While researching the film industry, I found an article which talks about Disney's 'Lion King' being re-released in theaters but which the edition of exciting 3D. The re-release of this classic tale took in around $30 million, which exceeded everyones expectations. Here is the article I found:
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32033
3-D Cinema
A 3-D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception. Derived from stereoscopic photography, a regular motion picture camera system is used to record the images as seen from two perspectives and special projection hardware and/or eye wear are used to provide the illusion of depth when viewing the film. 3-D films are not limited to feature film theatrical releases; television broadcasts and direct-to-video films have also incorporated similar methods, primarily for marketing purposes.
3-D films have existed in some form since the 1950s, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion picture industry because of the costly hardware and processes required to produce and display a 3-D film, and the lack of a standardized format for all segments of the entertainment business. Nonetheless, 3-D films were prominently featured in the 1950s in American cinema, and later experienced a worldwide resurgence in the 1980s and '90s driven by IMAX high-end theatres and Disney themed-venues. 3-D films became more and more successful throughout the 2000s, culminating in the unprecedented success of 3-D presentations of Avatar in December 2009 and January 2010.
The Empire website seems to be a good source for current news and information on the film industry so i decided to look there again to find some more news. I came across an article about Disney and how they now plan to re release more of their classic films such as Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc onto the big screen, remastered in 3D. They say that since the great success of The Lion King re release they feel that they should be "moving forward" and that they are going t re release more films in 3D Here is the link to the article:
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32139
On the Empire website I found an article about Fox setting a release date for the new Die Hard film which is to come out in 2013. Here is the article: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32203
What's Wrong with the British Film Industry?
The British Film Industry has created some classic films and series such has James Bong and Harry Potter. But it is said the British Film Industry is in crisis and is falling. The British Film industry is apparently been funding the films that don't have a wide enough appeal. The industry has been waseful with their investments which cause films to do poorly in the box office. It is also said that the way money is spent in developing films is far less effective than how Hollywood does it. The British Film Industry attempts to control the market which makes them very financially wasteful.
Hugo - Martin Scorsese
On the Empire website I found an interview about Martin Scorsese's new film 'Hugo'.
Here is a link to interview as i could not embedd it. http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1406
24 movie to shoot in Spring
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32619
Six minute Prologue of Dark Knight Rises to be shown at IMAX
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32600
What's wrong with the British Film Industry
The British film industry has released largely successful films in past years such as the Harry Potter films and the James Bond films. But the industry has suffered some major blows which have caused it to sink. One significant change to the British film industry has been the recent disbandment of the British film council. This is due to the council no having enough funds and investment.
The Actors are partially responsible for the decline of the British film industry. Britain runs out of Actors quickly. Most Actors from Britain tend no tot stay long because Actors can’t get a lot of work in Britain and the films don’t do as well as those in Hollywood. So most British Actors more to Hollywood to have better career, which leaves Britain out of Actors for their films.
Distribution is another problem, British films don’t get good enough resources and distributors, so films don’t get out there.
The British film industry also needs to put more money into advertising so it can get picked up by up market distributors. Too much money is out into the actual film and a lot more needs to go into advertising and distribution.
Ironically, for a British film to do well in Britain, it needs to do well in America, but for a film to do well in America, the film needs to emphasize the British culture and stereotypes of Britain. The King’s speech accurately represents how America sees Britain which is one of the reasons that the film did well. The American audience enjoyed the big red buses and telephone boxes a great deal, and this gets the film to be distributed much more efficiently.
Section B: Institutions and Audiences
The majority of successful films are owned and produced by the ‘big six’. These being: Walt Disney Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount and 20th century fox. These are the World’s largest media conglomerates and they dominate the film industry. All these are American companies, and they not only control the American Film Industry but they also dominate on a worldwide scale and make more money from international revenue. Since these six companies have so much success, it is known that if your film gets one of them backing you, your film will do incredibly well. Since they have so many investors, they are free to take more risks and they have the budget to back it up. A larger budget means more explosions, better effects, better writers and better actors. The high budget also gives them the opportunity to distribute the film in a very successful and efficient way. The funding comes from the large amount of alliances with other Hollywood production companies. This synergy provides enough funds to efficiently distribute the films overseas to Britain and get a larger audience for their films.
