For example, Star Wars: A New Hope promoted their film by projecting videos onto the Great Wall of China and they also had Stormtroopers marching and many merchandise available.

Cutting It -Representations of Gender

How are different genders represented in this clip using camera, editing, sound and mise en scene?

In the clip from ‘Cutting It’, both males and females are represented and some stereotypes are challenged but some are also conformed to.

Camera is used in order to portray both the male and female character in a certain way. When the woman is talking to the doctor in the doctor’s office, a high angle shot is used. This makes the woman seem smaller and more vulnerable. The audience are looking down at her like she is weak and powerless. This conforms to the common stereotype that women are unable to look after themselves and lack strength. The director may have done this to make the audience feel empathy for the character.

High and low angle shots are also used later on in the clip; when the woman is hit by the car and the man is towering over her. The camera looks up to the man but down to the woman. This clearly states to the audience who has the power. The man is higher up and therefore is more powerful than the woman and this is the same in male and female stereotypes. Men are often seen as being more strong and powerful. However, this shot could have been used to show how men care for women and protect them rather than being more powerful in a negative way and dominating them. This would therefore be representing men in a more positive way to the audience but women would still be seen negatively because they are still unable to look after themselves and need a man’s help.

When the man is sitting at the table outside the coffee shop, a close-up of his ring is shown. Focusing on the ring is focusing on the joining of two people- in this case a woman and a man. To some people this could be showing the two genders as equal however, traditionally a man is seen as being in control when in a marriage. This could also be used to challenge a common negative stereotype of men which is that they do not value marriage and often cheat on their wives. By showing a close-up of him touching the ring on his finger, it could be showing the audience how much he values his relationship and therefore be challenging stereotypes.

A point of view shot is also used in the clip when the woman is hit by the car and the man rushes over to her. This shot is in the point of view of the man and the audience is once again looking down at the woman who is now lying on the ground. This shot shows the man as being more powerful than the woman but also allows the audience to empathise more with the man because we are able to see this tragic situation from his perspective, as if we were him. This allows the audience to feel more connected to the male character at this moment which is unusual in terms of stereotypes as it is often the women that people connect to more as they are often seen and portrayed as being much more emotional and therefore easier to connect with on an emotional level.

The editing in this clip also allows genders to be represented in a certain way. The order of narrative shows that the woman has more power at the start of the clip and this decreases dramatically as the clip goes on until she has minimal power at the end. I believe that she never has no power, even as she is unconscious at the end, because the male character is emotionally effected by her and therefore she must have some power over him to have this effect. The man in the clip increases in power as the narrative progresses. This power shift in the narrative could have been used by the editor to show how a man’s power is constantly increasing but also shows how a woman’s can be so easily taken from her.

A reverse shot is used when the man and woman are talking to each other as they get out of the taxi-cab. The use of the reverse shot here allows both of the characters to be at the same level as each other. This is representing the genders as being equal. This is a positive thing for woman as stereotypically they are not equal to men and do not have as much power. This counter-type therefore represents women as being everything and anything that a man is.

When the woman is hit by the car at the end of the clip, the editor gives the man more screen time. Allowing the man to have more of the audience’s attention at this point shows them who the most important character in the scene is. Even after the woman has been knocked down and should have all of the attention, the editor uses this as another opportunity to allow the audience to connect with the male character. We had previously seen him playing with the ring on his finger and now we are seeing what could potentially be the end of his marriage. This allows the audience to develop their relationship with the character and build up the empathy they have for him. This is representing males in a positive way as it is challenging the stereotype that they are not ‘in touch with their emotions’.

Throughout the clip, various aspects of sound are used to represent the genders. Near the start of the clip, when they are in the taxi, the man makes a ‘shh’ sound at the woman in an attempt to get her to stop talking. This conforms to the stereotype that men can be dominating towards woman and often see themselves as more powerful and able to control them. However, in this case the woman does not stop talking and the dialogue continues. This shows a countertype of woman as she clearly has power as she just continues to talk and ignores the fact that she has tried to silence her. This challenges male and female stereotypes that men are in control of women.

When the woman is sitting in the doctor’s office sad music begins to play that runs parallel with the narrative in the clip at the time.  This music could be representing the feeling of the female character at the time. If this is true, the music could be representing the woman as an emotional person which is conforming to the stereotype that women are emotional and hormonal.

