Film Research

Issues raised by media ownership in contemporary Media practice:
All types of media is owned by a company. This means they hold the rights to publish and distribute other businesses work. If the owner feels its necessary they can manipulate the work. For example Warner Bros owns the rights to DC comics meaning they own the rights to all their characters.
The key issues raised by media ownership are: Piracy, the dominance of Hollywood over the media industry and the destruction of the UK film council.
Piracy:
This is the illegal distribution of media without permission of the owner. Advances in technology has made it easier to do, its cheaper and provides better quality. Electronic files can be leaked in advance of film releases ruining sales of the proper film. The internet allows pirated files of things such as Movies to be distributed all over the world very quickly. The technology is better so when it used in places such as cinemas the recording of medias such as films is of a better quality than ever before.

Digital technology has allowed films to be released all over the world. Before there was a delay in films reaching the UK from American meaning piracy is a more popular option.

Digital encryption means films can be securely distributed. The rise in digital film production and exhibition has meant technology is so advanced 3D cinema is now available. 3D is more difficult to illegally copy. This is because it can’t be filmed in cinemas. Watching 3D films at home is expensive meaning the mass audience aren’t really interested in it.

Multi million pound production companies are able to dominate the international film industry as they are able to release lots if titles and vast amounts of money to market and distribute them. They are only interested in making money so as a result try and released endless numbers of sequels.

The number of American films shown at cinemas is far greater than the number of british independent films being shown.  As a result organisations such as the UK film council have been forced to act to challenge the problem.

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy, in production, distribution and marketing:

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, marketing and exchange:

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences:

The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (especially British) by international and global institutions:

The ways in which the candidates' own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour:







Film Research Media Technology can refer to:
 Signal processing, Data recording, Data storage devices, Art media technology , Print media technology, Data transmission, Telecommunication, Digital media technology –Electronic media technology, Media technology university programmes, Media psychology, the field of study that examines media, technology and the effect on human behavior Digital media are any media that are encoded in a machine-readable format.Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified and preserved on computers. In the years since the invention of the first digital computers, computer power and storage capacity on them have increased. Personal computers and smart phones put the ability to access, modify, store and share digital media in the hands of billions of people. Many electronic devices, from digital cameras to mobile phones have the ability to create, transmit and view digital media. Combined with the World Wide Web and the Internet, digital media has transformed 21st century society in a way that is frequently compared to the cultural, economic and social impact of the printing press

Film Production Presentation

Film Production Powerpoint

Lego Movie, Warner Bros, Mrs Browns Boys, BBC Films Research

Lego Move-Warner Bros animation, Mrs Browns Boys D'movie- BBC Films
Lego Movie trailer:

Lego Movie History:

In February 2014 Warner bros animation released their first actual animated film which was the Lego Movie. This was more of a trial to see how they would compete against giants in animation such as Disney Pixar who had recently re-released Frozen. Lego movie became a box office success because of its huge variety in target audiences all ages had a interest in Lego.  Lego movie was aimed at connecting audiences together, for example like in the film father and son can connect more through Lego. The directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller said in a interview that connecting people through Lego was the main aim of the film.

Advertising for Lego Movie:

the film itself is just a extended advert for Lego products. Seventeen different sets from the film have been released for fans to buy this comes with a set of collectable mini figures. A website has been opened so fans can make their own Lego figure, this can also be done on the Lego Movie app. Lego themed events were held to help the release of the film. During the release of the film McDonalds released 8 limited edition cups with every happy meal to help advertise the film. A video game of the film has been released this can also come in special edition which comes with a limited edition mini figure. The main soundtrack to the film is called ‘everything is awesome’ this was released to help promote the films ethics and how they think humans should think about the world. Many different videos on YouTube have been released of the main cast talking about their particular character and what influence they have on the film.

Money of Lego Movie:

The Lego movie has earned over $257 million in North America.

 Over $210 million was made in other countries across the world. 

Worldwide over $468 million was made on the Lego movie.

Studio of Lego Movie:

3,863,484 actuall Lego bricks were used to make the film sets. Production designer Grant Freckelton and his team used Lego Digital designer, which is a free computer program which allows users to build models using virtual lego bricks. The Lego Digital Designer files were then converted into a shell of various types, however the shells were made of a single mesh. These shells were then used to 

Warner Bros Animation: 

Warner Bros animation history:

Warner bros animation is a animated part of the major producer Warner Bros which has produced many majorly successful films such as Harry Potter. Warner bros animation is the successor to Warner bros cartoons this created many high profile cartoon series such as Looney Toons.  The new Warner bros animation has mainly focused on the production of TV and feature animation. In January 2013 Warner bros animation group was rethought and improved so turned into Warner bros animation.  The founder is Hal Geer who is a American producer and filmmaker who was most famously involved with Looney Toones. In Japan it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner on June 1, 2014. 

Warner Bros Logo: 

Always been shield background changes

Mrs Browns Boys:

Mrs Browns Boys History:

The main character is played by Brendan O’Carroll, several close friends and family members make up the rest of the cast. The film adopts a informal approach where the production makes mistakes but instead of them being edited out they are shown and the improvement is shown as well. This creates a relaxed approach but the critics of the film saw this as a negative point as it was quite shabby and was put on by the cast whereas in the TV series it is more genuine.  Mrs Brown’s boys was started to be developed by O’Carroll back in the early 1990’s. The character Agnes brown appeared in stage plays, radio plays, books.  A sequel to the film is still an idea but has been suggested by the main character and writer Brendan O’Carroll. 

