Media terms - horizontal and vertical integration (types of media ownership and its implications.)
Media critics, such as Robert McChesney, have noted that the current trend within the entertainment industry has been toward the increased concentration of media ownership into the hands of a smaller number of transmedia and transnational conglomerates. Media nowadays tend to be in the hands of those who are rich enough to buy the media such as Rupert Murdoch.
Horizontal integration, that is, the consolidation of holdings across multiple industries, has displaced the old vertical integration of the Hollywood studios. The idea of owning many media outlets, which run almost the same content, is considered to be very productive, since it requires only minor changes of format and information to use in multiple media forms. For example, within a conglomerate, the content used in broadcasting television would be used in broadcasting radio as well, or the content used in hard copy of the newspaper would also be used in online newspaper website.
What emerged are new strategies of content development and distribution designed to increase the “synergy’ between the different divisions of the same company. Studios seek content that can move fluidly across media channels.
From Wikipedia
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Censorship and Film (FS2)
Links for study information on censorship and film
An excellent explanation of British film censorship
http://www.terramedia.co.uk/law/british_film_censorship.htm
The British Board of Film Classification (student pages)
http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/home.asp
Film Censorship - some notes (A really useful overview of the topic broken into accessible sections)
http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/ArticleCensorship.html#1
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
FS2 Exam Technique
Work from the particular (detail) to the general (an overview/overarching argument).
Show academic caution ('possibly' – 'probably')
Students who do best at this paper do the following:
- they give a balanced, direct engagement with the stimulus (the questions and their associated resources)
- they introduce examples from their case studies
- they try to frame their answers within a broader perspective on producers (institutions) and audiences
-they are also able to show comparative distinctions in your arguments
-they onsider questions from a broader perspective by making a brief plan to expand your thinking.
Here's a sample FS2 exam question from 2006
How important are film reviews in determining whether or not people choose to see a film?
To answer this question:
analyse what the question is asking you. Think about its key words and the phrase "how important". That will enable you to give an answer that allows you to weight up the significance of film reviews and consider other things that entice audiences to see films. Some reviewers have more status in some audiences' minds than others. The same goes for magazines, etc.
Other reasons for audiences "choosing" to see films include:
Examiners are under instructions to reward what is in your answer as opposed to what is not there. Convincing answers that are not mentioned in the bullet points above will also be rewarded.
Show academic caution ('possibly' – 'probably')
Students who do best at this paper do the following:
- they give a balanced, direct engagement with the stimulus (the questions and their associated resources)
- they introduce examples from their case studies
- they try to frame their answers within a broader perspective on producers (institutions) and audiences
-they are also able to show comparative distinctions in your arguments
-they onsider questions from a broader perspective by making a brief plan to expand your thinking.
Here's a sample FS2 exam question from 2006
How important are film reviews in determining whether or not people choose to see a film?
To answer this question:
analyse what the question is asking you. Think about its key words and the phrase "how important". That will enable you to give an answer that allows you to weight up the significance of film reviews and consider other things that entice audiences to see films. Some reviewers have more status in some audiences' minds than others. The same goes for magazines, etc.
Other reasons for audiences "choosing" to see films include:
- the film may be part of a franchise and thus have its own in-built fanbase
- the director may be the film's selling point
- the stars that are in the film may appeal to fans
- some audiences prefer films with no stars
- word of mouth is always important for influencing audiences to see a film
- there may be a fad or trend to see the film within an age-group given the publicity it has garnered.
- parts of reviews may have become part of the film posters and convinced sections of audiences to see it.
- etc.
Examiners are under instructions to reward what is in your answer as opposed to what is not there. Convincing answers that are not mentioned in the bullet points above will also be rewarded.
Topics to cover for the FS2 exam
FS2 Producers and Audiences: Hollywood and British Cinema
Main study areas and topic within each area to study for the exam. You may not be able to cover them all – but we can cover a range of topics within each area. Add examples where possible to your case study.
