"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area?

"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area? 

I would definitely agree that convergence and synergy are vital to the marketing of a media product, in this case film. Due to modern technological advances the role of different technologies in the marketing of a film is only increasing in importance, with things like social networks and the internet being of increasing importance, and the internet provides a way for media companies to reach a very broad audience.

Convergence is when a technology accidentally works in unison with a media company/product to promote it, for example most films have trailers on YouTube (which wasn't the sites intended purpose), most of which have a very large audience reach. Furthermore, when most people want to view a trailer for a film they just look it up on YouTube, meaning that it is a good way for them to reach their target audience cheaply and effectively. After all it is free to post videos on YouTube. It also plays a key part in companies with a smaller budget/influence, as they don't have the wealth to pay for a large campaign. Fans of the film can also inadvertently promote it by posting fan made trailers or by re-posting the trailer themselves.

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook also play a key part in media convergence as they allow fans to talk to each other about the film, and the media company themselves to directly address lots of its target audience. For example if Marvel post news about The Avengers to their Facebook page, all the people who "like" them on Facebook will see it, therefore advertising the movie.

Synergy is the opposite of this, it is when a media product is helped by another company/technology deliberately, in an advantageous manner for their film. This includes most advertising, such as TV adverts, web adverts etc. It also includes less obvious things like advertising on food or drinks. This could be seen as a more effective way of reaching their target audience, as it is deliberately planned to be most effective.

“Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices”

Successful Media Products Depend as Much Upon Marketing and Distribution to a Specific Audience as They Do...

Grand Budapest Hotel - Comprehension

Cast:
Monsieur Gustave - Ralph Fiennes
Zero - Tony Revolori
Madame D - Tilda Swinton
Deputy Kovacs - Jeff Goldblum
Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis - Adrien Brody
Inspector Henckels  - Edward Norton
Agatha - Saoirse Ronan
Monsieur Jean - Jason Schwartzman
Jopling - Willem Dafoe
Ludwig - Harvey Keitel
Monsieur Chuck - Owen Wilson
Monsieur Ivan - Bill Murray
Serge X - Mathieu Amalric
Mr Moustafa - F. Murray Abraham
Author - Tom Wilkinson/Jude Law
Monsieur Martin - Bob Balaban


Questions:
Where did scouting for a hotel take place?

Which location did the production team eventually use?

Did they film on location or on a sound stage?

Where were the production offices located?

How did they film the 60's and 30's hotel?

Where did inspiration for the hotel's interior come from?

How many extras did it take to fill the loby?

Grand Budapest Hotel - Research

What is Indian Paintbrush and who owns it?

It's a production company, owned by billionaire Steven M. Rales, it funded many of Wes Anderson's films including Darjeeling Ltd., Fantastic Mr Fox, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Which company is Fox Searchlight a subsiduary of?

Fox Entertainment Group, which is the sister company of 20th Century Fox.

Which type of films do Fox Searchlight distribute?

It specialises in distributing independent or British films in America.

Which two countries financed the film?

The film is a co-production between German and Britain.

What did Anderson use instead of CGI (computer generated imagery)?

He made miniature models instead, as he decided that since audiences would know that the shot was artificial, computer-generated effects or otherwise, "The particular brand of artificiality that I like to use is an old-fashioned one."

Where did the inspiration for the Hotel come from?

Anderson and the production designer toured Europe looking at grand hotels from that era for inspiration.

Which film festival opened with The Grand Budapest Hotel?

The 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

Alexanre Desplat wrote the score, which major Hollywood films has he worked on?

Desplat has worked on a variety of Hollywood films, including Darnell Scott, and commercial successes like The Queen, The Golden Compass, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The King's Speech, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Godzilla.

How many awards has the film won?

It's won 5 awards and has one pending, such as Best Costume Design and Best Feature Film.

Initially how many cinemas did the film open on in the US?
The film opened in 4 cinemas.

How much did it average per cinema?

