Homework

Due: Today – Wednesday 10th December – Period 4

Go to the link:

WHAT emerging film markets are threatening the dominance of Hollywood?

Write your views on ½ a page in your exercise book.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/business/media/hollywood-works-to-maintain-its-world-dominance.html?_r=0

Wednesday 10th December 2014

Unit FM2: Section A – Producers & Audience

Title: Media Ownership – Production & Distribution

Film Trailers

Kerrigan (2004) states that trailers have 2 purposes:

1) “Withold the fullness of the cinema event”

2) MUST “Achieve a sense of heightened presence”

Do you agree?

'Terminator Genisys' Trailer

HOW effective is this trailer at “Witholding the fullness of the cinema event” Kerrigan (2004)

Why?

Aims & Objectives

• YOU WILL re-cap prior learning of some of the important areas we have covered so far:

• ALL OF YOU WILL develop your understanding of the HOW 2 differing Film Industries Produce and Distribute their products to an audience over the next 3-4 lessons.

• MOST OF YOU will be able to recognise the differences between Hollywood and the UK Film Industry.

• Review the Learning.

AO1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the film industry.

Past Papers

http://www.wjec.co.uk/qualifications/qualification-resources.html?subject=FilmStudies&level=GCEASA&pastpaper=true

Or go to:

http://ncrafts.wordpress.com

Starter

2011 Paper Question

Starter

2011 Paper Question

YOU MUST write down whether you AGREE or DISAGREE with this statement.

YOU SHOULD support your argument with a Case Study example and/or refer to some of the films on the Top 10 UK Box-Office list.

Extension – YOU COULD refer to theories such as Prof. Christine Gledhill (2003).

Feedback

• To do:

1) Find some further studies on on ‘Star Vehicle’ driven movies.2) Establish - % - HOW MANY movies in the current Top 10 contain ‘Star Appeal’ (Richard

Dyer)3) Your own Case Studies – Do they possess stars that offer ‘capital value’ (Gledhill – 2003)

to Producers & Audiences?

‘Star Vehicle’

‘Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters’ (2013 – Paramount Pictures)

Production Budget: $50m

US Box-Office: $55m

Global Box-Office: $214m

Does Jeremy Renner possess ‘capital value’ (Gledhill – 2003)?

• To do:

Can you find any other movies that “bombed” despite being a ‘Star Vehicle’ movie?

We are going to look at this through Film Case Study examples today, such as:

✓

Mini-Plenary/Starter

Vs.

‘Taken 2’ (2012)

Dir. Oliver Megaton

‘The Angel’s Share’ (2012)

Dir. Ken Loach

YOU MUST make notes on EACH case study example as we go through them.

YOU SHOULD make then use this information to help you research your own case study examples.

Key Term:

Event Movie

UK audiences are overwhelmed by the dominance of Hollywood and the concentration of media ownership they possess.

RESEARCH TASK FOR THE EXAM:

Find out how many of the films released in 2012 – 2013 were Produced and/or distributed by Hollywood.

Some examples of successful multi-national media conglomerates who are ensuring Hollywood stay dominant are:

Distributor

Estimated Marketing Budget: $30 million

Released in 3,661 Theatres in the US alone!

Grossed $50 million in it’s opening weekend at the box office in the US alone.

Would you expect a similar ‘blanket release’ in the UK?

Unit G322: Institutions & Audience (Film)

“Blanket release” - UK

Hollywood majors (Big 6 studios) have the power and finances to release films at vast number of cinema screens in a number of different formats.

Unit G322: Institutions & Audience (Film)

“Blanket release” - UK£1.1 Billion generated at the Box-Office in 2013 – 3rd year in a row above £1 billion.

7% of this figure represents UK Produced Low Budget films such as ‘A Field in England’ (2013).

Distributor

Who Produced the Movie?

“The films that have succeeded have not tried to ape Hollywood. They have typically British subjects, done in an entertaining, confident way” (Grant – 2007)

‘The Angels Share’ (2012) Dir. Ken Loach

Key Term: Realism

Key Term:

Shoestring Film

‘The Angels Share’ (2012) is a prime example of a Low budget shoestring British film that endeavors to provide verisimilitude (realism) for it’s target audience without being overpowered by the business and money making Hollywood machine.

Estimated Marketing Budget: ?

Key Term: Cross over Hit

Who Distributed this film?

Why did this NOT succeed in being a Cross-over hit?

Key Term: Cross over Hit

Was the film successful in the US?

Critically: YESCommercially: NO

Why so low? Was the film marketed poorly? Was it released in Multiplex cinemas?