Due to this oligopoly, most British films are independently produced. The film market in Britain is dominated by American products so it is naturally harder for British films to do well, especially in America. Independent films need to find a number of financiers to fund their film, to do this they must exhibit their films at film festivals in hopes that people will get interested. When a number of financers come together to fund a film, it gives the directors and producers the assurance that not one of them will invest enough to have control over the film, this is a key advantage of independent production. However, independent films have a much lower budget than the large Hollywood companies.
An example of a British film that is independently produced is ‘The King’s Speech’, which was an amazing success in the box office. The films budget was £8 million, it grossed £250 million. The film was produced my independent companies such as Bedlam productions and See-Saw films. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in the United States; the film was picked up and distributed by Momentum Pictures and The Weinstein Company. The film drew in both British and American audiences which its British historical events and its stereotypical emphasized British lifestyle and surroundings which drew in the both audiences.
Hollywood films tend to exhibit there film and distribute it to a wide range of cinemas and Multiplexes, therefore giving Independent films less of a chance of being seen as they now have to compete with higher budget films. This makes Independent distributor’s job very hard. The concentration of media ownership is based only in American companies and since the company’s such high budgets, they have enough funds to distribute their products much more efficiently that the British film industry. A large factor to the decline in the British Film Industry is that they spend most of their funds on the actual production of the film and don’t use enough of it in distribution; part of this is due to low budgets of indepedent films. This is partly due to the disbandment of the UK Film Council. Therefore, a much larger amount of British films do worse than Hollywood films.
Since the big time distributors are in America, a British film will ironically have to do well in America for it to do well in Britain. For a British film to do well in America, the film has to emphasize the stereotypical view America has on the British population. But, the British Film Industry puts too much of the films funds into the actual film rather than any of the distribution or advertising, which is another area in which it differs from Hollywood. A film without advertising will go un-noticed by audiences, distributors and producers and will therefore fall behind the well advertised productions and will lose a significant amount of money.
Films are distributed in a variety of mediums after the film release. Initially it was just VHS’s and DVD’s but technology had evolved rapidly with the addition of Blu-ray, Home 3D and films on demand. Consumers can get films on demand in a variety of ways such as: on xbox live and Netflix in which you could either download or stream a chosen film. However piracy has increased by a staggering amount. Un-authorised re-production and distribution of films is having a large affect on the films profit. This could result in producers not having enough funds to fund new films. Most of all, it harms the independant films who heavily rely on the public paying to see their films as they don’t receive as much funding as large budget films.
Section B: Institutions and Audiences
The majority of successful films are owned and produced by the ‘big six’. These being: Walt Disney Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount and 20th century fox. These are the World’s largest media conglomerates and they dominate the film industry. All these are American companies, and they not only control the American Film Industry but they also dominate on a worldwide scale and make more money from international revenue. Since these six companies have so much success, it is known that if your film gets one of them backing you, your film will do incredibly well. Since they have so many investors, they are free to take more risks and they have the budget to back it up. A larger budget means more explosions, better effects, better writers and better actors. The high budget also gives them the opportunity to distribute the film in a very successful and efficient way. The funding comes from the large amount of alliances with other Hollywood production companies. This synergy provides enough funds to efficiently distribute the films overseas to Britain and get a larger audience for their films.
Due to this oligopoly, most British films are independently produced. The film market in Britain is dominated by American products so it is naturally harder for British films to do well, especially in America. Independent films need to find a number of financiers to fund their film, to do this they must exhibit their films at film festivals in hopes that people will get interested. When a number of financers come together to fund a film, it gives the directors and producers the assurance that not one of them will invest enough to have control over the film, this is a key advantage of independent production. However, independent films have a much lower budget than the large Hollywood companies.
