Downton Abbey - Improvement 2

An establishing shot is used at the start of this clip when the audience get their first look at the huge building where all the narrative is taking place. This camera angle has been used for this particular moment as it sets the scene for the viewers in order for them to understand the location and the setting of the characters position. A medium shot is used during the time that the character 'Daisy' walks down the long corridor while holding the heavy objects. This has been used to show half of the characters body to portray to the audience their different body movements in order to interpret them anyway they want e.g. Daisy shows rushed behaviour by making fast movements, this could display the urgency of the situation and how fast their pace needs to be for their job position. Another camera technique that has been used is an insert shot. This has been shown when one of the character is carrying a set of keys, the camera focuses on the keys while they are still gripped in the person's hand and the background is blurred showing a shallow focus. By doing this it portrays to the audience something of importance and represents the high level of power this inanimate object contains. The camera shot also enables the clip to make smooth transitions between different cuts creating the scene to be portrayed as having continuity and flows from shot to shot. A long shot has also been used towards the end of the clip, this occurs when the paper boy is cycling towards the building. This has been used to emphasize a sweeping location around the subject and showing the viewers where the character is heading. By doing this it enables the audience to understand the storyline and the characters position in society.

Throughout the start of this clip there has been a continuous effect of cuts. This has been used when the character 'Daisy' is walking around attempting to wake the other workers and staff and continues when she is cleaning in the kitchen. By using this type of technique the director is able to show a simplified life for these members of staff due to using the most basic and common editing style. An invisible cut has also been used later on in this clip when the camera is following the character 'Daisy' down the corridor and carries on behind her as she walks through different rooms and the audience witnesses workers doing multiple jobs. The editor has chosen to do this in order to create a sense of everything happening at once and makes the viewers see the different characters doing tasks in order to make the upper class members of the household feel joyful and contain pride. Fast pace editing occurs at the end of the clip when the servants are preparing for breakfast for the owners of the building. This has been done to create a sense of urgency which is influenced by the hand held effect of the camera, by doing this the audience feel rushed and sympathetic towards the workers due to the effort of making sure the meal is of high standards. When the cuts are edited to create a faster pace to the characters movements it adds to the storyline and emphasizes the line between the upper class and working class making the differences between them more noticeable.

This clip frequently shows uses of diegetic sound. This has been shown through the huge amounts of dialogue that this clip contains e.g. when two characters are talking to each other. Diegetic sound has been shown when the head servant is ordering the other servants to increase their pace to make sure the owners of the building receive their breakfast on time. By using this type of sound the audience are able to understand the storyline and focus on the individual characters due to the tone, volume and pitch of their voices. For example, when a characters voice is raised the viewers see the signs of anger, disbelief and frustration. Synchronous sound has also been used in this clip when the audience hear certain things that you would expect to hear if they were in this particular situation. For example, in the kitchen the viewers can hear rushed voices and dishes clanging against each other as the workers prepare for breakfast by cleaning the utensils. These are all sounds that are to be expected in this setting and location. By containing synchronous sound it makes the audience understand what is occurring and can easily follow the basic daily routine for these characters by focusing on the sounds without realising what they are doing.

The clothing in this clip separates the different social classes for the audience which makes it clear the positions of each character within their modern society. For example, the servants are wearing clothes that are portrayed as being distressed, dirty and having a lack of quality - this immediately displays themselves as having little wealth and having a low position in society which explains their current occupation. However the characters who own the building are wearing high quality material clothing that looks highly presentable with the different colours that the servants clothing doesn't contain. By doing this it shows the binary opposition to the viewers and makes them understand which character is from which social class. The lighting in this clip can also represent the different social classes of the characters. For example, when the camera shows the workers downstairs in the basement the lighting is slightly darker and eerie which could represent their lack of control and power in this situation whereas when the camera is upstairs with the Crawley family the lighting is brighter and more ambient to show their stress free life of having no money issues. The setting also determines the characters different positions by portraying the numerous props around the rooms which suggests their wealth.

Theories

Tessa Palmer
According to Tessa Palmer there are a number of assumptions when stereotyping in the media. These 5 assumptions consist of:
1. Stereotypes are not always negative e.g. The French are good cooks.
2. They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful e.g. Upper class are twits.
3. They can be held about one's own group.
4. They are not rigid or unchanging.
5. They are not always false.

In Hotel Babylon there is only a few positive stereotypes regarding the immigrants. The first stereotype noted is 'Asians are good at maths', this is portrayed through the secretary 'Jackie' who has a high positioned job in the hotel. In this job she is seen to be dealing with paperwork and statistics, this shows she is handy when working with mathematics. By the director portraying the character this way it is giving the assumption to the audience that not all stereotypes are negative or downplaying certain ethnic qualities. Later on in the clip the workers are all eating together showing a form of community where everyone works together and respects each other by conforming to one another's help and company. Due to the range of different ethnic groups it shows there is no stereotyping based on people's social class as every character is portrayed as being in the same position which is at the bottom of the social ladder. However you could see this TV show as the white people being more important due to the majority being apart of the hotel staff although this can be deterred quickly due to dark skinned people also having being apart of the community. Stereotypes are also seen as not being false in this clip from Hotel Babylon, this is proven through most of the immigrants being 'black' which is stereotypically correct. The majority of immigrants that come to the UK are dark skinned due to the location where they come from e.g. Syria - this does not mean that all immigrants are black but the general image counteracts reality.

