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Welcome to the Film Industry Revision Blog

Thursday, April 28, 2011

What the specification says.......

You could get a question on any of the following 7 areas of study.

  • “The ways in which the candidates’ own experience of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour”

  • “The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice”

  • “The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the level of production, distribution, marketing and exchange”

  • “The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically British) by international or global institutions”

  • “The significance of hardware and content for institutions and audiences”

  • “The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing”

  • “The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences”

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Revision Example Essay

Eric Essay

Mark Kermode on Movie Piracy

Watch this clip about the pirate release of Wolverine.  Try to follow Marc's arguments about piracy.  What does he think the film industry's strategy to combat piracy should be?

Looking For Eric Advertising

The UK distributors for Looking For Eric did have a small amount of DIGITAL ADVERTISING.  They set up a Facebook Page for Looking for Eric, where fans can post comments on the wall, watch trailers and  find out information about the film.

The Facebook page has a modest 5,241 followers (compare that with Avatar's Facebook friends - currently standing at 15, 529,385).  However, it must be remembered that Eric is a low budget movie for a niche market.

Eric tended to rely on traditional advertising methods such as this poster outside the Cineworld Haymarket.


Icon distributors also relied heavily on NEWSPAPER advertising.
They also paid to advertise on a few TV SPOTS before football matches, hoping to attract football fans.
Eric Trailer:

Debates around 3D and Performance Capture

Debates Around 3D and Performance Capture

CURZON HMV Case Study

curzonhmv

The Film Value Chain

The Film Value Chain

Student Distribution and Marketing presentations for AVATAR





Media Ownership

There are two main threads to any argument about Media Ownership.  One will be about the big players, the Hollywood production companies who can afford big budgets, special effects, big named stars and amazing global marketing campaigns.
The other will be about smaller, independent companies, who struggle to find budgets to fund productions, who will not be widely advertised at cinemas and whose films will have a smaller audience appeal.
This prezi outlines the two main threads through looking at case studies.


AVATAR - Marketing over the internet

Avatar - Camera technology

Specialist cameras were developed that pushed the boundaries in filming during the stages of PRODUCTION.  Below is a clip about the SIMUL CAM. You need to make notes about why using the simul cam was so revolutionary during the making of Avatar.


You must also remember the work you did on the 3D FUSION CAMERA and the VIRTUAL CAM.  
One of the key features about these cameras is their portability.  Traditionally 3D cameras are big and cumbersome.  The set had to be built around the camera.  However, with the new cameras, James Cameron was able to use hand held cameras and get the camera really close up, move with it and film in 3D using very conventional shots.  This is one of the reasons for the visual success of the movie.

Avatar - Performance Capture

Performance capture is a new digital technology used at the stage of PRODUCTION - the making of the movie.  Which the clip below and make notes about what is so revolutionary about performance technology technology.


Friday, April 8, 2011

PAST EXAM QUESTIONS

JANUARY 2009
'Discuss the ways in which media products are produced and distributed to audiences, within a media area, which you have studied.'

JUNE 2009
'How important is technology convergence for institutions and audiences within a media area which you have studied?'

JANUARY 2010
'Media production is dominated by global institutions, which sell their products and services to national audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement?'

JUNE 2010
'What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institutions and audiences?'

JANUARY 2011
'Discus the issues raised by media ownership in the production and exchange of media texts in your chosen area.'