AS Media StudiesSection B: Institutions and

Audiences1 Exam Question – 45 minutes

The Film Industry

Essay Structure

Introduction – state your focus, argument, and case studies.

Media Ownership – general overview of key issues relating to the film industry

American film industry – using any case studies from The Big 6 to support points you make explain implications of ownership on institutions and audiences

British film industry – contrast British film industry using examples

Conclusion – sum up your argument & can relate to your own personal experience as a consumer

Production:

Distribution:

Exhibition:

The basics…

Production: (Making Film) writing the script; pitching to a studio; setting a budget; crewing up; casting; filming; editing. Distribution: (The Middle Man) the studio buys the rights; the studio makes a licensing agreement with a distribution company; they decide how many copies of the film are made; they negotiate deals to sell the lease to buyers.Exhibition: (The Screen) how the film reaches the public; cinemas; DVDs; online; TV.

The basics…

For a film to go into production it needs investors to provide the necessary funding.

However, Box office success is never certain and so investors try to reduce the risk of losing their money by becoming involved in important decisions.

Production - Investors

Key questions that investors will ask are:

Is the film’s storyline similar to other films that have made money recently?

Does it offer easy selling points?

Are there obvious marketing spin offs to give added publicity?

Is the star popular?

Has the director had previous successes?

Production - Investors

Key questions that they will ask are:

Is the film’s storyline similar to other films that have made money recently

If the answer to any of theses questions is no then changes will be made to the “package” (the details of the film) to make sure all the answers are yes! Otherwise, the investors will take their money else where.

Production - Risks

Shifty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT75k8sUXaQ

The Dark Knight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ5U8suTUw0

Investigate the level of risk for:

Director Writer Producer Cast Genre Sequel potential Location SFX Rating USP

Take into consideration…

Create a survey, identify basic info: age; gender, ethnicity, professionals, students retired etc.What was the last film they watched, & where & with who.Why did they watch that film? Why did they choose tat format?Have they bought any film merchandise before? Why and what film.Cinema – last visit, experience, cost, how often they visit and why.

Survey

Investigate current cinema listings for Saturday 22nd March at the following:Tyneside Cinema – Newcastle Empire Cinema – SunderlandCineworld Cinemas- BoldonOdeon Cinema – SilverlinkThe Star and Shadow Cinema – NewcastleSide Cinema - Newcastle

Group Task

Consider the following:

How many films are being exhibited? How many separate screenings are there? What is the most popular film? Timings of screenings – why, who is the audience? Location – how popular is the cinema and why? Is the cinema part of a chain? What else does the cinema complex offer, e.g restaurant, bar etc.? How much are the tickets? How user friendly is their website? Does the website advertise? If so, what and how? Look at the ‘Coming Soon’ section – are these new releases?

Create a PowerPoint Presentation