Leon Festinger
The theorist Leon Festinger argues the idea of 'cognitive dissonance', this is when people believe or are adamant of a particular thing unless they are shown otherwise from the media or another source this is due to people seeking certain beliefs or thoughts from others. This is shown from the popularity of Hotel Babylon due to the counter stereotypes and the expectation of the characters ethnicity in relation to their social position and occupation. For example, the audience think of immigrants as being dark skinned and perhaps having an African accent - from watching Hotel Babylon they can back up their expectation due to the majority being this way. However viewers can also see counter stereotypes due to some African characters being highly intelligent and having impressive qualifications which go against the immigrant stereotype. This is proven when a character passes out in the storage cupboard when everyone is hiding and one of the members of the group has the academic capability to figure out her issues and what to do to solve the situation to bring the woman back to consciousness. Many people may watch Hotel Babylon to rethink certain images of different groups within society or perhaps prove their original expectation of particular people thus creating a higher popularity rate for the TV show. Some viewers may do the same thing with the BBC's TV show of Waterloo Road which consists of the story being based in a secondary school in a working class area with students with particular issues. People may watch this show to see whether the stereotypes of teenagers is true or exaggerated.

Alvarado's Racial Stereotypes Theory (1987)

Four key themes in racial representations:

• Exotic
• Dangerous
• Humorous
• Pitied

Exotic
Certain ethnic groups can be represented as being exotic. This is sometimes portrayed through Latino Americans as they are seen as being sex symbols and are represented as being rather explicit. This idea is presented through the usage of their transparent clothing, which is deemed as inappropriate to the rest of society, and controversial behaviour e.g. celebrities such as Shakira which is shown through music videos.


Dangerous
Some ethnic groups can be portrayed as dangerous through the analysis of certain people's behaviour. For example, characters in soaps such as Eastenders with a different ethnic background to others is related to violent and aggressive behaviour e.g. abuse. By this representation through the media it creates an awareness so the audience relates this behaviour to the rest of the ethnic group.  This is a very prevalent theme through Rap music which makes it a very widely 'accepted' stereotype that black males are a very violent ethnic group.


Humorous
Other ethnic groups are represented as being humorous through the use of animation and cartoon characters such as Simpsons. This is a stereotypical view of people who are apart of an ethnic group that has been portrayed through the media for example in films. Some movies with a black American man is tend to be seen to make particular jokes against his race or ethnicity. By doing this it creates a humorous affect for the audience and makes a comedic atmosphere.

Pitied
Adverts and documentaries raise awareness for African people and young children who are in need of water and food in order to survive. By doing this not only is it presenting real problems in the world but also creating an atmosphere of pity within the audience which in turn persuades members to pay and portray beneficial methods so they can help these young children in need. An atmosphere of sadness is also made by audience/viewers identifying the lack of basic necessities some children have compared to themselves.

Roland Barthes - Five Codes

Mark Ritson: The innovative, brilliant marketing for Ex Machina deserves praise, not negativity

The breathtaking marketing for film Ex Machina ticks all the boxes for what great tactical work should achieve, which makes it all the more bewildering as to why the digital crowd has taken such a negative attitude towards it.

This article is worth reading.

LINK

Disney is a conglomerate

Disney is a conglomerate
A media conglomerate, media group or media institution is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet. Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets across the globe.

Disney owns

• Walt Disney Studios
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group:
• Touchstone Pictures
• Pixar Animation Studios
• Lucasfilm
• ESPN
• ABC Entertainment Group
• Marvel Entertainment
• Disney Music Group

The media industry is dominated by 'The Big Six'

Just how dominant are 'The Big Six' studios?

Why might conglomerates be seen as a negative?

Global conglomerates can at times have a progressive impact on culture, especially when they enter nations that had been tightly controlled by corrupt crony media systems (as in much of Latin America) or nations that had significant state censorship over media (as in parts of Asia). The global commercial-media system is radical in that it will respect no tradition or custom, on balance, if it stands in the way of profits. But ultimately it is politically conservative, because the media giants are significant beneficiaries of the current social structure around the world, and any upheaval in property or social relations—particularly to the extent that it reduces the power of business—is not in their interest.— 

Robert W. McChesney, The New Global Media; It’s a Small World of Big Conglomerates, The Nation Magazine, November 29, 1999

Film Piracy

The movie industry excels in selling dreams. But since the dawn of the digital revolution, there is one narrative they've consistently and conspicuously failed to sell: that piracy is theft and consumers who indulge ought to feel guilty about it. Recent research by Ipsos suggests that almost 30% of the UK population is active in some form of piracy, either through streaming content online or buying counterfeit DVDs. Such theft costs the UK audiovisual industries about £500m a year.

