Audiences and institutions- Technology

New technology impacting Hollywood:
-Camera capabilities
-DSLR
-Easily gained aerial shots due to helicopters
-Modern media e:g. social media- smart phones.
-CGI 
-Animation 
-3D cinema
-4D cinema
-IMAX 
-Video on demand e:g. Netflix

Piracy
1. What is Piracy?
Piracy is the illegal streaming and downloading of films from either cinema recordings or database hacking.
2. Is piracy theft or fair-play?
Piracy is theft due to the fact that it involves the repossession of a media text due to 

"Media production is dominated by global institutions, which sell their services and products, to national audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Plan
Paragraph 1
How organised

Paragraph 2
Income

Paragraph 3
Sequilisation and Domination 

Paragraph 4
Indies

Essay
The media industry is largely dominated by the global institutions as they are more equipped to be successful then their smaller indie counterparts.  The particularly large media corporations are known as "The Big Six" the big six are made up of Sony pictures, Warner Brothers studios, Paramount, Walt Disney pictures, Universal studios and 20th Century Fox.  Smaller indie corporations include Lionsgate and BBC films these companies although equally well known are part of less developed corporations for example Walt Disney pictures and Universal studios also run theme parks and have extensive merchandise and marketing outlets leading to a higher level of publicity and there fore a more accessible audience from whom to extract profit from.

The big 6 are often organised using vertical integration meaning that they own each stage of the film process from development to distribution this model of integration is applicable to Walt Disney pictures whom have used this model of film to produce Tangled which was produced by Walt Disney pictures and Walt Disney animation studios, then distributed world wide by Walt Disney motion pictures, its sound track was then produced and marketed by Walt Disney records.  This internalised system of production and distribution allows for a dominating cost effective production and marketing campaign equating in vast box office success the revenue from this film was $200,821,936 at the box office.

Income from Big six companies can be vast due largely to their massive corporate bodies which stretch into various realms of media.  An example of this is the Walt Disney studios which have an annual revenue of approximately $45 billion 1/3 of which is as a direct result of the 11 Disney parks for example in 2014 Disney land Paris had an annual revenue of $85.7 million.  This extraordinary success is largely due to Disney's excellent merchandising campaigns which appeal to all ages due to their accessible products which are available both in the parks and outside of the parks at specifically dedicated Disney stores as well as at retailers.  A current popular merchandise trend are the Disney "Tsums Tsums" which are dominating the market as a result of a phone app the soft toys are now available in a variety of shops from Clintons cards to the Entertainer toy store and have developed a cult following due to their variety of cute recognisable characters in various sizes.

Another way in which the Big six are creating vast profit in the competitive market of film is their focus on the specific film format of sequels inside of their franchise.  An example of a highly successful film sequel series is that of the Iron Man trilogy which exists inside of the Marvel cinematic universe a franchise whom are owned by Disney.  Sequels are an important part of franchising as they provide franchises with a secure audience thanks to the dedicated fanbase which sequels tend to create.  A confirmed target audience allows companies to target their specific audience therefore having a more direct and cost effective path of marketing.

Alternatively Indie movies often have little marketing however those that do can be extremely successful due the fact that they often focus around edgier topics which a mainstream company may not want to discuss through fear of being seen as overly controversial and therefore tarnishing their name.  An example of an extremely controversial yet possibly controversial film would be "The Imitiation Game" which discusses the life and work of Allan Turing a revolutionary mind in computer science as well as a believer in female equality as well as a gay man in a time where both of these things were not the norm.  Although the film does not specifically dwell on either of these topics they are unreliable parts in Mr Turing's story and therefore cannot be denied in a film adaption of his life.  The film made $91,125,683 at the box office and was distributed by The Weinstein company this is extremely impressive when compared with the box office revenue of Tangled one of the most anticipated films of 2014 the fact that this indie film made just under half of the profit at box office is impressive considering it's less extensive marketing campaign.

To conclude the film market is dominated by the Big six however there are breakthrough cases where smaller Indie companies can go on and have comparatively successful films.  The giants continue to dominate the film market for now due to their highly successful sequel empire but could we see the rise of the Indie corporation when the public are in need of a breath of fresh air after seeing the umpteenth superhero film?  Ultimately only time will tell but the true test for global institutions and indie studios will be there abilities to react and evolve depending on the requirements of the public.

The Big Six and Indie film

Media Questions and Research

Research
Research examples of synergy in Media specifically associated with the Disney corporation.

Disney on ice

Disney theme parks

Disney stores


Questions
1. How are megafranchise movies defined?
A collection of different intellectual properties or stories which are used a across multiple mediums.
2. Why did Hollywood switch its focus to megafranchise movies?
Hollywood switched it's focus to megafranchise movies due to the fact that it was an easier media format to promote for example promotion in credit scenes this easy promotion creates a large fan base which then creates a vast market for the company to promote to.
3. How important are sequels to the Hollywood film industry?
Sequels create a lot of revenue for Hollywood due to the fact that it allows for Hollywood to sell its product to a pre existing fan base.
4. What is ancillary revenue? How important is it?
Ancillary revenue is revenue which stems from a bi product of a companies primary product for example merchandise such as video games or toys.
5. How important are video games to the film industry?
Video games are important to the film industry as it allows for the film company to represent characters in a medium similar to that of its primary product this also allows the company to create an immersive experience for the buyer this immersive experience has high levels of demand and is becoming increasingly popular.

Star wars: The force awakens- Research

Film
Topic

Production company
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Bad Robot Productions
Distributor
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Exibition

Status
Conglomerate
Integration 
Horizontal Age Rating
12
Run time
135 minutes 
Release date
14th December 2015
Budget
200 Million USD
Revenue
2.048 Billion USD
Marketing
17,000 tweets per minute following shortly after trailer release.

Ill Manors- Research

Music Video:
Discusses the way in which the youth of today are often represented negatively by modern media (particularly those from a working or under class background).


Film:
Topic
The film focuses heavily on the struggles of working and underclass people in Central London.


Production company
BBC Films
Film London Microwave
Distributor
Revolver entertainment
Exibition

Status
Indie 
Integration 
Vertical Age Rating
18
Run time
121 minutes 
Release date
6th June 2012
Budget
100 Thousand GBP (140 Thousand USD)
Revenue
750 Thousand GBP (1 Million USD)

The Walt Disney Corporation

Assets
-Marvel inc





-Lucasfilm



-ESPN



-ABC



Production:
-Walt Disney Pictures



-Disneynature



Animation
-Walt Disney animation studios



-Disney Pixar



-Disney toon studios