Films as products
The global and local dimensions of film
Hollywood
Film Studios
Films as commercial products
Adaptability of the film industry
Filmmaking: the process
Film production, distribution and exhibition
You will need an overview and examples exam questions
Useful websites:
www.hollywoodreporter.com
www.filmfestivals.com
www.variety.com
Audiences as fans and consumers
The early cinema experience ( nice to know but unlikely to come up)
Changing patterns of consumption including multi-screen cinemas and home cinema ( a favourite topic in the exam)
the role of the audience in the filmmaking process
Censorship and classification
Fan power
Industry power
Globalization
Examine a range of example exam questions (see a previous post for examples of these)
Useful websites for further research:
www.bbfc.co.uk (The British Board of Film Classification)
www.bfi.org.uk
www.disney.co.uk or disney.go.com
www.newscorp.com
www.sony.net
www.timewarner.com
(Websites such as the last four above give a powerful sense of the global reach of such corporations and the immediate visual impression of the range of interlocking media owned by each of them.)
www.cjr.org (up-to-date information on who own what in the media entertainments industry.)
Stars – what are they and why do we have them?
Your experience of stars
Stars – the concept of being "a star" and whether stars have international stardom or localised stardom within Britain. (Does it matter for the British film industry whether a British star is also an international star and a bigt name in the US?)
How do stars' private lives tie-in with their screen personas (how their publicity agents project them and how their roles are influenced by their lives offscreen.
Examine a range of example exam questions
Useful websites:
www.entertainment.co.uk
www.film.guardian.co.uk
www.imdb.com
Hollywood back in the day and Hollywood today – Old Hollywood and New Hollywood
Old Hollywood and New Hollywood. How does Hollywood today compare with the Hollywood of the 1940s-50s?
Actors, directors and agents
Producers
Production: an overview
Distribution in Old Hollywood and New Hollywood
Examine a range of example exam questions
Useful website:
www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Is the British film industry in any way distinctive and different?
How does it cope with having to survive in the shadow of Hollywood?
A distinctive and different cinema
Surviving in the shadows
Useful websites:
www.filmcouncil.org
www.skillset.org/film
New technologies in the film industry
Film and technology
Film and changes in technology (think about the representation of reality (see a previous video) and changes in how films are distributed today and will be in future.)
Main study areas and topic within each area to study for the exam. You may not be able to cover them all – but we can cover a range of topics within each area. Add examples where possible to your case study.
Films as products
The global and local dimensions of film
Hollywood
Film Studios
Films as commercial products
Adaptability of the film industry
Filmmaking: the process
Film production, distribution and exhibition
You will need an overview and examples exam questions
Useful websites:
www.hollywoodreporter.com
www.filmfestivals.com
www.variety.com
Audiences as fans and consumers
The early cinema experience ( nice to know but unlikely to come up)
Changing patterns of consumption including multi-screen cinemas and home cinema ( a favourite topic in the exam)
the role of the audience in the filmmaking process
Censorship and classification
Fan power
Industry power
Globalization
Examine a range of example exam questions (see a previous post for examples of these)
Useful websites for further research:
www.bbfc.co.uk (The British Board of Film Classification)
www.bfi.org.uk
www.disney.co.uk or disney.go.com
www.newscorp.com
www.sony.net
www.timewarner.com
(Websites such as the last four above give a powerful sense of the global reach of such corporations and the immediate visual impression of the range of interlocking media owned by each of them.)
www.cjr.org (up-to-date information on who own what in the media entertainments industry.)
Stars – what are they and why do we have them?
Your experience of stars
Stars – the concept of being "a star" and whether stars have international stardom or localised stardom within Britain. (Does it matter for the British film industry whether a British star is also an international star and a bigt name in the US?)
How do stars' private lives tie-in with their screen personas (how their publicity agents project them and how their roles are influenced by their lives offscreen.
Examine a range of example exam questions
Useful websites:
www.entertainment.co.uk
www.film.guardian.co.uk
www.imdb.com
Hollywood back in the day and Hollywood today – Old Hollywood and New Hollywood
Old Hollywood and New Hollywood. How does Hollywood today compare with the Hollywood of the 1940s-50s?
Actors, directors and agents
Producers
Production: an overview
Distribution in Old Hollywood and New Hollywood
Examine a range of example exam questions
Useful website:
www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Is the British film industry in any way distinctive and different?
How does it cope with having to survive in the shadow of Hollywood?
A distinctive and different cinema
Surviving in the shadows
Useful websites:
www.filmcouncil.org
www.skillset.org/film
New technologies in the film industry
Film and technology
Film and changes in technology (think about the representation of reality (see a previous video) and changes in how films are distributed today and will be in future.)