$202791.50
The film was released on Ultraviolet BluRay, what does this enable consumers to do?
Ultraviolet is a service which offers a free digital copy of the film bought to be watched on a variety of devices (phones, smart tvs etc.)

Which companies do not support Ultraviolet?
Metro Goldwyn Meyer, Disney and Columbia Pictures are the only major studios which are not involved with Ultraviolet.

What complaints did Ultraviolet encounter when it launched?

Redemption sheets that come with physical discs often direct consumers to studio operated sites that may require registration, and often confuse users. This was a big problem when the service first launched, and caused a backlash among consumers.

Sexuality Infographic

Representation of sexuality | Create Infographics

Hobbit Documentary

Spooks - Representation of Ethnicity

Spooks - Ethnicity Representation

Regional Identity

Scottish:

- Accent

Scottish people stereotypically have strong accents in their media portrayals, often used for humorous effect.

- Location/Setting

There are two main types of Scottish setting, usually very remote, rural areas like the highlands or in urban areas like Glasgow or Edinburgh.

- Slang

Scottish slang is very distinctive with words such as : "wee", "bairn", "aye" and "steamin".

- Clothes

Scottish people traditionally wear kilts (tartan skirts), Tom O' Shanter (those weird bobbly hats) and just tartan in general.

- Pastimes

Playing the bagpipes, getting drunk and playing the highland games.

- Attitudes/Behaviour

They are usually portrayed as angry or aggressive, whilst being quite loud.

Yorkshire:

- Accent

The accent varies depending on the representation, but whilst not always being strong it is usually quite noticeable.
- Location/Setting
Yorkshire settings are usually quite rural, with lots of hills and fields, often in TV dramas Yorkshire settings are small villages.
- Slang
Phrases like "eeh by gum" and words such as "nowt" and "gander".
- Clothes
Yorkshire men usually wear tweed jackets and flat caps, whilst the women don't really have a set stereotypical dress.
- Pastimes
Stereotypical Yorkshire pastimes include smoking pipes, walking around and going to the pub.
- Attitudes/Behaviour
Yorkshire people are represented to be very proud of being from Yorkshire, whilst being stubborn and argumentative.

London:
- Accent:
In TV dramas Londoners usually have strong, cockney accents, as this is the most famous/recognisable of them. Usually for effect or for humour.
- Location/Setting
Usually very urban as it's set in London, either the glossier, more touristy areas of London or the grimier residential side of things.
- Slang
The most famous London slang is Cockney rhyming slang, e.g. apples & pears -> stairs.
- Clothes
As London is the capital, it is seen as the place where most fashions originate, and therefore the most fashionable. So Londoners are usually represented as either dressing quite fashionably.
- Pastimes
Londoners don't really have a specific stereotypical pastime, but certain jobs can be seen as especially "London" such as being a market trader.
- Attitudes/Behaviour
They are presented as quite down to earth, whilst being quite in your face and loud.

Representation of Disability

Disabled people are often represented as incapable or incompetent, they are also considered to be unintelligent and are usually made to be figures of humour. In 1991 Paul Hunt identified 10 ways in which the media portrays disabled people, they are:

• The disabled person as pitiable or pathetic
• An object of curiosity or violence
  
• Sinister or evil
  
• The super cripple
  
• As atmosphere
  
• Laughable
  
• His/her own worst enemy
  
• As a burden
  
• As Non-sexual
  
• Being unable to participate in daily life

Whilst these stereotypes are often not true in real life, they are fairly accurate for media representation.

In this clip the disabled character is represented as bitter, or angry at there disablement, and also patronised by their brother, which is helping to support the negative stereotypes of disabled people in the media. The representation is also accurate of the descriptions Paul Hunt identified as in this clip, the disabled character is represented as their own worst enemy, as no one really does anything to wind him up, but he appears resentful of his condition and stops himself from doing 'normal' things.