LINK to rest of article

Film Piracy 2

Hypothetically, two movies come out on the same day: The Wolf of Wall Street and the new Transformers. You are allowed to see one in an IMAX theatre and you will illegally download the other one online. Most people would choose Transformers over The Wolf of Wall Street due to the fact that there are robot dinosaurs and everyone else is going to see it in theaters. Those robot dinosaurs will look a lot cooler in a theater rather than on a laptop. Many people then realized how lacking the movie really was after walking out of their local theater’s showing of Transformers: Age of Extinction. Meanwhile, many of the same people went on to watch The Wolf of Wall Street online to realize that it was actually a really good movie. Most people don’t realize that this is at all a problem, and at first glance it’s not. However, after more in-depth research, the problem soon becomes apparent. Transformers: Age of Extinction only gained an 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (Transformers, Rotten Tomatoes), one of the most critical and most trusted film-review sites online. The Wolf of Wall Street, however, gained a 77% rating on the same site (Wolf of Wall Street, Rotten Tomatoes). It was also nominated for five different Academy Awards. The Wolf of Wall Street is clearly the better film. Yet, besides the fact that Transformers was clearly not a great film, it somehow managed to be named the highest grossing film worldwide of 2014 and earned over one billion dollars in the Box Office (2014 Worldwide Grosses). The Wolf of Wall Street went on to be the most pirated film of 2014 with over 30 million illegal downloads (Spangler, 1) and didn’t even gross $117 million, giving the producers and the studio under $17 million after the production cost, which is not a much of a profit at all for such a high-budget film.

Piracy has become more of a problem in the past decade than it ever has before, specifically movie piracy. In fact, a study from Columbia University came out recently that said at least 45% of US citizens pirate movies actively, but that number bumps up to 70% if you include the younger demographics as well (Mick, 2). This act of pirating is growing more and more common every year and most people do it mindlessly, not realizing what it costs. Everyone has seen the text at the beginning of movies saying “Piracy is not a victimless crime,” and this is completely true. Piracy is extremely harmful to the movie industry and its effects are larger than anyone could imagine.

But Where Do These Pirated Movies Come From?

There are many different ways that people pirate movies. One of the most classic ways people pirate is by “leaking” them. This involves a person going into a movie theater with a camera or a phone and recording the movie as it plays. It is usually a poor quality, but many people still download these recordings anyways instead of going to see it in a theater. This usually occurs when it is only in theater since that is the only version most people are able to see. Sometimes these leaks occur before the movie is even premiered, often because it is filmed during a special premier before the opening night. This is referred to as a pre-release, and they tend to result in a 19% decrease in how much the movie makes at the Box Office (Hart, 2). Many people defend pre-releases because it gives a movie more publicity so more people would want to see it, but the facts state otherwise. Leaking a movie that’s in the theaters always tends to decrease how much the movie makes regardless of when it is released and sometimes even leads to the movie not even making as much as there was put into it.

One of the other common ways for a movie to be pirated is for it to be digitally hacked. This one has become more common lately as technology improves. One of the most extreme and recent examples was the Sony hacking. Though some people will claim that Sony faked the hacking, evidence shows that they were legitimately hacked. During this hacking, many of Sony’s movies were released illegally online, such as Annie and Fury (Note: Annie had not even been released yet). A hacking involves someone digitally cracking into the studio or company’s computer system and taking the movie from their files. This logically would actually decrease a movie’s Box Office revenue by even more than someone’s recording of the movie would because it’s a better quality.

There are more ways to watch a pirated movie other than just downloading it online. In fact, some people tend to start their own pirating businesses. It’s very inexpensive and easy for a person to start one of these businesses. More recently, people only need to buy a bunch of blank DVD’s, the same amount of DVD cases and a computer that can burn a DVD. From there, they must find a source to get the pirated movies from. Sometimes they will personally film them in a theater, or find a hacked or leaked version online and download it. After that, all they need to do is download the stolen films onto their blank DVD’s and sell them to anyone who is willing to purchase it. Within a short amount of time, this person has made a great deal of money that should have gone to the movie studios.

What Kind of Effect Does it Have?

Most people would just say that pirating has a small effect on the industry and that the studios already have enough money. They believe watching a movie online isn’t going to hurt anyone. The Motion Picture Association of America looked into this belief and discovered that piracy costs around $20.5 billion annually in the United States alone (Plumer, 2). In fact, a study back in 2005 estimated that a 10% decrease in worldwide piracy, including both film and music, over the course of four years would add 1.5 million jobs, $64 billion in taxes and $400 billion in economic growth (Kai-Lung). That, however, was ten years ago and is outdated. Those numbers are likely to be much higher today due to inflation and an increase in popularity of the film industry. This means that the studios are making much smaller amounts of money than they should be making from their films due to piracy.

Quit Talking Numbers. How Does it Effect My Movie Experience?

The decrease in money from studios will often decrease the quality of other movies and even sequels, but more often it will decrease the quantity. A studio is much more likely to throw all of their money into the next big franchise sequel than give half of it to the franchise and the other half to a movie like Twelve Years a Slave simply because Twelve Years a Slave won’t sell as well in theaters as the franchise movie will. Movie studios and production companies don’t look at reviews and DVD sales nearly as much as they look at the Box Office Revenue, or how much it makes in the theater.

In many cases, piracy of a film will even damage the likeliness of a franchise sequel. For example, the Kick-Ass movies came to an end due to lack of funding from piracy. According to Chloë Grace Moretz who stars as “Hit-Girl” in the series, Kick-Ass 2 was one of the most pirated films of 2013 despite having an extremely low Box Office Revenue (Highfill). Because of this, the plans for the third movie in the series have been cancelled. Whether or not you like the Kick-Ass series, it is clear that piracy has become a serious problem and will only continue to damage the film industry.