When the car accident occurs there is a loud diegetic smashing sound that has been greatly exaggerated, possibly through foley. This smashing sound could be signifying the woman being broken by the accident as well at the vases on the side of the road. The sound emphasises the effect of the accident that occurred. It represents women as being weak as it is a sound of something breaking that is very fragile, suggesting that women are also fragile as she was also knocked down and ‘broken’ by the vehicle.

Finally, mise en scene is also used as a way to represent men and women. When the couple are sitting in the car, the lighting is used to provide a little bit of obstruction to the view of the woman’s face. This provides a barrier between the woman and the audience as they are unable to see her face clearly- as if she has a veil over her face. This provides an emotional distance between them. This could be suggesting that woman can sometimes be closed off emotionally and this is a countertype as they are usually described as being over emotional. This could also be foreshadowing later events as it looks like a white haze that surrounds angels and so could be suggesting her death.  Or it could be representing women as being angelic.

When the woman is run over, there are many smashed vases on the floor and destroyed flowers. Flowers are often associated with women and seeing them destroyed on the pavement could be a way of showing how the woman has been destroyed and how easy it is to bring a woman down. This is conforming to the negative stereotype that women are weak and vulnerable- like the flowers and vases are easily broken.

In the clip the woman’s costume consists of very light colours and the man’s, dark. This represents how men and women are seen by the audience. The woman could be wearing light colours to show her innocence and suggest that she has a light personality. Whereas the man is wearing dark, bold colours that signify power and make him seem much more in control than the woman does. This conforms to the negative stereotypes towards women and the positive ones towards men.

Before, and immediately after, the woman has been run over, large traffic vehicles are seen driving down the road between the two characters. This is emphasising the divide between men and women. The physical distance between the characters could be symbolising the distances between men and women in reality.

Task 7 - Audience and Cinema

There are many different cinema deals available. For example, the Orange mobile company has buy-one-get-one-free cinema tickets with Odeon Cinemas on a Wednesday, Vodaphone also has deals for Odeon Cinemas. Compare the Market has introduced Meerkat Movies and this means that Compare the Market customers get two-for-one cinema tickets at participating Cineworld braches on Tuesdays and Wednesday.

Most people visit the cinema at the weekend when they do not have work and their children do not have to go to school. This is probably why most cinema deals provide discounts during the week. This will increase the volume of people that visit the cinema each week. The most popular time of the year to visit the cinema is May-August and November-January. This is because these are the moths where many children and teenagers will have more free time to go to the cinema as they do not have school. This will increase the amount of people of these ages that go to the cinema with their friends and also the families that go together so films of various genres will be popular.

The most common genres of film are Comedy, Action, Drama and Adventure (2015).
Most Popular Comedy - Inside Out
Most Popular Action - Spectre
Most Popular Drama - Fifty Shades of Grey
Most Popular Adventure - Minions

Audiences would hear about up coming films from television adverts, social media and trailers online. Also, billboards and posters in cities and at train stations. As well as this, when a person sees a film in the cinema, other film trailers are played at the start that are tailored to the appropriate audience.

Audiences tend to prefer US films because they have a much higher budget and so tend to be much more elaborate and are usually mainstream so will be suitable to a much wider variety of audience.

Age Range                   Percentage of Cinema Goers

7-14 years old                    13.6%
15-24 years old                  29.4%
25-34 years old                  18.7%
35-44 years old                  16.3%
45-54 years old                    9.5%
55+ years old                     12.5% 

Most audiences tend to dislike 3D movies and stick to 2D. Some say this is because they do not like to wear the glasses, others say that the quality of film is not as good.

Audiences can watch film in other ways besides going to the cinema. Many films are available on Sky, Virgin and Now TV - depending on which television company you are with. Films are also available on online companies such as - Netflix, Amazon Prime, LoveFilm, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, SnagFilms, TalkTalk TV. 

Audiences will go to films with different people depending on the genre of the film and the age of the person. Younger viewers are probably more likely to see films with their families however, teenagers could see films with their family or friends- depending on the genre of the film and its content.

Task 6 - Cinemas

Cinemas from Leah Harte

Task 5 - Film Institutions

Independent film companies from Leah Harte