In the clip, he is represented as such mainly by his actions as a character, however the majority of the camera angles are looking down onto the disabled character, which whilst only a small thing does help to build the image of a marginalised character. Later on, the disabled character has to be helped to the toilet by his brother, which further supports the idea of disabled people being reliant on others.

On the whole, disabled characters are represented as just that, unable to do things that able bodied characters can.

Paramount - The Big Six

  Paramount Pictures | Create Infographics

Gender Stereotypes - TV Drama

In their broadest form, gender stereotypes in TV drama are usually about the strength and dominance of men, and the weakness and submission of women. Some slightly more specific stereotypes (more dependent on the context of the TV drama) are that men may be arrogant, cocky, and unemotional, whereas women are the opposite; being portrayed as calm, considerate and emotional. However with increasing frequency, females are being presented as the more intellectually strong gender, and many popular TV dramas feature a sly female character.

In this clip from BBC mystery drama Sherlock, there is a confrontation between the protagonist Sherlock, his partner Watson and the newly introduced antagonist Irene Adler. Contrary to the usual gender stereotypes, and Sherlock and Watson having the bigger physical presence, Irene seems to dominate the pair of them with her intelligence and confidence. She is almost the complete counter-stereotype for a woman, however the use of her nakedness to give her power over the men is bit of a classic female stereotype in TV.

A good example of the classic gender stereotype in TV is Skins, the male characters are often portrayed as being arrogant, and obsessed with girls, whereas the female characters often just become objects of lust for the males. Whilst this isn't always the case there are plenty of examples of it, e.g. Tony after Michelle in season 1 & 2 and Cook and Freddie after Effy in season 3 & 4. The majority male characters strive to meet the male stereotype of appearing virile and masculine, whilst a lot of the female characters are trying to meet their stereotype.

The Male Gaze - Booty

Right from just seeing the title of the song, sexual content is implied, "Booty" of course being a popular slang word for the (usually female) rear end. The video opens with a countdown, which isn't really that relevant, but when we first see the shot of the two featured women, it doesn't open on their faces but instead a view from the waist down.

This is a brilliant example of the male gaze, because after all, this is how men would stereotypically view women in the media. No face is included in the shot, which backs up the idea that the male gaze denies women an identity, and objectifies them. She is clearly playing up to the concept of the male gaze, as she is showing her assets to the camera unashamedly. The way she is

Here we see one of the women looking back into the camera, using the 'sexual' look, the description of which is 'the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-head, or the overtly sensual or sexual' which pretty accurately sums up this picture. Once again this shows how the women in the video (Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea) are playing up to the concept of the gaze.

Here Lopez has an almost aggressive demeanour, this time her face is in shot, however it is obscured by her glasses, so she is still objectified to an extent.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Pre-Production:
- Is the film an original idea, a remake, a sequel or an adaptation (or a combination)? 
The film is an adaptation of "The Hobbit" the immensely successful, high-fantasy novel by J.R.R Tolkien.

- Who is the director?
Peter Jackson, the director of the successful Lord of the Rings adaptation trilogy.

- Which studio(s) are making the film?
New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, WingNut Films.

- What size budget did it have?
$200-315 million

- Which 'stars' signed up to be in the film?
Ian McKelle, Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom.

- How long did it take from 'green light' to filming commencing?
The hobbit was green lit around mid-October 2010, and filming began on March 21, 2011. So it took around 5 and a half months.


Production:
- Where was it 'filmed'?
It was primarily filmed on location in New Zealand, but for certain scenes sets and green screens were used.

- How was it filmed (3D, 2D, CGI)?
It was filmed at 48fps, the first wide release to do so, however when the film was released     the majority of the showings were in the converted, industry standard 24 fps. There was       also a lot of 

- Any problems it faced?
The New Zealand film workers held a strike mid-way through the production of the film to try and keep the film's production in New Zealand after the film's locations where set to change.
  
Post-Production:
- Does it rely on special effects?
Throughout the movie there is repeated use of special effects, and a lot of the main plot points are reliant on CGI, for example the main antagonist is a dragon which obviously aren't real.


