GROSSING FILMS:
I think that the top 5 grossing films are these because of many aspects. Firstly Avatar knocked Titanic off the top spot because it was said to change film, and people wanted to see if it lived up to the expectations. Also, it was directed by James Cameron who directed Titanic, Alien, Terminator and took up too 5 years to film! I think Titanic made it into the top 5 and stayed top for years because it was a film based on a story that shook the world and something everyone wanted to see. For the Marvel film and Iron Man, I think that it was mainly the fact that it was part of a franchise as well as the actors with the like of, Robert Downer Jr, Chris Hemsworth and Gwyneth Paltrow being in them. Lastly, Harry Potter has been big for years because of the books and this is the last film of them too.
What I think makes a good film:
There are certain components that make a lot of good films good. A good movie will have, not just interesting but, endearing characters. Characters that, while watching the film, will make us empathize and care about what happens to them throughout their cinematic journey. Not only endearing but deplorable characters as well. Characters we WANT something bad to happen to. It allows the audience to converse about their views on who were the good guys and who were the villains.
Characters aren't the only important part in good movies. If these movies didn't have an original
non-regurgitated plot for us to be thrown into most people probably wouldn't like them as much. It's simply not as easy to find yourself on the edge of your seat if you've seen the same movie with different names and a few different catch-phrases used by our main characters. Plot goes a long way with even the slightest bit of originality. This then links to the storyline itself. If the story line is very interesting this makes the film more interesting to watch, rather then finding it very boring. However, everyone likes a lot of different films so finds different story lines interesting which depends on the genre.
non-regurgitated plot for us to be thrown into most people probably wouldn't like them as much. It's simply not as easy to find yourself on the edge of your seat if you've seen the same movie with different names and a few different catch-phrases used by our main characters. Plot goes a long way with even the slightest bit of originality. This then links to the storyline itself. If the story line is very interesting this makes the film more interesting to watch, rather then finding it very boring. However, everyone likes a lot of different films so finds different story lines interesting which depends on the genre.
FILM SERVEY RESEARCH:
For part B of the exam we are doing film. We were asked to conduct survey to find out what kind of films people like, where they watch films and whether they are a regular cinema goer or not. The questions I asked were:
What Was The Last Film You Watched? (Name, Genre and Actors.)
What Is The Films Country Of Origin?
Why Did You Watch These Film?
What Was The Last Film You Watched In Cinema?
What Is Your Favourite Genre?
Why Do Like This Genre?
What Is Your 3 Favourite Films?
Do You Watch Films Because Of The Actors Starring In It?
How Do You Watch Films And Where? (i.e. Cinema, DVD, Illegally Online, Netflix etc.)Who Do Watch Films With?
From my questionnaire the conclusions i drew were:
The most recent films people watch are not really from the cinema, and people often watch films at home alone rather then going cinema. The top 3 favourite films are blockbusters/ big hollywood hits, also, the films country of origin are normally hollywood/ US.
VERTICAL INTEGRATION:
This is when the production company has the ownership of the means of production, distribution and exhibition of the film by the same company, because of this they receive all of the profit.
For example: Warner Bros Entertainment calls itself a fully integrated broad based entertainment company which owns films studios and the means to distribute the films as well as some of the cinemas in which they are shown.
HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION:
Horizontal integration is where an organisation develops by buying up competitors in the same section of the market.
For Example: One music publisher buys out other smaller music publishers.
THE BIG FIVE AND THE LITTLE THREE:
During the mid 1920s, the Hollywood Studio system composed eight of the large film companies. The Big Five (Majors) included: Paramount, Loew's/ MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, and RKO. The Little Three (minors) included: Universal, Columbia and United Artists.
The Big Five...
How Do Studios Operate Now?
Now, many studios probably buy a film off a writer instead of making it themselves. Operating horizontally. This makes the films managment not just one company, but many. However, there are also some independent films made by the studios still.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of A Vertical And Horizontal Integrated System?
- An advantage of the vertical system is that this company is able to still be in complete control of everything the wish to do- ie, what they publicise. However a disadvantage is that the bigger companies are dominant and littler companies wont be able to come up, and won't do well. Leading to them eventually failing- therefore this makes the system unfair.
- Horizantal pros are that these type of companies are able to expand without investing into new chains. But if they grow too big- managment can become quite sloppy as there are so many inputs.
‘Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution as they do upon good production practices’- to what extent do you agree with this statement?'
Some movies present elements in which marketing and distribution is a higher priority, and is more dependent on it. However, there are also many films who depend more on their budget to get better equipment to film in IMAX and 3D, also they tend to pay out for a all-star cast, and lastly, the biggest films now, are the films based the DC Comics. The production companies work in a conglomerate business, therefore will have to also pay to them.
