Revision Notes
• Theses revision notes will deal with
question one and question two from
the case studies: You must do further
background reading to strength your
understanding: Use Film 4
Productions as your main case study
in the exam and the others to support
your case study.
1
Question one: The issues raised
by media ownership in
contemporary media practice.
Learning outcome: You will know how
the ownership of the production,
distribution and exhibition companies
affects the type of films that are being
made.
At the end of this revision notes
you need to be able to answer:
How does the ownership in the film industry
effect how films are produced?
How does the ownership in the film industry
effect the distribution of film?
How does the ownership in the film industry
effect the exhibition of films?
Question two:The importance of cross media convergence
and synergy in production, distribution and marketing.
– Learning outcome:Will understand how all aspects of the media
(websites, newspapers, television etc) are used to market a film and
show you understand how companies work together to produce
and distribute films.
– Questions
– What is cross media convergence
The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing.
– What is
synergy in production, distribution and marketing?
– How does the media use websites, newspapers, television to
market films?
– How do companies work together to distribute films?
– Why do companies work together to distribute films?
4
Ownership
• When we are talking about ownership we are
talking about a monopoly where a few powerful
institutions control pretty much everything you
see here and read. Although there are other
independent companies, these global media
giants referred to as parent companies control
the production companies and the means to
distribute.
• One of these parent company called News
Corporations owns through one of its
subsidiary companies the Sun, and in the past
it has been said that who even controls the
Sun supports in an election that party will get
in. The evidence is the Suns support of
Thatcher, then the Sun’s support of Blair and
to a lesser extend the Sun’s support of
Cameron over the labour administration.
5
There are two types of ways a company can be
structured in its ownership.
One is referred to as vertical ownership-where the companies in
that portfolio supple and depend on each other.
Horizontal: Where companies are owned by the same parent
company but do not rely on each other.
What do you think is the benefit of vertical ownership for a media
company? If they own both the production company-distributor and
the means to exhibit i.e. News Corps own Fox production
company a distributor and also Sky which most of their films are
broadcast, so they are paying themselves money and in charge of
the whole process cutting out the middle man. That’s why News
Corps refers to themselves as vertically integrated media
company.
6
Vertically Ownership
Different parts of the
organisation are involved in
the same process
Hollywood
studio
Distribution company
Cinema
7
Horizontal Integration
Companies do not Parent company
supply or depend NEWS CORPS
on each other in
this model.
Subsidiary company
MYSPACE
Subsidiary company
THE SUN
Subsidiary company
20th CENTURY
FOX
8
An institution (in the film
industry)
Definition: any company or organisation that produces, distributes
or exhibits films.
9
What is Production
• Production: Is the creation of the film, however it
also means the decisions and processes that go
into making a film. There are different types of
companies involved in the production process:
Both major studios and also production
companies
•
• A production company is the company that is
responsible for making of a film and also maybe
responsible for raising finance for that film, but
this is not always the case. A production
company maybe a small company, which sells
its idea to a major studio or may co-produce a
film. This is often the case because films are so
expensive to make that.
• Major studios can be involved in both the
production and distribution process.
Watch video following video
clip
Two types of film companies
• Film production companies can be classed into two
categories; Major film studios and Independants.
• Major film studios own both production companies that
make the films and also the distribution companies that
either distribute their own films and also distribute
independent production companies films.
• Independent production companies produce their own
films, but do not have the money to distribute their own
films. They often find it difficult to raise money to produce
the films and will have to seek to involve the majors early
on in production.
11
Major studios
12
Major studios
• There are 6 major studios in the world that they are a subsidiary company of
a handful of dominant media companies which own most of media in the
world from TV, Film and even music. The same parent companies who own
the film studios also own the music industry
• News Corporation-owns 20th Century Fox, The Sun, Myspace
• Time Warner: Warner Brothers, IPC magazines
• Disney: Walt Disney Motion pictures, Disney Channel, Pixar
• Bertelsmann: Channel 5
• Viacom-owns Paramount Pictures, Nickolodian, MTV
• Sony-Sony Pictures-Columbia Pictures
• Vivendi-Universal
Music Industry
The same parent companies
own films and music industry
•
Major labels since 2009 (Big Four)
1.
