EXAM REVISION: AUDIENCES

******* PLEASE FIRST SEE MY POST BELOW ABOUT SKYPE********
Today you should plan an exam essay answer on issues relating to how national and local (specifically British) audiences are targeted by international or global institutions. Remember the bullet points? Here they are below. 

We are looking at the last one, just above 'refer to your own film-watching choices and behaviour, and what your family and people of your age do'. 

How to plan? Write a list of topic sentences then the paragraph writes itself. See underneath!

Your list of topic sentences might go like this: 

• The 'big 6' Hollywood studios chase mass mainstream audiences often with formulaic films that Dalecki called 'the 4S megafranchise model'. Hollywood is renowned for producing blockbusters with strong narratives, often part of a sequel, usually with larger than life characters, using exciting, complex sets often in exotic or extravagant locations
• Distributors target audiences via an interconnected web of companies which all promote the film as a package of products. (Give as many details as possible from our Case study Avengers)
• Issues include the commodification of films via product placements (give details from our Case study Skyfall). Film critic Kevin Maher attacks global giants like Amazon, Google and Hollywood for such 'obscene corporate products that violate the cultural life of this country' (see his 'boycott the blockbuster' article in my screenshot below).
• Issues include 'cultural imperialism' or the imposition of one world view and set of values on the rest of the world; this is why we need a national cinema that serves the cultural life of this country.
• Certain British films target both national and international audiences. The Hobbit evokes national nostalgia for old-world values and rural idylls (say how it is quintessentially British) but also addresses international audiences (through spectacle, story, sequel).
• Some films appear to compromise artistic integrity in favour of commercial success with one eye on the international market, selling a predicable or sanitised vision of Britain. The Boat That Rocked (Richard Curtis) clearly targeted middle England baby boomers & seems even more seedy in the light of current DJ scandals. Critics attacked Curtis for failing to use his influential position to direct 'more challenging' films like Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle) that introduce audiences to more important, real issues. 
• When David Cameron visited Pinewood, the home of the successful James Bond franchise, he called for British film makers to make 'more commercially successful pictures' and warned that government money would be rebalanced to support 'more mainstream films', there was an outcry that several huge recent British hits might not have seemed commercial & therefore might not have received lottery funding. Neither an exploited Indian teenager nor a royal with a stutter sound like box office gold - but both Slumdog Millionaire and The King's Speech won top Oscar honors.
• Working Title productions capitalize successfully on a particular vision of Britain that is readily marketable internationally, such as literary adaptations (Tinker Tailor), period drama, history (Mary Queen Of Scots 2014) , romcom, humour (Jonny English). Bridget Jones's Baby (2014) illustrates how WT uses Hollywood model of sequels, unsurprising as its parent company is Universal
• WT also produces films for a more local market; currently The World's End is in production, targeted at audiences of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.
• Smaller production companies with micro budgets target more local audiences (Tortoise In Love £160,000 received BFI funding to screen for local audiences but secured red carpet premiere in Leicester Square; even smaller budget for Shifty  of £100,000 led producer Eran Creevy to target niche London audiences very specifically through risky personal emails; distributors of The Disappearance of Alice Creed for new director J. Blakeson detected audience hotspots around Southampton Uni via interactive website material and premiered in Southampton to reward local audiences.

Kevin Maher attacks global products

SKYPE ME

I am back home from hospital and you can Skype me for revision help today during your AL lesson time. 

My contact name is jenny.mann93 UPDATE: thanks, Louis and Karen for adding your Skype contact details.

I would particularly like to speak to Henry individually about his Foundation Portfolio as a matter of urgency, but not in front of the rest of the class. Please use Skype, Henry, to contact me.
UPDATE: thanks, Henry, good remote work with me this lesson. Next session booked: Wednesday 2.30 p.m.

EXAM REVISION: PROLIFERATION

Today we planned an exam essay answer surrounding proliferation for the January exam, noting the bullet point in the specification:

• proliferation in hardware and content for institutions & audiences

SHIFTY:MICRO BUDGET BRITISH FILM

p 51
Shifty's budget was only £100,000

Film London supported it through Microschool
Distribution by Metrodome 

 
Eran Creevy directed Shifty and talks about it on the Film Education website READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE

Watch the trailer on YouTube HERE

 

Aggressive distribution methods led to complaints see HERE

THE AVENGERS: DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN FILM

The Avengers (Joss Whedon, 2012) illustrates the importance of a range of digital technology for the film industry and its audiences.