An example of a British film that is independently produced is ‘The King’s Speech’, which was an amazing success in the box office. The films budget was £8 million, it grossed £250 million. The film was produced my independent companies such as Bedlam productions and See-Saw films. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in the United States; the film was picked up and distributed by Momentum Pictures and The Weinstein Company. The film drew in both British and American audiences which its British historical events and its stereotypical emphasized British lifestyle and surroundings which drew in the both audiences.
Hollywood films tend to exhibit there film and distribute it to a wide range of cinemas and Multiplexes, therefore giving Independent films less of a chance of being seen as they now have to compete with higher budget films. This makes Independent distributor’s job very hard. The concentration of media ownership is based only in American companies and since the company’s such high budgets, they have enough funds to distribute their products much more efficiently that the British film industry. A large factor to the decline in the British Film Industry is that they spend most of their funds on the actual production of the film and don’t use enough of it in distribution; part of this is due to low budgets of indepedent films. This is partly due to the disbandment of the UK Film Council. Therefore, a much larger amount of British films do worse than Hollywood films.
Since the big time distributors are in America, a British film will ironically have to do well in America for it to do well in Britain. For a British film to do well in America, the film has to emphasize the stereotypical view America has on the British population. But, the British Film Industry puts too much of the films funds into the actual film rather than any of the distribution or advertising, which is another area in which it differs from Hollywood. A film without advertising will go un-noticed by audiences, distributors and producers and will therefore fall behind the well advertised productions and will lose a significant amount of money.
Films are distributed in a variety of mediums after the film release. Initially it was just VHS’s and DVD’s but technology had evolved rapidly with the addition of Blu-ray, Home 3D and films on demand. Consumers can get films on demand in a variety of ways such as: on xbox live and Netflix in which you could either download or stream a chosen film. However piracy has increased by a staggering amount. Un-authorised re-production and distribution of films is having a large affect on the films profit. This could result in producers not having enough funds to fund new films. Most of all, it harms the independant films who heavily rely on the public paying to see their films as they don’t receive as much funding as large budget films.
Discuss the ways in which Media products are produced and distributed to audiences
In order to catch the attention of potential audiences the film needs a recognizable cast. If consumers are already familiar with the Actors in a film it is a lot more likely that they will pay to see the film. This is why it is important for producers and film companies to choose their cast wisely and appropriately.
A viral marketing campaign is also essential to successfully distributing a film. The internet is the most used medium of today; therefore it is the perfect place to market a film, it will receive a significant amount of interest especially if you advertise on the right websites. You can’t go wrong with Facebook; Facebook is the largest and by far the most successful social networking sites and is guaranteed to get your film a lot of attention. This goes for YouTube as well. YouTube can also host trailers for your film, which will further ignite people’s interest. If people hear about a film and become curious about it, they will automatically go to YouTube and search the film and watch the trailer.
Teaser trailers are also very effective in invoking people’s interest. Teaser trailers give potential audiences a very small taste of what’s to come and if it’s done well, it can really hype up your film and you will have people begging for more. This can also be executed through teaser websites.
Warner Bros. did this very well with the film ‘Dark Knight’. They created various websites and managed to involve fans from all over the world. The websites consisted of fake campaigns for fictional DC character Harvey dent from and the Joker offering people the chance to join his army of henchmen. Throughout the sites existence, the Joker would eventually vandalize the Harvey Dent posters and Dollar Bills. This campaign managed to involve over 10 million fans and brought Gotham City to reality. It was one of the biggest marketing campaigns in history and no doubt helped the film reach the top ten list of highest grossing films of all times, grossing at over one billion dollars.
Where is the Film Industry going?
The film industry is definitely evolving in terms of distribution and definitely digital distribution. Films are being released on more and more formats, which provide a much wider range of places to view films and to experience them. Films can be viewed on much broader range of home media and technology. Things like Netflix, lovefilm, and youtube are new ways to host movies and watch them online which has dramatically increased the consumption of films as it has made films easier to view and more comfortable. Films are even beginning to be put up for rent on social net working sites such as Facebook. If films continue to distribute this way I believe that it will really pay off.
