Digital distribution, consumption and marketing

Digital Distribution Essay

Distribution

Distribution

What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied?

What impact does Media Ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area y...

The British Film Industry

Who does what in the British Film Industry?

The BBFC:

The BBFC is an independent, non-governmental body which classifies and censors film, video as well as computer and console based games released in the UK.

The BFI:

The BFI (British Film Institution) Promotes understanding and appreciation of Britain's rich film and television heritage and culture

The UK film Council:

is the government backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.

The BAFTA:

The BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) aims to support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image.

The British council:

The official UK agency for international cultural relations. Its film department promotes new British films (features and shorts), internationally principally through festivals and showcases.

Main British Production Companies - recent films

Film 4:

• '12 Years a Slave' (2013)
• '20,000 days on Earth' (2014)
• 'A Most Wanted Man' (2014)
• 'Black Sea' (2014)
• 'Ex-Machina' (2015)

E One (Entertainment One):

• 'Divergent' (2014)
• 'The Theory of Everything' (2014)
• 'Nightcrawler' (2014)
• 'That Awkward Moment' (2014)
• 'The Age of Adaline' (2015)

Working title

• 'Everest' (2015)
• 'About Time' (2013)
• 'Rush' (2013)
• 'Legend' (2015)
• 'The Danish Girl' (2015)

Bigtalk Productions

• 'Man Up' (2015)
• 'Cuban Fury' (2014)
• 'In Fear' (2013)
• 'The World's End' (2013)
• 'Sightseers' (2012)

Pathe

• 'Lucy' (2014)
• 'Mandela: long walk to Freedom' (2013)
• 'Selma' (2014)
• 'Suffragette' (2015)
• 'Centurion' (2010)

Warpfilms:

• 'The last Panthers' (2015)
• 'This is England '90' (2015)
• '71' (2014)
• 'For Those in Peril' (2014)
• 'Southcliffe' (2013)

Who dominates the UK film Industry?

Although it is becoming ever easier to create and produce feature films due to the new advances in technology, a lot of a movie's popularity and accessibility will depend on who the film is produced by. If a movie is made by a large, well-known company such as 20'th Century Fox or Universal Pictures, it is more likely to be seen and circulated than that of a company which nobody has heard of. Statistics show that in 2013 in the UK and Ireland alone, Warner Bros, Walt Disney and Universal had the highest grossing numbers in the sale of cinema/box office tickets. Warner Bro's gained 200 million dollars, closely followed by Walt Disney at an estimated 170 million and Universal with 150 million. In conclusion, Hollywood's big six mainly dominate the UK film industry along with some smaller production companies such as Sony Pictures, Lionsgate and StudioCanal.

British 'Cultural test' - British VS American films

Any film can be put through this 'culture test'. It must score at least 18 out of 35 to be classed as a British film and can claim 25% tax relief from the government:

'Avengers: Age of Ultron' - 15/35

•  A1 - the film set was in the UK, South Africa, South Korea, Bangladesh and Italy
• A4 - the film was written and recorded in English
• C1 (A,B) - many of the filming locations are situated in the UK
• D7 - Ben Davis, the cinematographer, is a member of the British society of Cinematographers

'Ex-Machina' - 14/35

• A2 - Domhnall Gleeson is an Irish/British citizen
• A4 - the film was written and recorded in English
• D1/2 - Director, Alex Garland, was born in London, UK
• D3 - Producer, Andrew Macdonald, was born in Glasgow, Scotland
• D4 - Geoff Barrow, one of the Composers was born in North-Somerset, England

'Star Wars the Force Awakens' - 10/35

• A1 - A lot of the filming locations are in the UK
• A4 - the film was written and recorded in English

'Mad Max: Fury Road' - 10/35

• A2 - Tom Hardy is an English actor and resident
• A4 - the film was written and recorded in English

'Old' Rules required for a film to be British 

• The Director must be British 
• The Producer must be British
• It must have a predominantly British cast
• A British production company 
• Subject matter that informs on the British Experience 
• British identity defined by the BFI in "Sight and Sound"

How do British films attract audiences? How are they distinct from Hollywood movies?