Sony Music Entertainment parent company sony who also owns Sony
Pictures
EMI Group
Warner Music Group Parent company Warner Brother who also own
Warner Brother Pictures
Universal Music Group-Parent Company Vivendi and General Electric
2.
3.
4.
5.
Consider that Film the Boat that Rocked is produced by Working Title which
is a British production company, but is co owned by Universal Studios. Not
only does this mean it has a big company behind it to finance more
expensive films but also their distributing power. Guess which record label
produced the soundtrack? Mercury Records and I bet you can guess who
owns them? Universal, so this is how synergy works by promoting your own
products which also means more profit.
6.
Link-Boat That Rocked is made by Working Title which is co owned by
Universal, Universal also Own Mercury Records which made the
soundtrack.
14
The difference between an independent film and a studio
film?
s
Independent films are different from film studios because they do not have as much money
to both product, distribute and market films this means they often have to work with other
companies to produce their films. Some institutions need to join with other institutions
which distribute films. Vertigo Films is able to distribute its own films, Channel Four
distributed Slumdog Millionaire through Pathe. ,Working Title's distribution partner is
Universal, a huge US company which can make, distribute and show films. The type of
owner ship within an institution matters as, for instance, Channel 4 and the BBC are able
to show their own films at an earlier stage than other films made by other institutions. They
are also better placed to cross-promote their in-house films within their media
organisations. The BBC makes films with their BBC Films arm; Channel4's Film Four
produces films, Working Title also produce films, as does Vertigo Films, etc.
•
Copy this link to view the video: http://www.videojug.com/interview/pre-production
15
How does ownership effect the
production of a film?
• The first stage of production is getting financial backing.
• Independent companies and particularly smaller British companies,
which are not linked to a an American conglomerate have to rely
mainly on money from the National Lottery fund and also other
government organisations i.e. EM media, East Midlands development
agency, or an other regional agency ,which wants to develop local
talent . If they are lucky a private investor or through pre-sales i.e.
selling shares before a film is made, or through sales of television
rights
• Independent and smaller companies like Film 4 have to focus on
social realism as these films are cheaper to make as they don't have
the big Hollywood finance for production or distribution to market their
films. They may also link up with one of the main distribution
companies by selling the distributor pre-sales in order to get money
for the production.
16
•
Major studios can make big budget films
because they are part of a bigger
conclomorate and have more money to
make the big blockbusters. This means that
their films will focus on blockbusters, special
effects and big marketing campaigns. Avatar
for instance cost as much in marketing as it
did in product.ion Further, advertisers, and
tie in deals with companies like Mcdonalds,
and Coca Cola will be more likely to want to
be involved in big budget films because they
have a wider audience and are shown at
more exhibition houses.
•
This is because independent films are often
low budget and focus particularly in Britain
on social realism as they do not have the
funds for CGI and 3D and are shot in digital
because it is cheaper than 35mm film.
•
They also do not have the money to act as
distributor which means they have to rely on
either co-funding or using film festivals to
promote their films. Major studios can get a
lot of private investment because they have
a proven track record, a lot of independent
film companies have to rely on getting
•
Money from UK film council and other
regional development agencies.
Film Finance
17
Independent film finance
• Independent companies and particularly smaller British companies,
which are not linked to a an American conglomerate have to rely
mainly on money from the National Lottery fund and also other
government organisations i.e. EM media, East Midlands development
agency, or an other regional agency ,which wants to develop local
talent . If they are lucky a private investor or through pre-sales i.e.
selling shares before a film is made, or through sales of television
rights
• Independent and smaller companies like Film 4 have to focus on
social realism as these films are cheaper to make as they don't have
the big Hollywood finance for production or distribution to market their
films. They may also link up with one of the main distribution
companies by selling the distributor pre-sales in order to get money
for the production.
