Friday 30th March 2012 Audiences and Institutions Learning Objective: To learn how to understand and effectively answer an exam question.

You need to be able to discuss… Production: The making of the film; pre-production and funding; shoot (format); post-production (SFX). Distribution: The way the film gets to screens; distribution company. Marketing: The process of raising awareness; targeting an audience; creating publicity through various methods. Exchange: The point of sale: buying the ticket (online or in person); downloading; receiving a DVD in the post etc. Exhibition: The way we view; getting the film to a paying audience. Nature of audience consumption: The different types of ways to watch films; what is the current trend. Relationships between audiences and institutions: Target audience; how do different types of people watch films and why.

The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice. The problems or advantages, pros and cons. Large Hollywood companies, like Warner Bros., are a vertically integrated company (The Dark Knight) versus small independent films. Budget. How this filters through to exhibition and profit. Is it fair that Hollywood can dominate and influence an audience’s taste by only allowing them to watch what they allow? Niche audiences

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing. Media convergence is having an enormous impact on the film industry because of the ways in which institutions can produce and market for audiences/users on a widening range of platforms, capable of receiving their films. New technologies: mobile phones, internet, iPad, Playstation, websites. Traditional: posters, billboards, trailers, interviews, reviews etc. Viral campaigns – advancing the effective ‘word of mouth’ strategy Warner Bros. as producer, distributor and exhibitor.

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange. Digitalisation of film (cameras, cinemas, screens) and this effect on production costs, accessibility (downloading), audience consumption, piracy. Both positive and negative. Avatar – the highest grossing film of all time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6JXUoWeZ7Q&feature=related Editing on laptops, shooting on stills cameras (Canon 5D etc.) CGI, 3D Audience ability to interact – through viral marketing campaigns and post-exhibition. E.g, fan made tributes Titles for The Dark Knight Rises http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/01/27/dark-knight-rises-fan-titles-credits-video/ Prequel to LOTR, fan made The Hunt for Gollum http://www.thehuntforgollum.com/updates.htm

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences. This means the increase of something: i.e. digital cameras, editing software (Final Cut), CGI, 3D, film genres that need lots of SFX, etc. which are part of current trends. How significant is this for British Indies versus Hollywood? The hardware we use to watch films – iPad, mobile phones, video-on-demand, online, LoveFilm, illegal download.

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences. The internet is acting as a hub for many aspects of film: banner ads, links to websites, You Tube videos, interviews, trailers, blogs, fan-made sites etc. Mobile phones don’t just make calls/text they are now alarm clocks, mini offices, cameras, cinemas. Think of multiple formats and platforms. Positives: greater audience; social networking word of mouth; cheaper; more choice. Negatives: piracy; less money for Hollywood; cost of changing from film to digital cinema projectors; earlier release; 3D.

Make sure you remember: There is only ONE exam question. Break it down, word by word, if you don’t fully understand at first. Use the correct terminology. Develop your answer so that you are incorporating as much information you have learnt as possible. Detail and examples from case studies are vital. Manipulate your knowledge to make it suitable to question.

Section B: Institutions and Audiences Tuesday 21st February 2012 AS Media Studies Section B: Institutions and Audiences 1 Exam Question – 45 minutes The Film Industry

Distribution http://www.launchingfilms.tv/distribution.php Individual distributors may release any number of films, sometimes just one or two, or as many as 25-30 a year. A typical week sees around ten new films opening in UK cinemas. Inevitably, with more than 500 releases a year all competing for screen time, media space and audience interest, the market place is highly competitive, churning, chopping and changing all too quickly.

Distribution Companies

Inception to Completion Producer or studio acquires the rights to the film story or treatment Screen play is developed Production finance is agreed Cast and crew confirmed Shoot – location / studio Post-production – editing, score etc. Master print is delivered to a distributor Distributor determines release date and strategy Distributor presents films to exhibitor and negotiates bilateral agreements Exhibition

Cross Media Cross Media: different medias (TV/ radio/ print/ film) or different media institutions (studios/ newspapers/ TV networks) Convergence: the joining of two or more media companies or technologies to form a new object / promote a new product In cross media convergence: more than one company benefits from working in a partnership. Cross media convergence ensures that the film reaches the widest audience available. ‘The Dark Knight’ had one of the most elaborate marketing strategies to date…

Distributing a Blockbuster The Dark Knight – Case Study Produced by Legendary Pictures (with Warner Bros) Distributed by Warner Bros Directed by Christopher Nolan (Inception, Memento)

www.ibelieveinharveydent.com

Promotional packs sent to those who had registered on the web page

http://www.thegothamtimes.com/ The page was defaced in order to build suspense as the first images of Heath Ledger as The Joker were released. This is modern viral marketing and traditional print based marketing working together.