What About New Movies That Aren't Franchises Yet?

It is not franchise movies that need to be worried about, though; it is the movies by the independent filmmakers. Due to the increase in film piracy, production companies and movie studios are now much less likely to loan money out to an independent filmmaker with an idea than they are to a team of writers and producers working on a Harry Potter spin-off. When people think of the term ‘independent filmmaker’, they think of a man in his 20’s with an Associates Degree in Theatre that wrote a screenplay in two weeks. Though these people are independent filmmakers, I refer to the higher kind of independent filmmakers that actually make Oscar nominated films, but take out enormous loans to do so. Now, due to piracy, no matter how many Oscars their movie is nominated for, many filmmakers are having to foreclose their houses or take out further loans from a bank to make up for the losses in the Box Office for their film due to piracy. It also means that the studios do not get their money back that they invested with and therefore stop funding films without promises of success like Birdman or The Theory of Everything, both of whom won Oscars this year.

Now Let's Think More Economically...

The loss of money affects more than just the filmmakers and studios, however. It helps the entire economy grow due to tax and job increase. Pirating less films will mean that the studios will get more money, which leads to more movies, which employs people like hairdressers, electricians, actors, costume designers and countless other occupations. This will add more jobs to the United States and will also add more tax money to help the country.

But Is It Really Stealing?

Many people argue that piracy is not illegal because they are not technically stealing anything. Though they are not physically taking away anything from anyone, they are stealing intellectual property. Just because you can’t hold a movie file in your hands does not mean that it is not someone’s property. Downloading a film online is the equivalent of stealing a movie from a movie store. It may not come in the same fancy case as a movie at the store, but it still carries the same contents. By pirating a film, you are stealing the money that should have been paid had you watched the movie legally. You do not have a right to watch whatever movies you want to watch without having to pay for them just as I do not have a right to walk into the local Dollar General and eat their candy bars without paying first. As much as people may argue it, film piracy is stealing. It is not your property, so it is not yours to take without paying for it first.

Going Back to my Original Example at the Beginning of All of This...

The Wolf of Wall Street was 2014’s most pirated movie with over 30 million piracies worldwide. Let’s do the math to see how much money piracy actually robbed this movie of had these people gone to see it in a theater instead. In 2014, the average price of a movie ticket in the United States was $8.17 (Linshi, 1). When a person goes to see a movie in the theater, the money spent on the ticket goes to two different places. It is split between the movie studio and the movie theater, with more going to the theater the longer the movie has been out (Campea). For the purposes of now, let’s average that overall the theater and the studio would each get 50% of the ticket price. Now for the part with the actual math. If each illegal download of The Wolf of Wall Street, which more specifically evens out to around 30,035,000 downloads (Spangler, 1) equals one movie ticket that costs $8.17, and the movie studio only gets half of the amount from each movie ticket, that results in about $122,692,975 that was robbed from Paramount Pictures for just that one movie. That amount stolen was more than the movie actually made in the Box Office, and that is assuming that only one person watched each illegal download. Several of those downloads were most likely copied onto multiple different blank DVD’s and given out to others to watch illegally. That is even more money that was robbed from The Wolf of Wall Street. In the Box Office, the movie barely broke even out of how much they spent making the film. These numbers would have helped the studio, the filmmakers and the crew a lot more in order to make even more Oscar nominated movies. Unfortunately, these thirty million people seemed to overlook that.

Now the Real Question: How Do We Stop Piracy?

It all starts at home, just like it takes a spark to start a fire. Many people argue that “everyone is watching movies illegally online, so why is it different if I do it?” Well the same argument could again go for people that steal candy bars from a store. It may cost more than you like and others may do it, but it is not your property to steal. Like voting, if just one person takes a stand against piracy it will make a difference. Simply quit pirating movies or watching them online. There are many different excuses people use about watching movies online illegally, but it does not override the fact that it is illegal. Even streaming movies online is illegal if it is not authorized by the studio that made the film. If you aren’t willing to pay to watch the film, you aren’t allowed to watch it. This is the way the industry works.

What Can The Theaters Do?

A way for movie theaters to prevent piracy is to change their types of projectors. In the past, the government came up with a way to prevent the filming of a movie in the theaters. They did this by projecting an infrared spectrum over the projected film. This infrared image was not visible to the audience, but it would make the video on the camera someone brought into film the movie into a very low quality that would make the video almost unbearable to watch. Since then technology has improved to attempt to improve the quality of the filmed video regardless of the infrared. Though this has worked to an extent, film pirates have not yet fully recovered from the addition of the infrared. Only more research will be able to help improve the projectors so that this does not happen anymore.

What Happens if Someone gets Caught?!

When it all comes down to it, one of the major reasons you should avoid pirating movies is that its an enormous risk. Since it is illegal, there are certainly punishments for those that choose to break this law. These punishments are severe. For example, if a person is convicted of a misdemeanor in piracy, as in they only downloaded or uploaded a small amount of movies without the owner’s consent, the person would be punished with up to a year of prison time and would have a fine of up to $100,000, depending on the extent of the piracy. That, however, is just for a small offense. For someone that downloads or uploads movies illegally without the owner’s consent in large amounts will be charged with a felony. The punishment of this crime is up to 5 years of imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines. The fine, though, can be more. In some cases, the fine is set as double what the person gained for pirating the films if they made money off of it, or it set as double the amount of money the person cost the studios he or she stole from (AlanS). In any of these cases, it is clear that movie piracy is not worth the risk.