18
FILM FINANCE:
•
• Banks: Barclays, Coutts, pre-sales and tax credit
•
only
•
• Funds: Aegis, Silver Reel, BMS, Ingenus
•
provide gap, pre-sales and UK tax credit finance
•
(often as a package)
•
• Equity Investors: Prescience, EIS funds, BBC
•
Films, Film4, UK Film Council, screen agencies
•
(see below)
•
• National/regional screen agencies: EM Media,
•
Scottish Screen, Wales Creative IP Fund,
•
Northern Ireland Screen
•
• Post-production houses: Ascent Media,
•
Molinare, LipSync
•
• Distributors: Pre-sales; minimum guarantee
19
Case study-A small scale story:
• Warp Films-Is a truly independent film company-because
of this it will focus on low budget films and also cofunding. It produced the film this is England with Film 4,
and this film focuses on social realism, which is a key
genre associated with British film because it is cheaper to
make that Hollywood films, which focus on special
effects, CGI, HD,3D. Warp Films does cannot rely on a
big studio to finance their films and it cannot act as a
distributor. Warp Films also own a record label.
• This is England was distributed in the UK by optimum
releasing, whose parent company is Vivendi which also
owns Universal Studios.
20
Case Study Questions
•
Look at how much Warp films cost to make particularly this is England, and
how much is made?
•
Production: Look at their films where do they get their money to fund these
films is it private investment, UK Film council, Pre-sales, Product placement
or co funding?
•
Production: Are there films in HD, Digital or FIlm compare this with bigger
productions by Universal ?
•
Distribution: Who acts as a distributor for their films? Who is their distributors
parent company?
•
Exhbition: Where have their films been released in mainstream cinemas, art
house independant film studios, have they won any awards at festival to
promote their films.
•
Look at Warp’s involvement with the digital distribution
•
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/14539
21
Case Study Working Title
•
Working Title Films is a Britsh film production company, based in England. The company was
founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radcyliff in 1983. It produces feature films and several television
productions. Bevan are now the co-owners of the company along with the conglomorate of
Universal.
•
Working Title Films, the UK film production company behind box office hits including Four
Weddings and a Funeral and Shaun of the Dead,Working Title Television is a joint venture with the
NBC Universal and will be based in London and Los Angeles. NBC Universal is Working Title's
parent company.
•
Some Films they have made
•
The Boat that Rocked, Love Actually, Nottinghill.
•
Ali G Indahouse
Atonement (film)
Bean (film)
The Big Lebowski
Billy Elliot
Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy
The Boat That Rocked
Bob Roberts
The Borrowers (1997 film)
Bridget Jones's Diary (film)
22
12
Continued
•
Working title film has the appearance of being an independent production
company, but it is owned by universal pictures, who distribute its films. The
most notable successes from Working Title are Four Weddings and A funeral,
Bridget Jones’s Diary and High Fidelity, as well as the Cohen brothers films
Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Working Title has a smaller subsidiary
company, WT2, which makes small budget films.
An example of a recent major title from Working Title is Atonement. Unlike many
films produced by British companies, Atonement’s sole production credits are
held by Working Title. However, as a subsidiary of Universal, whether the film
counts as a British film is a matter of debate. The film was distributed by 8
companies: Finnkino Oy Finland, Focus Feature in the USA, Hoyts Distribution
in Australia, Studio Canal in France, TOOHO-Towa in Japan, United
International Pictures in Argentina and Singapore, Universal pictures
International in Holland and Universal Pictures in the UK.
The film was shot entirely in England and was adapted from a novel by British
writer, Ian McEwan . The screenplay was by Christopher Hampton, also British,
and the film featured a mainly British CAST. However, because Working Title is
owned by a major US company, it is not entirely clear whether we can treat this
23
film as ‘British’, using BFI categories.
Warp Films and Working Title
Warp films and working title are two institutions. Warp is an independent
company and working title is a conglomerate company. Conglomerate is a high
budget film, they usually produce Hollywood blockbusters and include a higher
standard quality i.e. special effects; more famous actors/actresses Etc. However,
Independent films usually base their budget from low to medium as they are not
as popular as a conglomerate film, and don’t have such a big amount of money
to work with. Working films have produced many films Love Actually and Four
Weddings. Warp films, have produced a range of films as well, these include; My
Wrongs; Dead Man Shoes and This is England.