Mrs Browns Boys Production:

In September 2012 it was reported £3.6 million was spent on the production of the film. A spokesman was also quoted in saying that it will have a distinct Dublin flavour. A script wasn’t written prior to a deal between the production company and Brenda O’Carroll taking place. Film had its world premier on 25^th June 2014. The distributors of the film didn’t not screen the film for critics before its release.

Advertising:

The film was advertised in many different ways including the normal ways such as: TV adverts, trailers, radio ads, billboards, posters and newspaper articles but mainly the producers gambled on the already existing fans of the already popular sitcom Mrs Browns Boys going to see the film. 

BBC films

BBC Films is a feature film making part of the BBC.  They have produced some most successful British films of recent years such as Billy Elliot. BBC Films Co-produces around eight films a year, working with major international and UK distributors. Christine Langan is head of it, responsible for the development and productions of the company. BBC films are based at the Broadcasting House in London since 2013. Before it was based nearby in Mortimer Street.  







Key Film Words

Film Production: Is when a film is prepared for filming by producers who then help actually make the film. They then go on to sell the film to a film distributor such as Warner Bros. These then sell the film on to places such as cinemas. 

Film Distribution: Is the whole process of having an idea and actually producing this idea to film making it viewable by audiences. The film is distributed to the different audiences. 

Film Exhibition: Is when the viewers are able to watch the film. It’s not the process of making the film it’s the stage were it’s sold to theaters so audiences are able to view it. It’s the retail branch of the film industry.

Monarch of the Glen

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Monarch of the Glen:

Camera:

During the clip of Monarch of the Glen many different camera angles have been used. These have helped the representation of age greatly. Straight away one of the first camera shots is an establishing shot of the land, this uses denotation as it helps the viewer understand what the scene is about. The camera then moves on to show Amy. As she is the youngest person in the scene the camera looks down on her, this is compared to farmer McDonald as the camera looks up at him explaining how far superior he is compared to Amy because of his age. When farmer McDonald is speaking to Amy’s head teacher the camera shot is a close up of their faces to show their facial expressions all because they are older so this is anchorage as it again reinforces representation of age during the clip. Lastly when Amy and farmer McDonald argue the camera is an over the shoulder shot aiming up too show the audience the child’s point of view. This is a good use of connotation as it could have many different meanings but I feel it’s to represent  age again as it explains how far superior the older person is because the children have to look up to him.

Sound:

Throughout the clip the older characters such as farmer McDonald and Amy’s head teacher always speak down to the younger characters this shows prestigious age is. When both these two have a confrontation about the car crash Amy’s head teacher uses connotation and goes straight to the point of why Amy is missing school. He is speaking aggressively about her but not to her as he feels her age is so young she can’t be trusted or reasoned with because of her age which is good use of ideology because it’s the head teachers values and opinions being clearly presented. In contrast when farmer McDonald and Amy’s head teacher is alone they are more conversational and friendly towards each other because they both feel a mutual respect between adults which a child and an adult may not necessary have. The text may have been treated this way to represent age in such a way it’s demoralising to child as they don’t have any respect from adults. The dialogue in the background isn’t diegetic as it isn’t completely necessary but creates a country sort of mood and explains what happens on a day to day basis in the country.

Editing:

In the Monarch of the Glen the editing has been done to show representation of age. When Amy is in the scene in the truck the editing has been cut a lot more quickly as it kept switching from her being anxious in the van too cutting straight away to farmer McDonald loading up the truck. This shows age representation because it’s showing the difference between children struggling at an adult’s job to cutting to adults easily doing their job. When farmer McDonald and Amy’s head teacher are talking alone as ‘adults’ the editing is wiping so a image is replaced as it moves along the screen at a lot slower pace this is because it doesn’t change the camera angle very often. This shows age representation well, as it uses connotation as they have a lot to talk about and they have many different answers to the questions, also they aren’t as anxious as Amy was so the whole scene is a lot slower and more relaxed. The editing has used ideology very well in the sense that it creates many different feelings and outcomes to why editing has been done this way. For example when someone is feeling anxious or nervous it’s a lot faster compared to when someone is in a deep thought, the shots haven’t really been changed they have been left natural to embrace all the emotion in the certain shot.

Mis-En-Scene:

During the clip of Monarch of the Glen mis-en-scene gives you the viewer a really good understanding of representation of age. This is done in many different ways such as the differentiation in the clothes certain characters are wearing, if a characters clothes are dirty, worn and used, this means they are highly skilled and knowledgeable as they are a lot older, whereas if a character has fairly clean and new clothes these means they are a lot younger and aren’t as experienced. Furthermore in the scene where Amy runs away she only leaves on prop which is a bear this is predominantly a children’s toy which is innocent and sweet. The ideology of this is a bear is a young toy which a child would still have whereas at the same time the older characters are using big heavy machinery and lifting big heavy poles which shows the difference in age because it’s a contrast between two very different props. 

Overall the main representational issue is age. This is shown in many different ways if this is either connotation, denotation, anchorage or ideology. They all help to represent age. It has been done successfully through many different ways such as: camera, sound, editing and mis-en-scene. To me this particular clip represents age in a negative way and being young is a frowned upon. I feel this is wrong and the younger characters should be treated the same way as older characters are. Some younger people may not be more experienced but may not be more knowledgeable.