An example of a film which is dependent on both if these is the large film company Disney. The use of both are very vast and also uses horizontal and vertical marketing to make sure that it has a wide distribution of their films. By owning their own studios, TV channels, shops and radios, it allows them to advertise easily. Disney also keeps up to date for younger audiences with the development of technology, by creating pages on Facebook and Twitter.However, despite all this, their film The Lone Ranger, was a box office failure almost leaving Disney bankrupt. The film had a big cast with the likes of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, a huge budget of $250 million and also highly advertised. However, the film was such a failure. This could be because Western films are not as popular as they use to be, but many blame the critics of the film putting people off.
But, Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project go to show Disney that big budgets, a well known cast and high level advertising and marketing is not needed to make a film successful. The Blair Witch Project had a project of only $20,000 where Paranormal Activity had $5,000 less with only $15,000! Paranormal Activity. Paranormal was distributed Momentum Pictures who then bought the rights of the film and wanted to change it but focus groups denied the request and said it was scary enough. The film was filmed over 10 days, only using a handheld video camera which shows their production practices was not very high. Also, for The Blair Witch Project, they gave their cameras back after using them to save money. The cast was also unknown too for both films. However, the distribution for each film as very important. The Blair Witch Project was one of the very first films to take this kind of film route. Their distribution also proved to be very popular with their low budget trailers advertised, and pretend newspaper articles gripping the audience as they blurred between reality and fiction. Paranormal Activity took a different route by filming the first screening reaction and including it in the main trailer, and telling the audience 'experience it for yourself'.
The films became a hug success by The Blair Witch Project earning over $140,000,000 and Paranormal Activity gaining a whooping $193,000,000. This goes to show that production practices dont have to be great for your film to be a success unless they expect like in the big blockbusters like the Marvel or DC films.
To conclude, Disney is one of the biggest production companies ever but that film failed, whereas, not many people have heard of Bedlam Productions who produced The Kings Speech and that film was a huge success. So I think that production and distribution have to play hand in hand for a film to be a success. But now, the actors, and storyline have to appeal to the audience especially with the modern society we live in, thats why the DC films seem to be the hugest successes now.
SYNERGY:
Synergy is the simultaneous release of different products to boost the release of them both. Synergy can be used most often by bigger companies as the different elements then work together (often a media conglomerate) to promote linked products across different media.
They have a large effect than if just one product existed alone- they have a mutually beneficial relationship. This means they are symbiotic.
EG- Sony: They are able to use synergy to boost profits because of their diversity- i.e they own lots of different companies.
Synergy works when different elements of companies promote. EG- a film studio, record label, video game links to products like film, soundtrack, video game. Ill Manors was released the same time as Plan B's CD and soundtrack.
SONY:
Sony released Skyfall at the same time they released the song.
Sony Electronics released a new TV and phone as well as adverts that featured Skyfall to promote it.
MEDIA CONVERGENCE:
The combining of two or more media industries- TV, film, games, radio, website etc.
Media convergence in the film industry can happen in production, distribution or exhibition. It happens when the music industry comes together with the film industry EG- music coming out for films- Twilight:
A Thousand Years (1&2)
It Will Rain
ESSAY:
I think that cross media convergence and synergy has importance for the success of films. Synergy is the simultaneous release of different products to boost the release of them both. Synergy can be used most often by bigger companies as the different elements then work together, often a media conglomerate, like Sony for the James Bond film Skyfall, Skyfall also used cross media convergence (the combining of two or more media mediums).
With $29 million being spent on the film in total, including marketing created a high anticipation of the film within the fan base as most products were released before the film itself. The song was released about 20 days before the film, and then included into teaser trailers (the song is an example of convergence. The song was very popular topping charts and created a high awareness of the film, an app was also made, and this would target another age range for the film to become more popular. An example of the synergy used by the marketing team was them releasing aftershave, a Sony phone called the ‘Skyfall phone’ and Sky even having a channel called ‘Bond Movies’with these being released they appeal to an adult audience. To attract to a more teen audience they approached them through Twitter and Facebook. By releasing these products simultaneously gave the film high recognition with a mass audience, allowing the film to gain more profit, therefore showing the synergy and CMC is important for the success of the film.
Another example of a successful film using the two is Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. The film took the same approach, since it had a very high budget with $250-300 million; their viral campaign was huge! They had pages on Twitter and Facebook, which would help appeal more of an audience; they also had a soundtrack too. By producing a range of CMC, they targeted a wider audience by approaching them differently, for example, more of a younger audience on Twitter and Facebook. The film also had toys made, and tee shirts. The toys and figurines would attract two kind of audiences, hardcore fans, and younger children. The children wouldn’t be allowed to go and watch the film, but the money would add to the total gross, adding to its success, proving the synergy and CMC adds to the success of the film.