Working Title, get their funding from Universal Studios, which is the parent
company of Working Title. They also get a big sum of money from previous films
that they have produced.
Warp films get their funding from NESTA a big company is the filming business.
In the case of Warp films, the budget is low-mid, this affects the genre that they
could work on as an action packed thriller and films that focus on social realism.
24
Task
• Compare the types of films made my both
companies how much do they cost to make
who distributes these films?
25
Film 4 Productions case study
Film4 Productions is a British film production company owned by channel 4. The company
has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the UK. Film 4 does
not have the money that a bigger conglomarate does so most of their films are either
co-funded and made with other studios and not distributed by them. However, Film 4
Productions also owns Film 4 so their films can be shown on this channel. A British
production company – finances British films
•
1982 – 1998 known as Channel 4 film
•
Part of channel 4s remit was to experiment and innovate and cater for audiences not
addressed by other channels
•
Nowadays they fund around 20 films per year
•
A number of films are by first time feature screenwriters or directors
•
They look for distinctive films which will make their mark in a competitive cinema
market
•
Television premieres on FilmFour Channel and Channel 4 2 years after theatrical
release
26
• Film 4 Films
•
David Rose, commissioning editor, “a preference
for contemporary and social political topics”
•
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) portrayed the
homosexual relationship between a white fascist
and a Omar, born in Britain to Pakistani parents.
•
Main audiences were contemporary critical
audiences in the 20 – 30 age ranges
•
Before Laundrette, a large percentage of the
British population went largely unrepresented.
•
Look at how Channel 4’s remit has influenced the
films they make, which are different to the
mainstream and have something to say.
FilmFour made its reputation with films such as Trainspotting in 1996, which made £23m at the box office
but cost only £2.4m to make and launched the career of Ewan McGregor. It was also involved in The Full
Monty, which had a similar budget and made nearly £16m. However, since East is East, with FilmFour
focusing on fewer, more expensive films, it has seen a series of flops with Lucky Break and Charlotte Gray,
starring Cate Blanchett, failing to make a big impact last year.
FilmFour Ltd, the film making division, is distinct from the FilmFour subscription movie channel, for which
executives have high hopes.
27
•
FILM 4 PRODUCTION
•
1996
•
Starring Ewan McGregor in his 2nd film
•
Directed by Danny Boyle a British director
•
A co-production with Figment Films, Polygram and The
Noel Gay Motion Picture co.
•
Budget $3,500,000
1996
•
Marketing:
•
Trainspotting was more an object of youth
culture or popular culture than it was
cinematic
•
Britpop was Trainspotting's main vehicle
to integrate youth subculture into
popular culture.
•
Polygram put large sums of money into a
sophisticated marketing and branding
strategy including posters and a soundtrack
•
Knew film would appeal to clubbers and
ravers so targeted these – Underworld’s
Born Slippy became a massive hit from the
soundtrack
•
Film gained distribution in the US although it
•
David Aukin, Head of Drama at Four Films “it
isn’t really about drugs…it’s a buddy movie”
•
US critics compared the movie to Kubricks ‘A
Clockwork Orange’
•
Both are anti-social-realist films dealing with
subjects – gangs, violence, drugs – which are
stylised and fast-paced.
•
Both are independent films which shocked the
critics and audience
did need subtitles!
28
SYNERGY film 4.
•
s
•
The ‘brand’ Trainspotting
•
Soundtrack
•
Posters
•
DVDs
•
Copied of the screenplay
•
Reprinting of Welsh’s novel featuring the
poster on the cover
•
Music cross-promotion
29
Four weddings
•
1994
•
Starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell
•
Co-production with Polygram and Working Title
•
Budget $6,000,000
•
Marketing: Played upon aspects of national identity
•
Played upon the more ‘naïve’ elements of Britishness
•
Hugh Grants quintessential fumbling middle class
gentleman
•
Appealing to an American audience
•
A universal storyline of romance and a feel good
happy ending
•
SYNERGY: Soundtrack
30
19
Last King of Scotland
• The last king of Scotland is described by Film Four’s
Tessa Ross as the film the company should be most
proud of, because it was directed and written by
home grown talent(Kevin Macdonald and Peter
Morgan), has subject matter that is challenging
political and Hard-hitting and was the result of
partnership with an American Major (Fox Searchlight)
So for Ross this film seems to represent the current
success story of British film and the newly found
ability of producers to attract the current success
story of British film and the newly found ability of
producers to attract American investment for less
31
commercially obvious projects.