Piracy is Clearly an Enormous Threat

Filmmakers are in danger of losing their jobs and the movie theaters are in danger of only showing films like Transformers sequels and Terminator reboots. Helping the film industry does not just entail not illegally watching a movie, it also entails going to see those movies in a theater to reverse the mistakes made by those who don’t realize the consequences. Some of the greatest films do not get the proper credibility in the theaters because people are too distracted by other films or because people would think it’s smarter to illegally watch it on their computer than paying to see it in a theater. As stated earlier, this has many more consequences than these people would think, such as taking away jobs, taking over $20.5 billion from the US film industry and decreasing both the quantity and quality of the very movies they are downloading. In addition, is it really worth spending five years of your life in prison just because you didn’t want to pay to watch a movie? It’s time to stop pirating and to stop making excuses for watching a movie illegally online. Film is a form of art. People use it to tell their stories.

LINK to original source

Marketing Star Wars

Websites
When Star Wars is searched on the search engine, Google, thousands of websites appear that showcase multiple things that have something in common with the blockbuster films. This starts from a range of costume purchases to fan base pages that contain some theories of what is to be predicted in the next Star Wars movie. Also, to celebrate the release of Star Wars: the Force Awakens it was advertised on iTunes which would attract the younger generation that tend to use the Apple store more frequently compared to the older generation. This would enable the audience and fan base to grow wider and larger across different countries.

 

Facebook
Facebook contains many Star Wars: the Force Awakens pages for the huge fan base that are interested in making memes and GIPHS that are inspired by the characters in the film. This is where fans that are hugely captivated with Star Wars are able to come together and interact with one another by having something in common such as the film itself. By using the Facebook platform it is a good marketing technique that will involve more than the people who made the Star Wars pages which is due to random people being able to share and like their different posts which will attract more and more audience members.


Twitter
The Star Wars twitter page contains a huge set of followers that like and retweet each tweet that is published and posted by this page every hour. This enables the audience to follow the updates daily and kept up to date on the latest gossip and news about this particular film. By doing this it's a great way of appealing to the younger generation due to everyone using social networking platforms to communicate and interact with each other. This way by using a well known media software every member of the audience and fan base are able to stay interested in this blockbuster movie and keep updated about the following Star Wars movies that are upcoming in the following years.


Trailers
Before the initial release of the official trailer for Star Wars: the Force Awakens the teaser trailer was released on 28th November 2014, this was just over a year before the film was published in cinemas. This was done in order to achieve high anticipation for the Star Wars fan base and the other members of society, it also gave people their first look of the movie and prepared them for what was to come in the following year. This teaser trailer received over 77 million views on YouTube portraying the fame and popularity this film has.


The official trailer for Star Wars: the Force Awakens was released on the 19th October 2015 and received over 95 million views on YouTube. This was released over a month before the films publication in the cinemas, this is done to again build up the anticipation and make the fan base aware of the movie being released in the near future. By producing and making a trailer for a film it encourages more members of the public to watch the movie due to understanding more about the storyline which is something that cannot be portrayed through a billboard poster.

Posters
 Multiple posters were published during the post-production stage of the film Star Wars: the Force Awakens. Before the initial release of the official poster (the first one) teaser posters were released to hype up the already high anticipation for the fan base and to give out hints and first looks of the film. For example, the posters with one character on give the audience and fan base clues about the main characters and their roles in the movie. The main poster is released to present more information so members of the audience can witness the film in the cinemas e.g. viewing date, cast, film companies etc.



Chat shows and other TV interviews
In order to advertise and market the film Star Wars: the Force Awakens members of the cast attend different chat shows or interviews to talk about their upcoming movie. Due to the high fan base and popularity the cast members of Star Wars attend shows that have a high number of viewers and a wide range audience. To do this the cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac and many others attended interviews on shows such as Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel, The Graham Norton Show etc. These shows have high viewing rates and are popular in different countries this means that a wide range of people will witness these interviews and recognise the Star Wars film.






Product tie-ins
The film Star Wars: the Force Awakens is targeted at a wide range of people despite their age or gender. In order to appeal to different audiences the films marketing took over every object, food and company. Due to the large fan base of this movie the advertisement covered a large range of things to represent the high anticipation of this film that audience members have waited for. Star Wars inspired make-up was made by Cover girl to appeal to the female side of the audience and to celebrate the publishment of this film in the cinemas. BB-8 covered cereal was sold in supermarkets to target young children while also advertising the movie, this also brought more excitement for young children due to the knowledge of the upcoming film.




Toys
A wide range of toys were released for the advertisement of the upcoming film Star Wars: the Force Awakens which was intended for the young children who are part of the audience and large fan base. Action figures were produced for the enjoyment of children playing and feeling apart of the storyline and feeling like one of the characters. The main female character: Rey was also part of the action figures which would attract the female audience including young girls who are normally appealed by toy dolls. Star Wars inspired Lego was also published which would help marketise the film due to Lego having a wide range of customers.