June 1st 2012

Top grossing films of 2012

WHY is there such a massive gulf between ‘The Angels Share’ and ‘Taken 2’ in terms of box-

office takings?

ONLY available in 35mm – meaning the film had no choice but to distribute to a smaller audience in the UK.

35mm – Around £700 - £1k per. Reel!

Digital – Films are released via a DCP – Digital Cinema Package

Key Term:Event Movie

Budget: $225m

The movie was PRODUCED by a studio synonymous with Action-Adventure/Superhero genre – Legendary Pictures.

The movie was DISTRIBUTED by one of the Hollywood majors that dominate the film market – Warner Bros.

Shared Universe

Josh Berger - Warner Bros. Chief Executive for the UK & Europe

The success of the film is not only dependent on the Distribution power of Warner Bros, but also it’s co-production deal with other Media Institutions such as Legendary Pictures and DC Comics.

Shared Universe

(See link in the Blog Page for more detail on this)

Thomas Tull – Legendary Pictures CEO

http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/warner-bros-no-longer-in-legendarys-future-1200501572/

• “We want to grow to a size and want to control as much of our destiny as much as possible”.

• May was a big month for the company, with Legendary announcing it bought marketing shop FIVE33; and brokered a three-year co-production agreement with Beijing-based Legendary East and China Film Co. That marked the first time the state-backed film venture has inked a long-term, multi-picture production deal with a Chinese or international partner.

RESEARCH TASK – 5 minutes

YOU MUST go onto one or both of the following websites:

1) How much has the movie grossed at the Box-Office? (US and Worldwide)

2) Look for the Opening Weekend takings in the UK (Google) – What did the film compete with that weekend and how did they fair? How many screens was it shown in the UK?

3) How much was spent on marketing the film Worldwide?

Other Case Study examples to use – as well as your own….

Unit G322: Institutions & Audience (Film)

Smaller UK Studio – Case Study

Co-Production deal

Founded by Tim Bevan in 1984

A key element in the company's working methods has been its attention to marketing, striking deals with American and European companies, thus ensuring world-wide distribution for its products.

Tim Bevan (1958 – present)

Univers owned a ____% stake in the production company – Known as a C__-P________ DEAL

67Oroduction

Co-Production deal

Founded by Tim Bevan in 1984

A key element in the company's working methods has been its attention to marketing, striking deals with American and European companies, thus ensuring world-wide distribution for its products.

Tim Bevan (1958 – present)

Univers owned a ____% stake in the production company – Known as a C__-P________ DEAL

67Oroduction

Co-Production deal

The Co-Production Deal has been extended through to 2015 – however this is now a “first look agreement” between the 2 Institutions.

Recent Examples of their success together – but HOW successful?

YOU MUST:

• Find out the UK and US opening weekend release dates for:

• What film(s) were released over those weekends that were competing with obtaining “bums on seats” at the box-office? YOU SHOULD note down statistics such as how many screens the film(s) were released in, as well as the box-office takings, THEN find out who produced/distributed these texts.

Feedback

USA – Release Information

Number of Theatres – WHY so low?

YOU SHOULD refer to this case study IF you are dealing with a question regarding Film Distribution, Technology and ‘Star Appeal’(Richard Dyer)

‘A Field in England’ (2013)

Produced and Distributed by:

Facts about the film:

• Experimental “Multi-Platform Day-and-Date release” (Katherine Butler – Film Four)• Mark Kermode, a respected film critic, declared the film as being a part of a new wave

of “Simultaneous Distribution”.• Released on: 5th July 2013 – Production Budget: £300,000• Distributed in 2014 in the US by:

Facts about the film - Continued:

• Grossed around £21,400 from 17 screens (Box-Office)• Film Four (TV Channel) – Around 288,000 viewers (This figure rises to around 357,000

when you factor in people who recorded the film and watched over the same weekend – These are known as part-consolidated figures)

• DVD and Blue-Ray – 11,000 Copies by the following Monday

• Film 4OD and iTunes (VOD) – 1,200 Transactions –

Is this an example of a Co-production deal OR synergy between two Media Institutions?

WHY did Film Four decide to go with a “Simultaneous Distribution”?

WHAT were they competing with?

Pre-release material - January 2014 Paper

Note down key information highlighted

Key Term?

Plenary 2 – What have you learnt?

Homework:

Section B –

DUE: The presentation Date will now likely take place after Christmas so you understand what you need to research.

Continue with your research into your chosen Event movie and Indie Movie

2) COMPLETE your Compare & Contrast Table of the 4 Case Studies we have covered and how they compare and contrast in terms of PD.

DUE: Monday 11st October