- What sort of special effects are used?
Mainly computer generated images (CGI), however some of the set features are probably special effects (physically there when filming) e.g. pyrotechnics or animatronic props.


- Was 3D added AFTER filming?
No, the whole film was recorded in 3D, the action sequences were recorded in HFR 3D, meaning high frame rate 3D.


- Did it require any RE SHOOTS
No.
Marketing:
- How was the film marketed (find AT LEAST 5 different promotional tools)
Posters, trailers, premiers, web ads and promotional giveaway's (McDonalds toys, etc).

- Where was the films premier?
New Zealand (Nov 28, 2012).

Why did Dredd fail at the Box Office?

Why Did Dredd Flop at the Box Office

Dredd - Fact File

Pre-Production

Who were the films producer, distributor and and script writer?
The film was produced by Alex Garland, Andrew MacDonald and Allon Reich of DNA films and was distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors and Lionsgate. It's script was written by Alex Garland.

Who are Lionsgate?
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (or Lionsgate) is a Canadian-American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 3, 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. As of November 2013, it is the most commercially successful mini major film and television distribution company in North America and the seventh most profitable movie studio. 

Who are IM Global?
Stuart Ford founded IM GLOBAL in 2007. The company is one of the leading film financing, sales and distribution companies in the world, championing a wide variety of cinema, including mainstream commercial, art house, foreign language and genre fare. IM Global's core business is international film sales and licensing. In 2013, IM Global’s international sales division ranked #1 in international box office market share amongst independent film companies. Since it’s inception, IM Global has accumulated a diverse and valuable worldwide library of over 160 titles and the company’s films have collectively grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

Who are DNA films?
DNA Films is a British film production company founded by Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew Macdonald. It is very closely linked to Fox Searchlight, and receives a lot of its funding from it. They have also worked with Lionsgate on several pictures.

How was funding for DNA originally split?
The company originally had $50 million, half of it coming from Fox, the remainder coming from DNA themselves, via the Arts council of England.

Why did they need to maintain there relationship with Fox?
Because they had a guaranteed release commitment with them, and they have a lot of resources to help the studio attain success. They are also a boig supplier for Fox and have enjoyed a mutually beneficial agreement for a long time.

When did Lionsgate announce their three picture deal with IM global?
The three films (Dredd, Expendables sequel and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) were announced during November 2012.

Where did Carl Urban announce his role as 'Dredd'?
He announced it at Comic-Con in July 2010, to Collider.com.

Why might this attract the target audience?
Since Comic-Con is a comic book based convention, and the film is based off a popular comic book series, this was a good way to announce the role to a large amount of people who will likely be interested in the film.

How much money did Dredd make from pre-sales?
IM global has sold the rights to the film around the world, making around $30 million, it had a $45 million budget.

How much did a distributer pay for the rights to show the film in the UK?
They sold the UK rights to Blighty Distrib Entertainment, at the price of $7 million.

Where was Dredd filmed?
The majority of the film is filmed in South Africa, in cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town, then the use of CGI to make the cites look like a dystopian mega-city.


Production
When was the 'lawmaker' gun built and designed?
It was first designed as a physical prop in 1995 for the original film, however the 2012 movie had different props designed for it, including a working 'airsoft' model of a block, with a aesthetic shell and LCD screen over it and several rubber or plastic models.

During which other UK film was the 'slo mo' sequences designed?
The slo mo sequences were made during the production of another of Alex Garland's films, 'Never Let Me Go.

How did the film makers feel about making an 18 rated film?
Alex Garland says that he didn't really think about the certification of the film, he just made it and the content happened to be 18 rated, as it fitted the context of the fiction. However he comments on the fact that the films lack of studios restrictions allowed them to be more open with their content.

How long did it take to film Dredd?
Filming started in November 2010 and took about 13 weeks, 3D cameras and high sped (slow mo) cameras were used throughout.

Which Camera(s) were used to film Dredd?
RED MX cameras and SI2Ks, Phantom Flex highspeed, and multiple rigs shooting at the same time on first and second unit.