Casualty - Representation of disability

In the BBC TV series Casualty disability is portrayed as having no independence and being solely reliant on their carers or other family members. In this clip it shows a young man needing help while trying to complete basic abilities that 'normal' people are considered able to do e.g. going to the toilet. This causes some friction between family members due to upset and depressed feelings.

In this clip a point of view/over the shoulder shot was used during the two men were shopping at the start of the scene. While the brother of the disabled character was looking in the mirror, watching his reflection of himself posing for the clothing item he intended to buy, the camera was angled over his shoulder to represent his point of view to the audience. This has been used to show the characters everyday life, this points out that despite knowing someone has a disability they still act as if everything is fine and go on with their daily routines trying to portray their life as being 'normal'. Another camera shot that has been used is a hand held camera shot. This has been used at the end of the clip when the lady in the café witnesses someone she knows to pass out in the middle of the road and almost get hit by a car, while her and the two men run up to the man this camera technique has been used. By using this camera shot they are able to show the shock and disbelief of this action happening. This can be seen as disabled people being portrayed as being unable to take part in daily life due to the character in a wheelchair being able to approach the man in a fast pace, however this shows an example of a counter stereotype due to the man in the wheelchair ordering help and knowing what to do to improve the situation. For the audience this camera shot added urgency and made them feel desperate for the protagonist characters to make it to the man in time to help him - this helped make the atmosphere seem more tense and suspenseful.

A lot of different editing techniques were used throughout this clip from the series Casualty. The first editing technique noticed was the continuity editing. This was seen to be used at the start of the scene when the two characters were displayed in the clothing store trying on different Christmas jumpers, the clips came smoothly showing how the scenes flowed together making it seem continuous. By doing this it made the audience remember the recognisable setting and characters making them understand the storyline and follow with what is happening in this current episode. Continuity editing helps the audience understand what is happening due to the scenes linking together which fits with the mini stories inside the episode that all combine in the end. Another editing technique that is used is shot reverse shot. This is used throughout the clip when two characters are in a conversation e.g. when the two men are talking in the café and when the woman and the man are speaking to each other in the ambulance. By using this it represents two people having a polite conversation that shows everyday norms that society deems acceptable. However due to the dialogue the audience understands that argument between the characters and recognises the tense situation they seem to be involved in.

Bright ambient lighting has been used throughout this scene, this is to show the transition from being inside the building and then to being outside in the daytime. To show the difference between the two the director has used a darker and drastic lighting to portray the characters being inside a building and away from the light. The director has done this when the two men are in the café talking over coffee and then walk outside and witness the young man collapse in the middle of the road. By changing the lighting qualities the director is able to help the audience understand more of the storyline and benefits them by being able to easily follow where each character is set due to different characters have different storylines in this TV show. Each character is wearing different clothing to portray multiple features about each others personality and day to day life. For example, the paramedics in the ambulance wear a certain type of uniform whereas the two men wear casual clothing. This has been done to show the profession of some people and to help the audience understand what the characters are doing or partaking in e.g. the two men are shown to having a shopping day that contains no work due to the lack of work clothing.

DNA Films - 20 Questions

1. Who were the co-founders of DNA Films?
Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew Macdonald
2. When was the company founded?
1983
3. Where is DNA based?
London, United Kingdom
4. How many films have DNA Films produced?
21
5. What awards have DNA Films won?
6. How many full time staff does DNA Films employ?
7. What is DNA Film's philosophy?
8. List 5 box-office hits that DNA Films have made.

• Love Actually
• 28 Days Later
• 28 Weeks Later
• The Last King of Scotland
• Dredd

9. List 5 flops that DNA Films have made.

• Sunshine on Leith
• Never Let Me Go
• The History Boys
• Far From the Madding Crowd
• Sunshine

10. What is Danny Boyle's relationship with DNA Films?
Danny Boyle has directed a couple of movies that DNA Films have produced such as 28 Days Later and Sunshine.
11. List 3 famous directors that DNA Films have worked with.

• Richard Curtis
• Danny Boyle
• Alex Garland

12. List 5 famous actors who have starred in films made by DNA Films.

• Domhnall Gleeson
• Oscar Isaac
• Alicia Vikander
• Leonardo Dicaprio
• Hugh Grant 

13. What has been DNA Films highest grossing film?
Love Actually
14. What Hollywood studios have DNA Films worked with?
Universal Pictures
15. List two of DNA Films big blockbuster films and find out their budgets.
 28 Days Later (2002)  had a smaller budget of $8 million - earned $84.7 million in the box office. 28 Weeks Later (2007) was followed by this with a larger budget of $15 million - this earned $64.2 million in the box office.
16. What film is DNA Films most famous for?
Love Actually
17. What other genres do DNA Films like to make?
Romance, Comedy, Action
18. Who have DNA Films entered into a partnership with for DNA TV Limited ?
Fox Networks Group
19. What information can you find out about DNA Films through their web page?
DNA Films is run by Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich, this is one of the most successful production companies in the UK. The company has also produced films such as Dredd, Never Let Me Go, Love Actually, The Beach, 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.
20. Find out one other interesting fact about DNA Films that you would like to share with the class.
DNA Films has a partnership for television and plans to make series, comedies and dramas.