Its conception depended on digital technology

The Avengers is solely owned, distributed and marketed by Disney, one of the 'Big Six' Hollywood megafranchises. Hollywood is renowned for producing blockbusters with strong narratives, often part of a sequel, usually with larger than life characters, using exciting, complex sets often in exotic or extravagant locations and reaping the benefits of an interconnected web of companies which all promote the film as a package of products. Dalecki (2008) referred to this package of values as the '4-S Megafranchise model' comprised of synergy, sequelization, story and spectacle. This film exemplifies the blockbuster's use of archetypes, for example, heroic figures (and the characters have been around for more than half a century in 500 comic book issues) in 'a save-the-world story everyone's seen time and again' (The Hollywood Reporter).

Films like these use a wide range of digital media to attract and address their audiences, starting with prior knowledge that the sophisticated digital technology required for CGI, digital film, digital distribution techniques and so on will be met by comfortable studio budgets and recouped via box office returns, DVD and Blu-Ray income, film music sales and merchandising tie-ins, to name but a few revenue streams. Therefore digital sophistication is a prior 'given' for this type of Hollywood film.

 

Its production values depended on digital technology

The Avengers is a good example of such a film that used digital media from conception to consumption. It was shot using digital cameras, such as the Arri Alexa and also the Canon EOS digital SLR. Whedon wanted 'a very visceral and naturalistic quality to the image': "We wanted this to feel immersive and did not want a 'comic book look' that might distance an audience with the engagement of the film". They used "as much aerial work in as possible for the audience to see the big expanses, the wide establishing shots, while also making sure that the effects work doesn't look too computer generated". Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) digitally recreated the vast majority of the New York cityscape used in the film and sent out a team of four photographers to take pictures of the area in a shoot that lasted 8 weeks.

The Avengers contains more than 2,200 visual effects shots completed by 14 companies. The film's key effects included the Helicarrier, the New York cityscape, digital body doubles, Iron Man and the Hulk. To create the on-screen Hulk, Ruffalo performed in a motion-capture suit on set with the other actors while four motion-capture HD cameras (two full body, two focused on his face) captured his face and body movements.

Jeff White, ILM's visual effects supervisor, said, "We really wanted to utilize everything we've developed the last 10 years and make it a pretty spectacular Hulk. One of the great design decisions was to incorporate Mark Ruffalo into the look of him. So, much of Hulk is based on Ruffalo and his performance, not only in motion capture and on set, but down to his eyes, his teeth, and his tongue."

 

Its distribution depended on digital technology

Disney dismissed all three of Marvel's marketing top men to bring their functions in-house. The trailer, which debuted exclusively on iTunes Movie Trailers, was downloaded over 10 million times in its first 24 hours, breaking the website's record for the most-viewed trailer. A second full-length trailer was released on iTunes in February 2012, reaching a record 13.7 million downloads in 24 hours.The theatrical trailers of The Avengers appeared with many films, including Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, 21 Jump Street and The Hunger Games.

Not all marketing was digitally driven; the build-up to The Avengers drew on retail partnerships, such as product tie-ins and Disney issued two limited edition comic book series. Synergy is illustrated by its wide range of retail partnerships. In total Marvel and its parent-company Disney secured an estimated $100 million in worldwide marketing support for The Avengers. So not all marketing was digitally driven; the build-up to The Avengers drew on retail partnerships, such as product tie-ins: set photos of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) were released driving a new model Acura car. Marvel partnered with JADS, a fragrance company, to promote The Avengers with character-based fragrances. The announcement was just ahead of the Toy Industry Association's annual exhibition, where representatives held a sampling booth of the products. Other promotional partners included  Dr Pepper, Harley Davidson, Hershey chocolates, Land O'Frost lunchmeats, Oracle, Red Baron pizza, Symantec, Visa and Wyndham Hotels.  Disney does not generally promote through fast food outlets.

 

Its exhibition depended on digital technology

Disney announced that The Avengers would be digitally remastered for IMAX 3D and opened in IMAX theaters on May 4, 2012, the same day it opened in regular theaters. The IMAX release of The Avengers follows Marvel's release of Iron Man 2 and Thor on IMAX screens. The final battle sequence is an extravaganza in Manhattan, so the height and vertical scale of the buildings is really important.
It became the highest-grossing comic-book adaptation, superhero genre film, and release by Walt Disney Studios. It became the highest grossing US film of 2012 and the highest-grossing superhero film in the UK. The Avengers was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and digital download in the United States and in various international markets. A video game based on the film was planned for concurrent release. The game was to be a first-person shooter/brawler for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Microsoft Windows but was later cancelled.^.