Sunday, 4 May 2008
FS1 Storyboards or scriptwriting for coursework
There will be some changes next year but for this year the following advice should pay off.
The synopsis
When writing your synopsis carefully consider the genre and its generic elements as you construct a scene. Think also about the narrative structure of your scene.
The cinematography and editing
Your scene should be between 15-25 shots with shot numbers, timings, mise-en-scene and a variety of shots including camera angle and movement. You might also consider the types of focus you might want to use. (Try to avoid too much still camera.) Show the examiner that you can visualise your scene in an imaginative manner that helps communicate your film. Several shots could be typical of the film's genre. (For instance in a comedy you might use a canted shot.) Show also that you can use a repertoire of edits, although you also need to be sensible and use a range of edits where appropriate.
Cinematic Ideas
Pull together the ideas that you used to construct the scene and be conscious of how you tried to construct it using film language, genre and narrative. Place your scene within the wider narrative of the film. Think about the structure of the narrative in your scene and how it fits within the film's plot. You could also explain here how you were influenced by films that share the same genre and how you tried to emulate shots, or part of a scene.
Evaluation
Consider the problems that you faced in film language, narrative and genre and how you overcame them. Perhaps you shifted from a storyboard to a script because you are more of a writer than someone who can visualise and lay that vision out in the form of a storyboard. Point out here responses to your work from other students and tutors in how you met aspects of the genre and whether they made any suggestions on changes you might make to your treatment of the genre, cinematography, mise-en-scene or narrative.
The above is not an exhaustive list. Just treat it as a starting point in your work.
1. Synopsis - about 200 words. [5 marks]
2. The Storyboard - about 25 shots. [20 marks]
3. Cinematic Ideas - about 200 words. [5 marks]
4. Evaluation - 400 - 500 words. [10 marks]
The synopsis
When writing your synopsis carefully consider the genre and its generic elements as you construct a scene. Think also about the narrative structure of your scene.
The cinematography and editing
Your scene should be between 15-25 shots with shot numbers, timings, mise-en-scene and a variety of shots including camera angle and movement. You might also consider the types of focus you might want to use. (Try to avoid too much still camera.) Show the examiner that you can visualise your scene in an imaginative manner that helps communicate your film. Several shots could be typical of the film's genre. (For instance in a comedy you might use a canted shot.) Show also that you can use a repertoire of edits, although you also need to be sensible and use a range of edits where appropriate.
Cinematic Ideas
Pull together the ideas that you used to construct the scene and be conscious of how you tried to construct it using film language, genre and narrative. Place your scene within the wider narrative of the film. Think about the structure of the narrative in your scene and how it fits within the film's plot. You could also explain here how you were influenced by films that share the same genre and how you tried to emulate shots, or part of a scene.
Evaluation
Consider the problems that you faced in film language, narrative and genre and how you overcame them. Perhaps you shifted from a storyboard to a script because you are more of a writer than someone who can visualise and lay that vision out in the form of a storyboard. Point out here responses to your work from other students and tutors in how you met aspects of the genre and whether they made any suggestions on changes you might make to your treatment of the genre, cinematography, mise-en-scene or narrative.
The above is not an exhaustive list. Just treat it as a starting point in your work.
1. Synopsis - about 200 words. [5 marks]
2. The Storyboard - about 25 shots. [20 marks]
3. Cinematic Ideas - about 200 words. [5 marks]
4. Evaluation - 400 - 500 words. [10 marks]
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Analysing Film Posters - repost (film marketing)
Click on this film poster to enlarge
One of the things you NEED to do for your FS2 case studies is analsye various types of trailers and film posters. Here's some advice and a checklist for analysing your film posters. Remember that representation in posters can vary in different countries as the audiences and cultural preferences are taken into account.
One of the things you NEED to do for your FS2 case studies is analsye various types of trailers and film posters. Here's some advice and a checklist for analysing your film posters. Remember that representation in posters can vary in different countries as the audiences and cultural preferences are taken into account.Analysing Movie Posters
Posters occupy a space between art and advertising. They have a clear commercial purpose - to promote an event or product - but they also have artistic value. People buy them and hang them on their walls. Museums have whole galleries devoted to poster art. When analysing a poster it is important that you evaluate both how well it fulfils its purpose (ie promotion) as well as its aesthetic value. ("aesthetic value" means their value as artistic creations.)