Representation of Disability

Disability is presented in many ways throughout the media. One way that disabled people are represented are as being vulnerable and dependent on other people, they do not have the capability of being independent like other 'normal' people. Normally within TV programmes the disabled person is usually seen with their carer or a family member looking after them. The problem that occurs with the character and the disability of the person is often talked through with their carer instead of the person with the disability. When this happens directors tend to make the form of the person's disability as being in a wheelchair, by doing this they are able to imply who has the most power and control in the situation. This is perceived due to the camera portraying the standing character as being bigger and stronger as they have the capability of looking after themselves. The character with the disability is often looked straight through and is seen to be invisible hence why characters immediately apologise to the carer when they do something to affect the disabled character. Another way that disability is presented through the media is as an object of curiosity. Whenever people immediately recognise someone as being disabled their first thought is wondering what happened that caused this problem to appear - not taking into account that it could have occurred at birth.
TV Programmes with disability:

• Glee
• Game of Thrones
• Breaking Bad
• Pretty Little Liars

Ex Machina Review

In my opinion, I found this movie Ex Machina to be thrilling and gripping throughout with different twists and turns that made me, as the audience, feel tense and unsuspecting of what was to come. Not only was the acting noteworthy but so was the soundtrack and special effects. The added benefit of having high quality editing and sound made the movie feel more realistic and believable which in turn made the viewers become more involved with the storyline and in tuned with the waves of emotions coming from the characters. With the acting, editing, special effects, sound/music and props combined it made this movie exceptional due to the continuity with the scenes, this made the film link and flow together so the audience understood what was happening but yet sent them on a different pathway that made the ending so shocking and disturbing. However there was a couple of things that could have been improved such as the pace. The first half of the movie seemed to be very slow and dragged out, when it didn’t need to be, and the second half seemed to be rushed and quick to finish. Another thing is the vocabulary and language of scientific words that were used throughout the film - this made it hard for people, like me, to understand what they meant and hard to stay focused.

This movie was written and directed by Alex Garland who has previously made films such as 28 Days Later (2002), Never Let Me Go (2011), Sunshine (2007) and Dredd (2012). Most movies made by Garland were produced by Andrew Macdonald, Macdonald also produced Ex Machina alongside Allon Reich. Ex Machina is a movie about a young man named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) earning the prize of spending a week with his companies CEO Nathan (Oscar Isaac), he receives the prize after winning a programming competition. During his stay he becomes part of Nathan’s Turing Test after discovering his most recent experiment – the robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander). Caleb’s job is to determine the capabilities of Ava’s consciousness and see if she has the emotional capacity that is similar to humans.

Throughout Ex Machina there are tons of examples of high nudity which is to be expected from a 15 rated movie. However, I think there are some ethical issues that need to be considered before watching this film. Firstly, I find it unnecessary to the amount of nudity shown of just females and no males, the maker Nathan only designs female robots who all look attractive and model like. Some people may say this suits the type of character that Nathan is which to some extent I think is true due to his psychotic behaviour that gives the audience the impression of him being mentally ill. Although due to the writer, director, producers etc. being all male implies that the female nudity could be seen as being sexist by not having any scenes with some form of male nudity shown.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and liked how the ending was the opposite of what I was expecting to happen. I thought the actors did an amazing job that made the overall experience seem so realistic which in turn made me feel involved and part of the characters life.

Ex_Machina Research

Producer:

Andrew Macdonald
Allon Reich

Director:

Alex Garlend

Distributor:

Universal Pictures

Cast:

Alicia Vikander
Domhnall Gleeson
Oscar Isaac
Sonoya Mizuno

Budget:

$15 million USD

Locations:

Pinewood Studios - England, UK
Valldal, Norway

Technology:

The film was shot like ordinary live action. There were no special effects, greenscreen, or tracking markers used during filming. All effects were done in post-production. To create Ava's robotic features, they filmed the scenes both with and without actress Alicia Vikander's presence, which allowed them to capture the background behind her. The parts they wanted to keep, especially her hands and face, were then rotoscoped while the rest was digitally painted out and the background behind her restored. Camera and body tracking systems transferred Vikander's performance to the CGI robot's movements. In total, there were about 800 VFX shots, of which 350 or so were robot shots.

Number of screens - opening weekend:

USA - 1,255 screens

Number of screens - peak number:

2,004 screens

Box office figures:

$36.9 million USD

The Seven Key Areas:

1. The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

Ex Machina was made by Film 4 productions and DNA Films. Film 4 is a British film company that is owned by Channel 4 Television Cooperation, over the years it has made numerous amounts of successful movies such as Attack The Block, The Inbetweeners Movie, How I Live Now and many more. Most of the films made from this company all have small budgets showing the lack of size and money this production company have, this means that money has to be saved by purchasing low amounts of props and setting with the majority of the budget going towards high quality technology in order to gain the professional special effects. To access a range of technology and gadgets this small production team can work with another film company to form a larger budget by combining money and time. In this case Film 4 productions worked with DNA Films to make the Ex Machina movie. DNA Films is another small company founded by Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew Macdonald, it is known for being the most successful production company in the UK. They have made large amounts of films such as Love Actually, Far From The Madding Crowd and 28 Days Later. Although these two companies do not make a huge budget like the Star Wars movies it still provides enough to make impressive Science Fiction imagery with the special effects used in order to create Ava.