The film was produced by 8 companies in collaboration (dna films, Fox
searchlight, film Four, Cowboy films, Scottish Screen, Slate films,
Tatfilm and the UK Film council) and distributed by 3 (Fox searchlight
in the USA, Japan, Holland, Singapore, Argentina and Germany,
Channel 4 films in the UK AND Fox-Warner in Switzerland) The writers
cast and crew were British and American. As these details and the
views of the Head of Film at one of the production companies
demonstrates, this is a good example of a co-funded British film with
British cultural content. Despite the Ugandan setting and political
context, the film portrays the fictional story of a Scottish visitor to
Uganda who is taken in by the dictator running the country, but is
based on real events, hence the title. Despite the claims made for the
film as a British success story, however, this extract from a review in
the San Francisco Chronicle sees things rather differently:
“Now that Hollywood belatedly has gotten around to Amin, he
shares screen time with a fictional character, something the self
aggrandizing general surely would have found galling. But the
brilliance of ‘The Last King of Scotland’ – an immediate
contender for Oscar consideration and a spot on critics’ top 10
lists – is the way it shows his dangerous allure through the eyes
of an innocent.”
32
This is England
• This is England is directed by the midlands director Shane
Meadows. The plot couldn’t be more indigenous, but this is
not the England of films like The Queen, Notting Hill or Pride
and Prejudice. Instead the 1970’s skin head movement, its
uneasy relationship with West Indian culture and its
distortion by the racist national front forms the backdrop for
a story about the adolescent life of a bereaved boy.
Meadows previously had box office and critical success with
a range of other films all based on domestic life and
relationships in the Midlands, including Twenty Four Seven,
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands and Dead Mans Shoes.
In his films the presence or absence of fathers and older
male authority figures and the effects of such on young
working class men are depicted with a mixture of comedy
33
and sometimes disturbing drama.
Another major difference between the Meadows’
output and the more commercially ‘instant’
British films from Working Title and similar
companies, is the importance of cultural
reference points – clothes, music, dialect – that
only a viewer with a cultural familiarity with
provincial urban life in the times depicted would
recognise.
‘This is England’ was produced as a result of
collaboration between no less than 7
companies – Big Arty Productions, EM Media,
Film Four, Optimum releasing, Screen
Yorkshire, The UK Film Council and Warp
Films. It was distributed by 6 organisations –
IFC Films, Netflix. Red Envelope Entertainment
and IFC First Take in the USA, Madman
Entertainment in Australia and Optimum
Releasing in the UK.
34
This is England
•
The critical response to This Is England has largely been to celebrate a
perceived ‘return’ to a kind of cultural reflective film making that was
threatened by extinction in the context of Hollywood’s dominance and the
Governments preference for funding films with an eye on the US market,
as this comment from Nick James, editor of the BFI’s Sight and Sound
magazine shows:
“I forgot when watching Shane Meadows’ moving evocation of
skinhead youth This is England at the London Film Festival, how
culturally specific its opening montage might seem: it goes from
Roland Rat to Margaret Thatcher to the Falklands War to Knight
Rider on television. What will people outside of Northern Europe
make of the regalia of 1980’s skinheads from the midlands?
Hopefully they will be intrigued. This Is England made me realise,
too, that some British films are at last doing exactly what Sight and
Sound has campaigned for; reflecting aspects of British life gain
and maybe suffering the consequences of being harder to sell
abroad.”