Fan Involvement – Word of Mouth Publicity Stunts: Warner Bros invited fans to follow a ‘case’ of clues around the internet, tracking the Joker. Finally, they were given a date and time to meet up. Hundreds of fans arrived in New York to see the bat symbol projected onto the side of a skyscraper.

Collectables

Target Audience

Exhibition Institutions like Love Film need to keep up with what audiences want. The ‘new’ trend for watching films… http://www.lovefilm.com/browse/film/watch-online/ https://signup.netflix.com/?mqso=80031973&locale=en-GB&mkwid=scxFYTeEH&pcrid=9942356525

Audiences and Institutions Learning Objective: To understand media ownership in relation to the film industry.

The Dark Knight Featured the opening sequence shot using IMAX technology. It was the first time ever that a major feature film was even partially shot on IMAX cameras. It broke box office records for IMAX, taking in about $6.3 million from 94 theatres in the U.S and Canada over the opening weekend.

The Dark Knight IMAX records and displays images at far greater size and resolution than other film formats. It increases the resolution of the image by using a much larger film frame. To achieve this, 65 mm film stock passes horizontally through the cameras. Traditional cameras pass film vertically. Standard film shoots at 24 frames per second. In order for IMAX to match this, 3 times the length of film rolls through the camera.

The Dark Knight The Dark Knight cost approximately $180 million to make. Warner Bros. held the world premiere for The Dark Knight in NYC on 14th July 2008. Screened at an IMAX cinema, the film’s composers (Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer), played part of the film score live. It was then distributed to 4,366 cinemas, in the U.S and Canada, breaking the previous record held by Pirates of the Caribbean. Released on 24th July 2008 in the U.K, it was just in time for the summer holidays. Warner Bros. re-released the film in January 2009, to enhance the chances of Oscar success.

Media Ownership All media (film, TV, print, music) is owned by a company. This company holds the ‘rights’ to publish, distribute and manipulate their work to make a profit to fund their next product. When an existing story, book, play, comic etc. is made into a film, the rights have to be bought from the author, as it is their ‘intellectual property’. Warner Bros. bought the rights to make the first 4 Harry Potter films for $1m. Film makers ‘option’ a script – meaning they only pay 10% of the fee to secure the rights and then pay the full amount if the project is ‘green lit’. There is normally a time limit on an option – 2 or 3 yrs. If the film isn’t made in this time, the option can be re-sold.

Media Ownership Warner Bros. Pictures produces and distributes, finances and co-finances films and maintains worldwide distribution rights. Hollywood is driven by profit and success. Through cross media convergence, The Dark Knight has become a global brand. Warner Bros. and DC hold the copyright to the brand.

Integration Vertical Integration (Home Video, Interactive Entertainment, Animation, Television) Horizontal Integration (New Line Cinema studio, DC comics, The CW network, Rock Steady games)

Media Ownership Audiences are loyal to brands and will see every film: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Toy Story, The Lord of the Rings, Spiderman etc. Profit is made through box office sales, DVD, Blu-ray, toys, games, clothes…

Piracy Piracy is the illegal distribution of media without the permission of its owner. A disadvantage of digital technology is the ease with which films can be pirated. This is a major problem for the film industry. It effects profits and breaks copyright law. Illegal downloads – leaking and sharing of films over the internet can spread within minutes. Illegal filming of screenings – fake DVDs.

Combating Piracy An advantage of digital technology is that it allows films to be released simultaneously, and legally, around the world. Previously, the delay in films reaching other parts of the world encouraged piracy. Digital encryption means that films can be securely distributed. 3D cinema is currently more difficult to pirate http://www.thehobbitblog.com/?cat=8

Anti-Piracy : The Dark Knight Warner Bros. devoted six months to an anti-piracy strategy that involved tracking the people who had a pre-release copy of the film at any one time. Shipping and delivery schedules were also staggered and spot checks were carried out both domestically and overseas to ensure illegal copying of the film was not taking place in cinemas. A pirated copy was released on the Web approximately 38 hours after the film's release. An illegal download website taunted the movie industry over its ability to provide the movie free, replacing its logo with a provocative message.

The Dark Knight Awards: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/awards The Dark Knight Rises: Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GokKUqLcvD8 The Dark Knight Rises: Fan-made titles http://io9.com/5879763/fan+made-dark-knight-rises-titles-so-good-they-deserve-to-be-in-nolans-movie

Digital is the Future The digitalisation of film makes it cheaper to produce, distribute and exhibit. Independent film makers can produce larger numbers of prints at a smaller cost, therefore they will not lose as much money if the film does not attract such a large audience in the cinemas. This should ease the path for more independent films into more cinemas across the country.