I feel that British films attract an audience by adhering to the British stereotype, e.g: having a man who speaks in a proper British accent in a neat suit and nice manners whose witty and has a way about him. Typical of that of a James Bond movie, Daniel Craig has set a standard that is expected of a British man by the rest of the world (especially America). In countries like America, they find the British stereotype amusing and enjoy portraying the British culture as being quite posh and sophisticated and therefore use the 'big six' in Hollywood to portray British people in this way. In contrast, British film producers might show the other side of the British culture, e.g. the more lower class, 'chavvy' generation of Brits. However they might still include the witty British gentlemen as the image is attractive all over the world and the British are especially proud to be stereotyped in this way. An example of a film that includes both representations and was very successful in attracting an audience is 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' as it includes a young, yobbish boy who is taken under the wing of a typical British gent played by Colin Firth - renowned for his gentlemen like qualities and characteristics of a stereotypical British man. 

Audience Types

Mainstream: Unlikely ever to view anything other than major 'Hollywood' style blockbusters.

Mainstream plus: generally mainstream, but apt to see less mainstream films on few occasions.

Aficionados: Tend to view a mix of films, including major foreign language titles, and can be encouraged to become even more adventurous in their viewing choices.

Film Buffs 1: Eschew mainstream films in favour of more extreme, esoteric, challenging and difficult subject matter (specialized) films.

I think that films such as 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' would have attracted mainstream plus audiences all over the world, especially in America. On its opening weekend in the USA, this film brought $42,000,000 into the box office and £4,152,128 into the UK box office. This is because of the attraction of the British culture and the love of the typical British spy story with a sharply dressed gent inspired by James Bond - a greatly loved character all over the world

Why have a British film industry?

I believe that having a British film industry is very important in out culture as we're a very small country in comparison to America where they have production companies such as the 'big six' and attractions like Hollywood. We feel the need to make other cultures know who we are and a British stereotype is very well known worldwide and is very well received. I think that we are proud to show off our culture to the rest of the world and make sure that we are seen how we want to be seen by the rest of the world. I don't think the British film industry is there to simply make money, its there to make sure the culture we want to show survives and gives off a positive view of the British culture. In a way, it is there to promote the British culture, but not in a snobbish fashion. Rather a way to show that we can be what people want to see (including what our own nation wants to see).

'Mad Max: Fury Road' - 7 areas of media ownership

Mad Max. Fury Road - 7 Areas

Film research: Mad Max - Fury Road

Mad Max - Fury Road (2015)

Producer/Production companies:

 This film was produced by Kennedy Miller Productions and Village Roadshow Pictures along with distributors such as Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox in over 30 countries all over the world including Australia, Canada, Taiwan as well as the UK and USA.

Director:

Name: George Miller

Best known for: 'Mad Max' (1979), 'Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior' (1981), 'Happy Feet' (2006), 'Mad Max: Fury Road' (2015)

Awards: George Miller awards

Screen Writers:

George Miller: known from previous 'Mad Max' films

Brendan McCarthy: known for - writing comics from 1977 onwards including 2000AD's 'Judge Dredd' comics

Nick Lathouris: known for - ''Mad Max' (1979), 'Death in Brunswick' (1990) and 'The Heartbreak Kid' (1993)

Actors (Top billed):

Name: Tom Hardy

Character: Max Rockatansky

Known for: 'Inception' (2010), 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012), 'Warrior' (2011)

Name: Charlize Theron

Character: Imperator Furiosa

Known for: 'Monster' (2003), 'Hancock' (2008), 'Prometheus' (2012)

Name: Nicholas Hoult

Character: Nux

Known for: 'Warm Bodies' (2013), 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' (2014), 'About a Boy' (2002)

Budget/Box Office sales/Screens shown on:

This film had an estimated $150,000,000 as its budget, of which it made $44,440,000 back in the USA in its first weekend of being released on the 15th of May 2015. By the 18th of September, it had totalled a gross of $153,629,485 in the USA alone. Around this time in September, Mad Max: Fury Road had made roughly $374,712,032 worldwide. When the film was first released in May 2015, it was shown on around 3,702 screens in the USA, bringing $44,440,000 into the box office. Even in September when the movie is only being shown on around 50 screens at one time, it is still bringing in $17,453 at the weekend showings.