2. The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

The distributor of Ex Machina is a large company called Universal Pictures. By using a huge production company to distribute a film it enables the majority of the intended target audience the ability to catch a glimpse of the movie and think about whether they are interested in seeing it or not. By having Universal Pictures distributing the film it hugely helped as they were able to provide over 100 years of experience and expertise of film knowledge and the do's and don'ts of the film industry. Due to this film not being a franchise there has to be a load of marketing and advertisement in order to gain money and engage the targeted audience. From the use of Universal Pictures they are were able to create different types of marketing strategies so that numerous amounts of people saw the advertising methods, they did this in many ways such as publishing trailers, posters etc. There was also online advertisement where a banner for the movie was shown on social media e.g. YouTube, Facebook and more, this attracts young adults due to the film being rated a 15. This was able to be created due to the use of a large company distributing the film, perhaps if there was a small company marketing Ex Machina it wouldn't have been as successful.  Universal Pictures have had many accomplished movies before such as Jurassic Park, E.T, Furious 7, Jaws and many more. These are the highest-grossing films in North America and Worldwide.

3. The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;

Due to the small budget for the film the technologies used in production didn't include ant special effects, green screens or tracking markers during filming. The effects used were all done in post-production after the filming had already been done, this included Ava's robotic body features - to make it as realistic as possible they filmed each scene twice (one with Alicia Vikander and one without). This enabled the production team to capture the setting behind her so when in the editing stage they were able to edit her hands and face to look robotic. The rest of her body was digitally edited away so the background was seen through her body - this made her look transparent and less human. In order to capture Ava's body language they used tracking systems for their cameras which translated her movements to CGI movements. The whole movie was filmed on digital film due to it being cheaper for the distribution companies, this also made it easy to translate for the cinemas as most of them cater for digital films due to the majority of other film companies filming in digital film.

4. The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

As society has changed over the years the audience view films differently due to people preferring to stay at home and purchasing a film instead of travelling to the cinemas, by not going to the see a movie in the cinemas turns out to be much cheaper due to the cost of petrol, tickets and snacks. The price of tickets have increased massively over the years so less and less people make an effort to go and would much rather watching a film in the comfort of their own home. Movies are now easily accessible by downloading onto peoples personal electronics such as Phones, TVs, Laptops, Tablets etc. More and more people are now illegally downloading or streaming films due to saving money by not paying for a film service such as Netflix, Now TV or Amazon Prime. By downloading illegally it doesn't benefit the film companies due to no money being transferred from the lack of people purchasing the movies, this is why movie service providers are beneficial for the film companies as people have to pay a certain amount of money each month in order to stream all the different choices of films. People can also purchase the movies by buying the DVD or Blu-ray disks, Ex Machina was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 14, 2015 in the USA. These different ways of purchasing films allow the audience to watch it as many times as they wish while having not to pay every time.

5. The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

Ex Machina was marketed in many different ways. There were the more traditional ways such as trailers, posters and adverts, these would have been featured on TV, billboards, the side of bus' and certain apps. This would make sure the movie would engage with a much wider audience so more people would see their first glimpse of Ex Machina due to it not being a franchise. This movie was also advertised by creating a profile of the character Ava on the dating app, Tinder. By doing this it enabled people to see certain clips of the movie by going on their Instagram after certain people 'matched' with Ava's character on the app. As well as movie clips the Instagram page also included critic reviews and pictures of the characters so that people who followed would become intrigued and have high anticipation for the movie. The point of doing this enabled young adults to be attracted to the film through the use of social media and technology as younger people tend to use their electronics daily compare to elderly people, it also attracted a modern audience to the film festival. The South by Southwest film festival were the people who provided the Instagram page by featuring their company on the posts making sure the audience were aware of Ex Machina being promoted at the festival.

6. The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences by international or global institutions;

The film companies that distributed and made Ex Machina (Universal Pictures, Film 4 productions and DNA films) had very different responses after reacting to the Tinder profile of Ava's characters. Some people in the companies thought it was fantastic and modern way of engaging their intended audience due to the use of their social media, this is something that every young adult uses frequently and effectively. Although, other people seemed to think it was invading people's privacy due to using a dating app that has some personal information about certain people e.g. name, age, location etc. It was also considered that it may not hit a large scale of the audience as not everyone is featured on this particular dating app, also due to the gender of the character being female only males would be matched and intrigued to look into the film. This means the audience would not be wide enough due to the majority being male and not female. It also only affected people on a local scale who were in travelling distance of the film festival, this film is also only targeted at 15 or above so doesn't have a large intended audience so wouldn't be part of the national or global scale.

7. The ways in which the candidate's own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour;

In my opinion, I think that less people are travelling to the cinemas and are watching movies in the comfort of their own home, this is due to how expensive it is for tickets (especially for families). It could also be down to less people wanting to make the distance and wasting money on petrol - this would affect people who lived in the countryside instead of the city. This means more people will illegally download movies due to the easy access and the lack of money that it will cost, however this is bad for small film companies as they will lose more and more money which in the long run will effect the success of their business. There is also a large sum of people who still purchase DVDs and movie service providers however this may only be for certain movies that the audience find are the greatest e.g. Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Star Wars etc. Nowadays people only go to the cinemas for a long awaited film such as Star Wars or their favourite actor/actress are featured in a particular movie.