Why did they need to create new camera rigs?
To get the cameras 'closer to the action'.

Post-Production
What issue affected the films editing?
They found that replicating the comic visuals of blocks close together made the blocks appear small. Instead they allowed more space between the buildings to emphasise the larger buildings and allow for the presence of roads and cars to allow for extrapolation outside of the picture. Outcrops and appendages were added to break up the buildings's straight lines.

Distribution and Marketing

How many cinemas Dredd released in and how many only showed it in 3D?
Dredd opened at 2506 locations, of which approximately 2200 are 3D.

How did producers begin marketing Dredd3D?
They advertised it at Comic-Con, a large comic book convention, aiming to hit a large proportion of its target audience of males under 25. 

What viral marketing campaign did producers use for Dredd?
Lionsgate partnered with publisher 2000AD and Motion Comic to create an online comic
strip prequel to “Dredd.” They also launched a website called "Dredd Report" parodying the news aggregation website "Drudge Report", the website featured articles condemning the use of slo-mo, and links to news about the film.

The film premiered at Fantastic Fest, what is it and why would this appeal to the films target audience?
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival, specialising in: horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action, asian and cult. The festival goers would therefore have a vested interest in at least one of these genres, a few of which Dredd falls into.

What awards did the film's marketing campaign win?
It won the "Golden Trailer Award" for best thriller TV spot for the trailer "Big Addicted". The campaign was also nominated for Best Action TV Spot, Most Original TV Spot, Best Graphics in a TV Spot, Best Music TV Spot, and Best Action Poster and Most Original Poster for the Dredd motion poster.

How much money did the film gross at Box Office?
It earned $6,278,491 in it's opening weekend and $13,401,683 overall, it is estimated to have had a $50,000,000 budget, so it was a pretty huge failure.

What unusual step did the film's UK distributors take to ensure people watched in 3D?
Lionsgate refused many cinemas requests for 2D versions of the film, meaning that at many cinemas the film was only available in 3D.

What percentage of audiences are physically incapable of seeing a 3D image?
It is estimated to be between 12 and 30%.

What percentage of light is lost in a 3D film?
30% of light is lost from the film, due to blurred edges surrounding moving objects, and high proportion of seemingly 2D scenes within 3D movies are often cited as drawbacks of electing to watch movies in the format.

Which film was Dredd unfortunate to be released after?
Dredd opened in the wake of Gareth Evans's The Raid, with which it shares a (coincidentally) similar plot – lawmen fighting their way through a tower block of terror.

In the UK which position in the DVD charts did Dredd occupy?
It was the number 1 Blu-Ray and DVD during it's opening week on DVD.

What might this show about the decision to allow only a 3D release?
The fact that it was such as success as a home media, shows that viewers weren't really interested in viewing it in 3D, so if it had good coverage in 2D at the Box Office, it may well have done a lot better.

In the US which audience demographic was the largest?
The largest portion of the audience was over 25's (69%) and male (75%).

How many units did Dredd sell on DVD/Blu-Ray in the US?
Approximately 650,000.

How much money did this bring in?
Approximately $10,000,000. 

Sexuality Representation

Sexuality Representation

Representation - Lester Burnham

Mise en Scene
Everything in shot looks very picturesque, or carefully arranged, apart from Lester's bed; clearly he is not a very tidy man himself, but the fact the house is so immaculately arranged shows he is not the master of the house. At first impression, before you see his wife and child, you would assume he was single. Due to the masturbation in the shower, and the fact he was alone in bed. The contrast between him and his wife is huge, her appearance matches that of the house, carefully kept in check to maintain a certain image. Whereas Lester's appearance is the opposite, quickly thrown together and haggard. This appearance gap is significant, as it applies to the relationship of the pair as well. When we first see Lester there is a shaft of light shining on to his bed, as if he was in prison with only a single window, which pretty accurately sums up how the clip portrays him. Trapped.