Composers:

Name: Junkie XL (aka: Tom Holkenborg)

Best Known for: 'Green Street' (2005), 'Resident Evil' (2002), '21' (2008) and 'The Animatrix' (2003)

Awards:

• 2012 and 2007: Nominated for the Best Music award by Golden Calf

Marketing:

This movie was well advertised when the trailer was released at the San Diego Comic Con to an audience that were bound to want to see the film as it is a popular franchise within the Comic Con fans. It attracted a large audience as the movie posters, trailers, etc. showed Charlize Theron in the centre, portraying a strong female character (which is very popular in todays culture and society). She is also wearing a prosthetic arm, which shows and supports the importance of stronger representations of groups within TV and film, making this a popular film socially. The TV adverts and trailers were aired on around 45 networks on 858 national airings. Most of the airings were shown across MTV and Comedy Central, however the NBA basketball playoffs received the most spending on airings at around $1.5 million. A marketing campaign was also launched through social media where fans were asked movie-related questions and drawing questions and drawing them into this fictional post-apocalyptic world.

Official Trailer

Special effects/Technical specs:

This movie mainly uses pyrotechnics/vehicle technology as most of the effects were based around car chases and fight/action scenes. Stunt doubles were needed for the amount of physical effects created between the actors and the vehicles. Surprisingly, CGI was used sparingly - only to enhance the fantasy/Namibian landscape. 

Runtime	2 hr (120 min)
Sound Mix	Dolby Digital | Datasat | SDDS | Dolby Atmos
Color	Color
Aspect Ratio	2.35 : 1
Camera	Arri Alexa M, Panavision Primo Lenses Arri Alexa Plus, Panavision Primo Lenses Blackmagic Cinema Camera (some shots) Canon EOS 5D Mark II (some shots) Olympus P5 (some shots)
Film Length	(7 reels)
Negative Format	CF Codex
Cinematographic Process	ARRIRAW (2.8K) (source format) Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format) ProRes 4:2:2 (1080p/24) (source format)
Printed Film Format	35 mm (anamorphic) (Kodak Vision 2383) D-Cinema (also 3-D version)

Issues:

There were apparent issues during the filming of this film as two of the main actors, Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy did not get along on set which made it difficult during the filming process. Also, there are moral issues that are tackled in this movie such as the portrayal of a patriarchal society where women were abused which put the audience in a difficult position. There were also issues with the weather on some shooting days where it was cold when it was supposed to be hot, etc. Reshoots delayed the release of the film. 

'Dracula Untold' - 7 areas of media ownership

Dracula Untold - 7 Areas

Box Office sucess: Ex_Machina (2015)

Box Office success: Ex_Machina

Film research: Ex_Machina

Ex-Machina (2015)



Producer/Production companies:

This movie was produced by DNA films in collaboration with Film4 along with many international distributors all over the world such as Universal Pictures International, Universal Pictures, NOS Audiovisuals, A24, intercontinental video and Mongrel media. The production companies and distributors have distributed this film in around 14 different countries. DNA films is the same production company that worked on the movie '28 days later' which was made by the same writer and director that produced Ex_Machina, giving them a marketing point to go from when advertising as the film '28 days later' was very successful and gave DNA films some kind of positive reputation.

Andrew Macdonald (best known for 'Trainspotting', '28 days later' and 'Ex_Machina') and Allon Reich (best known for 'Ex_Machina', '28 weeks later' and 'The last King of Scotland') are the main producers that worked on this film alongside many executive and associate producers.

Director/Screenwriter:

Name: Alex Garland

Best Known for: '28 days later' (2002), 'Ex_Machina' (2015), 'Dredd' (2012) and 'Sunshine' (2007)

Awards: 

• 2004: Nominated for Saturn Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Writing for 28 Days Later
• 2004: Won the Best Screenplay Award at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for his screenplay of 28 Days Later
• 2011: Won an award from the Writer's Guild of Great Britain (along with co-writer Tameem Antoniades) for his writing on the video game, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010).
• 2015: Won a Jury Prize for writing/directing Ex Machina at the Gerardmer Film Festival.

Actors (main cast):

Name: Domhnall Gleeson

Character: Caleb

Best known for: 'About time' (2013), 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' (2011), 'Unbroken' (2014) and 'Ex_Machina' (2015)

Name: Corey Johnson

Character: Jay

Best known for: 'The Bourne Ultimatum' (2007), 'Captain Phillips' (2013), 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) and 'Ex_Machina' (2015)

Name: Oscar Isaac

Character: Nathan

Best known for: 'Inside Llewyn Davis' (2013), 'Drive' (2011), 'Ex_Machina' (2015), 'A Most Violent Year' (2014)

Name: Alicia Vikander

Character: Ava

Best known for: 'Ex_Machina' (2015), 'A Royal Affair' (2012), 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E' (2015), 'Seventh Son' (2014)