TORTOISE IN LOVE: MICRO BUDGET BRITISH FILM

Tortoise In Love (dir. Guy Browning, 2012) budget of £160,000, crowd funding by village:

TIL built its audience intitially using social media TIL on FaceBook
before developing its official website (below)

Official website CLICK HERE

BFI P&A funded posters etc

TIL poster

IMDB

BFI & other funding

DISTRIBUTION: THE DARK KNIGHT

A case study on The Dark Knight distribution strategy
HERE

JUNE 2010 exam question

We work on the June 2010 exam question on digitization this afternoon.
We finish by looking at the examiner's report HERE
See an example of a B grade student answer  HERE

FILM DISTRIBUTION: THE HOBBIT TRAILER

Films are distributed to target audiences by distributors. They use P & A (prints and advertising), trailers, digital media and premieres.

Today we look at

• the trailer for The Hobbit
• P & A (prints and advertising)
• digital media (Aurasma app)

 






The trailer for The Hobbit illustrates both its 'blockbuster' values and its 'Britishness'.

• type: it is a sequel - part of a trilogy- with an audience who eagerly anticipates more of the Lord Of The Rings narrative with dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo in Rivendell; cameos appearances of Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman
• narrative: epic fantasy-adventure, LOTR fans anticipate some of the sweeping epic qualities, use of archetypes, superheroes / megavillains, a quest, a 'save the world' scenario (defeating the dragon Smaug), big narrative arc, big battle scenes, big set-piece scenes (rock giants, goblin kingdom, scramble through trees) with action and suspense
• casting: famous faces, familiar faces
• locations: exotic, grand, expensive (shot in New Zealand), many instances of spectacle 
• CGI: Gollum performance capture, animatronics: flying beasts, grotesque monsters
• new technology: shot in 3D and 48-FPS (double frame rate) but to see it in 48-FPS, you’ll have to likely go to a specialist screening at an IMAX cinema, or see the normal version at your local cinema 
• Synergy and horizontal integration model: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has the rights to develop a video game
• Synergy: Monolith Productions is developing Guardians of Middle-earth for PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network and Xbox 360 via Xbox LIVE Arcade. It is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game set in Middle-earth and crafted specifically for console systems. Gamers team up as the most powerful heroes from the greatest fantasy epic of all time, bringing up to 10 players together in strategic five versus five competitive multiplayer battle arenas  
• Synergy: toys (Warner Bros Consumer Products: action figures, playsets, role-play accessories, Lego)
• Literary adaptation: JRR Tolkien's 1937 novel (some say trilogy format has 'bloated' plot, that Peter Jackson has fallen for market forces, instead of artistic imperatives)
• setting: quintessentially middle England (The Shire), high key colour to celebrate idyllic qualities of 'Garden Of Eden' refuge, in order to contrast with bleakness outside
• comedy: a reluctant hero in the vein of Dr Watson, The Office
• casting: Martin Freeman "He had qualities that would be perfect for Bilbo. The stuffy repressed English quality. He's a dramatic actor, he's not a comedian, but he has a talent for comedy." Peter Jackson, director. 
• familiarity to British audiences: Freeman is known for roles in Sherlock, The Office, Hitchhiker's Guide

Quintessentially English? We read:
A. E. Housman (1859-1936)

Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?

That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.

THE HOBBIT: DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION - The story in pictures

HORIZONTALLY INTEGRATED COMPANY

THE BLOG

WARNER BROS 

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

MERCHANDISE

SOUNDTRACK

SPECIAL FEATURES

IN-CINEMA!

 

FILM DISTRIBUTION: P& A and DIGITAL

Films are distributed to target audiences by distributors. They use P & A (prints and advertising), trailers, digital media and premieres.

Today we look at

• P & A (prints and advertising)
• the trailer for The Hobbit
• digital media (Aurasma app)

A. E. Housman (1859-1936)
Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?
That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.

RESEARCH: MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR ALBUMS

MAGAZINE ALBUM RESEARCH
Today you should start research into music album adverts. We have music magazines in the Media Studio and there are many examples online such as HERE 
Identify the codes & conventions and USE VIDEO OR AUDIO to present your findings.

RESEARCH: DIGIPACK

You should be making blog posts on the following:

1. What are the functions and conventions of the album cover? Post a detailed list or illustration of all of the different features of the album cover. You could create a Slideshare of annotated pages as this Claremont student did CLICK HERE He also analysed magazine layout clearly.

2. Examples of similar artists' album covers - remember to think about genre and audience.

Here is an example of a level 4 digipack.

3. Post and analyse examples from our centre blogs from previous years. You will need to plan for 6 panes, as below, and here is an example of sizes:

Here is a digipack template

4. Create a Scoop.it! as I have done below: HERE on SCOOP.IT!

Here is my Scoop.it! research into album art