First Steps when analysing a poster
you should consider the following broad questions before you start to focus on the details:
- What are the main colours used in the poster and what do they connote?
- What symbols are used in the poster?
- Do you need audience foreknowledge to decode the symbols?
- What are the main figures/objects/background of the poster? Are they represented photographically, graphically, or illustratively?
- Are the messages in the poster primarily visual, verbal, or both?
- Who do you think is the intended audience for the poster?
- Given that all movie posters have the same purpose - to get audiences to go see a movie - what persuasive techniques are used by the poster?
- Which genre conventions are referred to?
- Is a star used as a USP (unique selling point)? Where is the star in its mise-en-scene? Why?
- Are "expert witnesses" (ie critics) quoted?
- What pleasures (gratifications) are promised by the poster?
- How is attention gained (humour, shock, surprise)?
- How does the tagline work? (humour, pun, alliteration etc?)
Production Constraints
The poster can also give you important information about the production context of the movie:
- how much does the poster tell you about the institutional context of the movie's production?
- how important is this information on the poster (think about information hierarchies)?
- how important a part of the whole marketing campaign is the poster?
- Where is the poster placed?
- How expensive was this poster to produce?
Critical Evaluation
Finally, you have to pass judgement on the poster.
- Is it an effective poster? Why?
- Does it communicate effectively with the audience?
- Are there any alternative readings which might harm the message of the marketing campaign?
- Is the poster offensive in any way?
Some of the information here was taken in part from the Mediaknowall website and other web sources to form this post.
Question spotting for the FS2 exam
Check to see which types of areas usually get questions and make sure that your case studies (for Hollywood and British films) help you answer them.
2006 Questions
How important are film reviews in determining whether or not people choose to see a film?
What different kinds of attraction are offered to audiences by ‘home cinema’ compared with seeing a film at the cinema?
What is the significance of a large film company like Warner Bros being part of an even larger media empire (stimulus – chart)
How important is it for the British film industry to have internationally recognised stars? (The stimulus were film posters of Kiera Knightley)
January 2006
What is the importance for audiences of the images used in movie posters and dvd covers? (posters)
What do you find interesting in the pattern of cinema-going by age group in the UK today? (British cinema ) (stimulus – chart)
What is the value to the film industry of having stories about the private lives of stars presented in the media? (Stimulus – articles)
Do you think it is a good idea to require UK television companies to put money into the financing of UK films? (Stimulus – articles) British Films
2008
How are audiences attracted to different kinds of films? (stimulus – film posters)
How far does your experience of watching films depend upon the technology used to view them? (stimulus – user reviews of blue ray disc of “Black Hawk Down”)
(How far does the power of stars influence which films are made in Hollywood? (stimulus – comments on George Clooney and Tom Cruise on how George managed to get his films made and how Tom chose his films.)
What strategies do you think can be used to create a successful British Film Industry?
2006 Questions
How important are film reviews in determining whether or not people choose to see a film?
What different kinds of attraction are offered to audiences by ‘home cinema’ compared with seeing a film at the cinema?
What is the significance of a large film company like Warner Bros being part of an even larger media empire (stimulus – chart)
How important is it for the British film industry to have internationally recognised stars? (The stimulus were film posters of Kiera Knightley)
January 2006
What is the importance for audiences of the images used in movie posters and dvd covers? (posters)
What do you find interesting in the pattern of cinema-going by age group in the UK today? (British cinema ) (stimulus – chart)
What is the value to the film industry of having stories about the private lives of stars presented in the media? (Stimulus – articles)
Do you think it is a good idea to require UK television companies to put money into the financing of UK films? (Stimulus – articles) British Films
2008
How are audiences attracted to different kinds of films? (stimulus – film posters)
How far does your experience of watching films depend upon the technology used to view them? (stimulus – user reviews of blue ray disc of “Black Hawk Down”)
(How far does the power of stars influence which films are made in Hollywood? (stimulus – comments on George Clooney and Tom Cruise on how George managed to get his films made and how Tom chose his films.)
What strategies do you think can be used to create a successful British Film Industry?
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