Name: Sonoya Mizuno

Character: Kyoko

Best known for: 'Ex_Machina' (2015), 'Beauty and the Beast' (2017), 'The Theo Adams Company' (2015)

Name: Symara A. Templeman

Character: Jasmine

Best known for: 'Ex_Machina' (2015), 'Jupiter Ascending' (2015), 'Darkness' (2014)

Name: Gana Bayarsaikhan

Character: Jade

Best known for: 'Ex_Machina' (2015)

Name: Claire Selby

Character: Lily

Best known for: 'Ex_Machina' (2015)

Name: Tiffany Pisani

Character: Katya

Best known for: 'Ex_Machina' (2015), 'Britain and Irelands next Top Model' (2005), 'Hollyoaks' (1995)

Name: Elina Alminas

Character: Amber

Best known for: 'Ex_Machina' (2015), 'Residue' (2015), 'Cinderella' (2015), 'Jupiter Ascending' (2015)

 Budget/Box office sales/Screens shown on:

This film was made on an estimated budget of 15 million dollars and after being a huge success aroun the world, has brought in over 36 million dollars worldwide and has had many positive reviews from critics all around. In the USA the film made $250,000 on its opening weekend in April 2015, being shown on around 1,255 screens. During May of 2015, the film had its highest selling point, reaching around $3,510,000 and was shown on over 2000 screens.

Composers:

Name: Geoff Barrow

Other works: 'Lord of War' (2005), 'Wild' (2014), 'Columbiana' (2011), 'Assassins' (1995)

Name: Ben Sailsbury

Other works: 'Beyoncé: Life is but a Dream' (2013), 'Inside the Perfect Predator' (2010), 'The life of Mammals' (2002)

Marketing:

The production designer for this film is Mark Digby, notable foe his work in other films such as 'Rush' (2013), 'Slumdog Millionaire' (2008) and 'Dredd' (2012).

A viral marketing campaign was designed and in the USA which used the famous dating site Tinder to raise awareness for the Sci-Fi thriller. The robot in the film is played by the Swedish actress, Alicia Vikander and using her pictures, the marketing team set up a robot account on Tinder which asked fellow users what makes them human and what attracted them to Ava. This clever marketing scheme was designed to test the audience and almost involve them in the film as they had a brief experience of what the protagonist experiences in the movie.

Alongside this, a series of films posters and teaser trailers were also made and shown through TV advertising and general poster advertisements.

Official Trailer

Special effects:

The largest area of special effects was used on the actress Alicia Vikander as she plays, Ava - the robot. Most of her body has CG effects put onto it to make her look as though parts of her body are made of machinery and certain parts are completely see through. The only parts of her that are kept as skin are the face, hands and feet.

Special technology was used to make sure that Alicia looked as robotic as she could when playing Ava whilst still being able to move exactly the way a human would. To do this, she was taken into a photo booth and scanned from head to foot, from there a team then built her CG elements which were then refined to match the live action photography. An anamorphic lens was applied which could have been an issue as the rig used had to be 'astonishingly flexible' in order to convey the human likeness of Ava. This lens meant that if Alicia wasn't completely in focus then the image would be distorted and it would then have to be reverted back to how the image was originally.

Flares were used to create the almost sterilised brightness that is used in the house to create the feeling that the house is more of a research/hospital facility. It also conveys the fact that the movie is of the science fiction genre as flares are typically used to create a flashy futuristic atmosphere.    

Technical Specifications:

Runtime	1 hr 48 min (108 min)
Sound Mix	Dolby Digital | SDDS | Datasat
Color	Black and White (some shots) | Color
Aspect Ratio	2.35 : 1
Camera	GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition Sony CineAlta F65, Cooke Xtal Express, Kowa Prominar and Angenieux Optimo Lenses Sony CineAlta PMW-F55, Cooke Xtal Express, Kowa Prominar and Angenieux Optimo Lenses
Laboratory	Molinare, London, UK
Negative Format	AXSM SRMemory Video (HD)
Cinematographic Process	Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format) J-D-C Scope (anamorphic) (source format) Kowa Scope (anamorphic) (source format) (some scenes)
Printed Film Format	D-Cinema

Issues:

One of the main issues when shooting this movie was the fact that the lens used to create Ava's robotic yet human feel happened to distort a lot of the images within the filming. The anamorphic lens tended to reflect and distort everything around it, which interrupted the smooth, polished continuity that the directors wanted to create. However, this effect is successful in creating a false sense of intimacy with the audience.