35
Slumdog Millionaire
•
2008
•
Funded by Film4
•
Co-production with Celador
and Pathe
•
Directed by Danny Boyle
•
Budget $15,000,000
Text
Synergy:
Book sales
DVDS
Sountrack: Pussycat Dolls
Channel 4 also used it to promote their Indian
Winter week, which promoted their other
shows.
Shown on Channel 4
36
S
lumdog nearly never made the role of the distributor, marketing and promotion. See following links
for case study :
•
DISTRIBUTION
•
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/boyle-reveals-slumdog-millionaire-distributionstruggle-1331821.html
•
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/oscars/article5793160.ece
•
http://content.foxsearchlight.com/inside/node/2803
•
MARKETING:
•
http://www.labnol.org/india/slumdog-millionaire-clever-marketing/6755/
•
http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16147&Title=How_‘Slumdog_Millionaire‘_attr
acted_over_21_million_online_viewers
•
FUNDING
•
http://www.euindiachambers.com/PressRelease/Feb_25_PressRealese_Slumdog%20Millionaire_.html
37
Distribution probems:
• Check out this link to look at Film4
distribution history and how Film 4 nearly
closed:
• http://www.independent.co.uk/artsentertainment/films/news/box-office-flopsmay-force-channel-4-to-close-trainspottingstudio-647656.html
38
Film 4 Exhibition problems
•
One of FilmFour's biggest
problems has been competing
for cinema space with
multinational film companies,
whose films account for more
than two thirds of UK box office
takings. FilmFour blames the
poor box office results on its
lack of clout in the distribution
market rather than the quality
of its films. (BBC on Film Four
Partner Search)
• FILM 4 how it overcame
those problems:
• Originally only subscribers
could access the channel
• The company wasn’t making
enough money through
subscriptions alone
• Relaunched the channel in
July 2006 as a freeview
channel
• Believed they could make
more money through
advertising
• Has become the Uks largest
free film channel available to
18 million homes
39
Exhibition of films
• In Exhibiting films major studios do not
have the same problems with exhibiting
films in cinemas. Cinemas rent the film
they are more interested in mainstream
films. Further, major studios have the
money for marketing, distributing which
makes exhibiting, films easier. Exhibition of
films at film festival for smaller productions
might be more profitable.
40
• Be able to compare your British Case Study with an
American One. 20th Century Fox's Avatar would be a
good choice.
•
20th Century Fox's "Avatar" (2009)
By comparing the film and media
practices of the much larger US
film industry with your own wholly
British Case study you will be able
to appreciate differences in
institutional ownership and media
convergence. You will also be able
to understand conceptually how
the massive budgets of US film
can offer choices of genre not
available to primarily UK
production companies. The types
of films and the scale of their
releases, together with target
audiences can also be examined
and compared. Even the
application of technology and the
growth of 3D films and the
opportunities to produce such
films can be compared.
41
• What you should do
Now you have looked at different film companies both independant and co
owned consider the differences particularly between Film 4 production
company and a big conglomerate like 20th Century Fox. Use Avatar as
an example and look the differences in institutional ownership,
production, scale, budgets, genres, distribution, exhibition, use of
technological convergence, synergies. This comparison will give your
British case study a wider context and you will be better placed to argue how
film practices in the British Film Industry are directly affected by the giant US
conglomerates based in Hollywood.
42
Production: Avatar
• Initial budget 287 million began filming
2005
• Principle Production 2007 utilising 3D
fusion camera system.
• University California developed Navi
language (Dr Paul Frommer)
• Production studio: Lightstorm (owned by
James Cameron) Dune. 20th Century).
43
Distribution Exhibition
• Released 16th December 2009
• 3,457 US theaters, 2032 3D
• 90% tickets were 3D
• Film Value =Cinema-DVD-Blue Ray, Download,
Subscription, Terrestrial TV
• Every film has a tailor-made distribution plan, which the
distributor develops with the producer and or the studio.
The most important strategic decision a distributor makes
are when and how to release the film to optimize its
chances.
44
Marketing
•
•
•
•
•
R-Marketing:
Avatarmovie.com
trailer released 21 august 2009
Action figures for sale
Tie in Merchandising deals with
Mcdonands
• Avatar book deals and Art work
45
46