A counter argument for this however can be The Lone Ranger; the film was very highly advertised being a Disney film but still wasn’t much of a success, almost leaving Disney bankrupt. They had adverts and CDs for the use of convergence and synergy appealing to all ages, but the film didn’t seem to be popular with the public, this could be because the film was a western, which isn’t as popular anymore, or because the films ratings were very low and this was shown online and in the newspapers. Also, The Kings Speech has become one of the most popular films without using cross media convergence or synergy. The film relied more on the cast, story line and other production practices to make the film a success. So this shows that convergence and synergy are important for marketing and success but not as much as people may think as The Kings Speech took over $400 million at the box office. This shows that the production practices were more important for the film as the cast and storyline appealed to the so much that it didn’t need a CD or a tee shirt.
To conclude, I still think that the use of cross media convergence and synergy is very important, to get the audience attention and to create anticipation of the film. However, even with its use, it does not guarantee success.
MEDIA OWNERSHIP ESSAY EXAMPLES:
Warner Bros Ownership
Warner Bros
Warner Bros Records
Harry Potter
British Talent- Robert Pattinson
They have a large effect than if just one product existed alone- they have a mutually beneficial relationship. This means they are symbiotic.
EG- Sony: They are able to use synergy to boost profits because of their diversity- i.e they own lots of different companies.
Synergy works when different elements of companies promote. EG- a film studio, record label, video game links to products like film, soundtrack, video game. Ill Manors was released the same time as Plan B's CD and soundtrack.
SONY:
Sony released Skyfall at the same time they released the song.
Sony Electronics released a new TV and phone as well as adverts that featured Skyfall to promote it.
MEDIA CONVERGENCE:
The combining of two or more media industries- TV, film, games, radio, website etc.
Media convergence in the film industry can happen in production, distribution or exhibition. It happens when the music industry comes together with the film industry EG- music coming out for films- Twilight:
A Thousand Years (1&2)
It Will Rain
ESSAY:
I think that cross media convergence and synergy has importance for the success of films. Synergy is the simultaneous release of different products to boost the release of them both. Synergy can be used most often by bigger companies as the different elements then work together, often a media conglomerate, like Sony for the James Bond film Skyfall, Skyfall also used cross media convergence (the combining of two or more media mediums).
With $29 million being spent on the film in total, including marketing created a high anticipation of the film within the fan base as most products were released before the film itself. The song was released about 20 days before the film, and then included into teaser trailers (the song is an example of convergence. The song was very popular topping charts and created a high awareness of the film, an app was also made, and this would target another age range for the film to become more popular. An example of the synergy used by the marketing team was them releasing aftershave, a Sony phone called the ‘Skyfall phone’ and Sky even having a channel called ‘Bond Movies’with these being released they appeal to an adult audience. To attract to a more teen audience they approached them through Twitter and Facebook. By releasing these products simultaneously gave the film high recognition with a mass audience, allowing the film to gain more profit, therefore showing the synergy and CMC is important for the success of the film.
Another example of a successful film using the two is Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. The film took the same approach, since it had a very high budget with $250-300 million; their viral campaign was huge! They had pages on Twitter and Facebook, which would help appeal more of an audience; they also had a soundtrack too. By producing a range of CMC, they targeted a wider audience by approaching them differently, for example, more of a younger audience on Twitter and Facebook. The film also had toys made, and tee shirts. The toys and figurines would attract two kind of audiences, hardcore fans, and younger children. The children wouldn’t be allowed to go and watch the film, but the money would add to the total gross, adding to its success, proving the synergy and CMC adds to the success of the film.
A counter argument for this however can be The Lone Ranger; the film was very highly advertised being a Disney film but still wasn’t much of a success, almost leaving Disney bankrupt. They had adverts and CDs for the use of convergence and synergy appealing to all ages, but the film didn’t seem to be popular with the public, this could be because the film was a western, which isn’t as popular anymore, or because the films ratings were very low and this was shown online and in the newspapers. Also, The Kings Speech has become one of the most popular films without using cross media convergence or synergy. The film relied more on the cast, story line and other production practices to make the film a success. So this shows that convergence and synergy are important for marketing and success but not as much as people may think as The Kings Speech took over $400 million at the box office. This shows that the production practices were more important for the film as the cast and storyline appealed to the so much that it didn’t need a CD or a tee shirt.
To conclude, I still think that the use of cross media convergence and synergy is very important, to get the audience attention and to create anticipation of the film. However, even with its use, it does not guarantee success.
MEDIA OWNERSHIP ESSAY EXAMPLES:
Warner Bros Ownership
Warner Bros
Warner Bros Records
Harry Potter
British Talent- Robert Pattinson
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