Camera Shots
The clip opens with an establishing shot of the neighborhood, which helps set the scene, knowing he Lester lives in a very generic sub-urban location, this is followed by a longshot and midshot of Lester. As a viewer I immediately got the impression that he was bored, or unhappy with his lifestyle. When he's in the shower, the use of a close up showing his facial expression reinforces a feeling of boredom or dissatisfaction. An arc shot follows which shows him masturbating, his posture doesn't suggest enjoyment though, just boredom again.

Sound
It's Lester's voice narrating throughout the clip, which is very monotonous and helps set the picture of a man who feels trapped and bored, the music in relation to his voice is very upbeat, and doesn't really match the pictures being shown on screen, but this helps put emphasis on just how monotonous his voice is.

Tony Representation

Representations

Who is he?
An older male, of Caucasian ethnicity, from the look of his clothing and demeanor, he is probably homeless/very poor. He may just be trying to imitate this look though, as despite having patched up clothes, they are clean and in good condition. His shoes also look expensive and in relatively good condition.

What does he do?
He is a model or actor posing for a photograph to be taken, he probably usually plays/models characters of a certain type (old, haggard looking).

What's his story?
He started off as a homeless man, then was scouted to realistically play/model a homeless character, then made a career out of it.

Who is she?

She's an elderly female fashion designer, she's dressed incredibly flamboyantly/eccentrically, displaying her latest rang of clothes.

What does she do?
Makes and sells clothes she makes, if all of them are as disgusting as the ones she is wearing then she probably does so unsuccessfully.

What's her story?
She was always a bit odd, and she made her own clothes throughout her life, one day someone sarcastically suggested she sell them and she actually went through with it.

Who is he?

A stressed out, middle-aged man. Probably fairly well off but doesn't enjoy the money much because he is always stressing out.

What does he do?
Sells designer sunglasses to tourists/rich customers at his shop that has a pretentious name.

What's his story? 
Grew up in a wealthy family, never had to work for anything as a child and coasted his way through education getting mediocre qualifications, and borrowing money off his parents to set up his shop.

Camera Shots, Angle and Movement

Basic Camera Angles

Basic Camera Movements

Basic Camera Shots

Examples:

Throughout this clip there is repeated use of the close up and the mid-shot.

For the first minute and a half of this video, there is repeated use of the over the shoulder shot, two shot.

The clip starts with an establishing shot/crane shot, then proceeds to use a mixture of long shots, mid shots and pan shots.

The majority of this clip is point of view shot.

This clip utilizes repeatedly the tracking shot, with bits of arc, pan and tilt mixed in.

A sideways track (crab shot) is used right at the start of the clip, with zoom used later on.

Textual Analysis and Representation (The 7 key areas of representation)

Technical elements (in the last post) create specific representations of individuals, groups, events or places and help to articulate specific messages and values that have social significance. 

Particular areas of representation that may be chosen are:

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Ethnicity
4. Sexuality
5. Class and status
6. Physical ability/disability
7. Regional identity

Textual Analysis and Representation (The 4 key areas of textual anaysis)

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement, Composition

· Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these.

· Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.

· Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.

· Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.

· Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.

· Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound

· Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

· Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.

Mise-en-Scène

· Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.

· Lighting; colour design.

The British Film Industry and America's influence Questions

British Film Questions

What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?

- 15%

What was this % in 2009?
- 6.8%

What might this change indicate about British film?
- It is becoming more successful over time, or at least dominating a larger percentage of the market.

What films have been responsible for this change?
- Skyfall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and Oscar-winning hit The King's Speech.

What % of the British film industry makes a profit?
- 7%

What % of Hollywood films make a profit?

- 17%

How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?

- Only 4% of films with £2m or smaller budgets made a profit, whereas 17% of films costing £10m or more making a profit.

What might we infer from this difference?

- Bigger budget films are, on the whole, more successful.

Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers?
- Over 45's

Why do you think this might be?
- This could be due to the rise of films marketed at an older audience, for example, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?
- 3D films which previously made up 20% of the market, have now dropped to 18%.

Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall?
 - The 'big family films'.

What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?

Who is Paul Greengrass?

- Paul Greengrass is a British film director.

How did he describe the British film industry?

- He described it as a 'success story'. "With success comes choices and a need to continue to build growth and sustainability. We're nowhere near where we were in the '80s when we were trapped in low budget British film-making, with films that no-one wanted to go and see."

What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?

- The BFI spokesperson makes the point that the 7% figure included very small budget films which are not necessarily expected to draw big profits, but have cultural, artistic or social value.

What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?

 - The film's budget was $5,000,000 (estimated) and made £247,860 in the UK on the 29th September 2013 (38 screens).

What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?

- That the 'huge budget' helps sell the film, despite them sometimes being 'not very good'.

What is VOD?

- Video on demand, e.g. Netflix, NOW TV, or Amazon Prime Movies.

What % increase did VOD see last year?
 - 50%

What impact might VOD have on distributors and Studios?
- It might reduce the importance of distributors and studios.

What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?
- With VOD dominating the market, Blockbuster was forced to close down, they were made obsolete by the fact it is easier and cheaper to just get a netflix subscription.

What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field In England'?
- It was the first film to be made available simultaneously in cinema, on TV and DVD and on VOD. 

What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of film making?
- He says it is not making a good film that is the most difficult bit, but getting it to reach an audience.

Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?
- The rules have been relaxed to 'puts us on a level playing field with our creative content tests and other European culture tests'.

How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?
- Visual effects 'points' have been increased for films to qualify as British, Alex Hope of visual effects company Double Negative said he was "delighted" with the tax changes, hoping foreign productions filming in the UK would hire British effects companies rather than taking the work back overseas.

Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The World's End
Five of the rules:

• Film set in the UK
• Lead characters British citizens or residents
• Film based on British subject matter or underlying material
• Original dialogue recorded mainly in English language
• Represents/reflects diverse British culture, heritage or creativity

The Kings Speech - Is set in the UK, has British leads and is based on British subject matter. The film features original dialogue in English, and represents diverse British heritage.

Kill List - Is set in the UK, also has British leads and is based on British underlying material. The film also has original dialogue in English, and represents diverse British creativity.

The World's End - Is set in the UK, as well as having British leads and is based on British subject matter. The film also has original dialogue in English, and represents diverse British culture.

What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films?
- George Osborne announced tax relief would be increased from 20% to 25% on the first £20m of qualifying production expenditure.

What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?
- Skyfall (2012)

How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?
 - £102.9 million (587 Screens)

American Influence - Variety links

Why has Sony opened a Digital Motion Picture Centre at Pinewood studios?
- Sony has opened the Digital Motion Picture Center at Pinewood Studios in the U.K., which will be used to provide hands-on training for cinematographers and other crew members to help them get the most from Sony’s 4K cameras. The center also houses a post-production area, which contains the latest tools for end-to-end 4K workflows, and a 4K screening room.

What benefit might this have for the British film industry?
- It will train British film-makers in 4K production, and help the British film industry keep up to standard on the world stage.

Where else have they opened facilities like this?
- L.A, Beijing and Mumbai. 

How many films have been produced using the F65 camera?
- More than 30 feature films, such as "Oblivion" and "After Earth".

What has been the consequence of Blockbusters to US film production?
- It has drove up the costs of producing big blockbusters, and hiring the actors for them. This has created a dependence on the superstar or the franchise, meaning less and less original ideas are coming through.

How big a loss to Sony expect to post?
 - $181 million dollars

Which films are responsible for this?
- "White House Down" and "After Earth".

How is Lionsgate different to Sony?
- It has no physical studio to support, and less overhead costs than the more major studios, so can generate huge amounts of income from films like "The Hunger Games".

Why is "the new mandate to avoid niche products"?
- Because they want to appeal to the general public, not just a specific niche, because that isn't where the money is.