However, films appear to be costing more more to make, which suggests that the ‘big six’ film companies will eventually be dominating the market more than they do now as they are the only companies capable of producing such expensive films. However I believe that independent films will always continue to challenge this idea and produce amazing content with low budgets, films such as the 'The Artist' and 'The King's Speech'.
“Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do on good production practices.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
I
think that in a vast majority, films rely more on the marketing and the
distribution to a specific audience rather than good production practices. I
believe this because films always have a particular demographic that are more
likely to buy a ticket to see the film, but if the film isn’t appropriately and
successfully marketed and distributed, that audience won’t receive enough
exposure to the film and the film wont gain that much attention from other audiences. For example, films such as
Transformers and Dark Knight need to market to the superhero and comic book
fans as they will be more likely to buy a ticket as opposed to rom com fans.
A
lot of films receive amazing success due to their marketing to a specific
audience rather than their production. You could have the best looking film in
the World, with amazing visual effects but if you don’t market it successfully
it will most likely lose money. A good example of this is The Kings Speech
(Directed by Tom Hooper, 2010). The film was definitely not the most visually
pleasing thing to look at but it did spectacularly well. With a small budget of
just $15 million, it grossed over $373,700,000. The film was marketed to both
America and Britain very well. The film did very well in America because it
heavily emphasized the stereotype of Britain. The reason for its success in
Britain was because of the films attention to detail on the history of Britain
and the Royal family. This is a brilliant example of an independent film
properly marketed and distributed (Weinstein Company) can be a big hit.
However
it isn’t just independent films that need to market to a specific audience. Big
production companies also need to do this in order to succeed. The Dark Knight
(Directed by Christopher Nolan, 2008) was produced and distributed by Warner
Bros. which is one of the ‘Big Six’ media conglomerates, so it was able to put
a lot of money in to distribution and marketing. Warner Bros. did an incredible
viral campaign for the film. They created various websites to market the film
which brought the city of Gotham to life.
Since
Warner Bros. owns so many subsidiary companies they were able to use cross
media convergence and synergy to its fullest potential in order to successfully
market the film to Batman fans.
To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of Media Products
I believe that digital distribution is having a massive impact on marketing and distribution. New technologies have made it possible to reach an incredibly larger audience and has made films much more accessible to view and consume. This has caused a paradigm shift in which all media products are accessible almost anywhere as opposed to being limited to just the cinema, which has caused an astounding rise in media product consumption. One key change which has increased consumption is the change of format when viewing films at the cinema. Films have changed from film reels to just files on a computer This means that films can be distributed much quicker and easier, which causes a rise is viewing as films can get on more screens and in more cinemas thatn ever before.
Digital distribution has also created a big change in markerting as films can be advertised pretty much everywhere. This includes: social networking sites, youtube, facebook, TV, and even platforms such as xbox. However this kind of large scale marketing and advertisement is only really a possibility for major film companies (mostly Hollywood) This is mostly due to the companies huge budgets. The Dark Knight (Directed by Christopher Nolan, 2008) had a huge budget of $185,000,000 which made them able to spend a large amount of money on distribution as well as production. The film grossed over one billion dollars and is the 10th highest grossing film of all time, which is no doubt down to how they utilized digital distribution in order to market their film. The film was produced by Warner Bros, one of the 'big six' companies. Because Warner is a massive media conglomerate, it was able to use synergy and convergence to market the film, in which the majority was through digital distribution. They had their own websites, promoting the film, which assisted greatly, they also released an animated batman series an video game.
One major change is digital distribution was the ability to consume films on-line. This was done through things such as netflix, facebook and xbox. The Dark Knight was the first ever film to be released for rent on facebook. Social networking sites has allowed films to reach an audience on a much wider audience on a much wider an global scale, due to facebook having millions of users. This has had a huge impact on consumption as films were now accessible on-line, which meant you didn't have to leave you house to go buy or see a film. This was followed by Netflix, which allowed people to access a much wider range of programmes and films.
