EXEMPLAR ANSWER: DOC MARTIN 30/50

SOURCE: OCR OPEN THE WHOLE DOCUMENT HERE

SOURCE: OCR OPEN THE WHOLE DOCUMENT HERE

EXEMPLAR ANSWER: DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY 50/50

SOURCE: OCR OPEN HERE FOR WHOLE DOCUMENT

EXEMPLAR ANSWER DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY 28/50

SOURCE: OCR OPEN THE WHOLE DOCUMENT HERE

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

In October 2013, filming commenced on The Theory of Everything, the story of the most brilliant and celebrated British physicist of our time, Stephen Hawking, and Jane Wilde the arts student he fell in love with whilst studying at Cambridge in the 1960s.

The Theory of Everything is produced by Working Title and distributed internationally by Universal Pictures International (UPI). 

Trailers were screened on Working Title's website. The second featured puffs from influential critics at the New York Times, The Guardian, Huffington Post and Vanity Fair.

Film website www.thetheoryofeverything.com 
http://www.focusfeatures.com/the_theory_of_everything set up. 

It was marketed as a 'feelgood' mainstream biopic / love story with a universal message of hope: "However bad life may seem, while there is life, there is hope."

Featurette on 'What is the theory of everything?'  
UK screen release New Year's Day 2015.
Box Office: The Theory of Everything took a stunning £3.75m from a broad 532 cinemas, including £803,000 in New Year’s Day previews.

Worldwide Box Office takings:   $121,201,940

Nominated for 5 Oscars, one win.

CONTEXT
Warner Bros’ The Hobbit  topped charts with $15.3m (£9.76m) ; StudioCanal’s Paddington becomes distributor’s highest grossing release of all time with over £30m. 
Also for StudioCanal, The Imitation Game added $347,000 (£227,101) for $22m (£14.4m) after eight weeks in play. The Alan Turing biopic is now the distributor’s second highest grossing film of all time, having overtaken Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’s $21.7m (£14.2m).
Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockinjay recorded biggest opening of 2014 to date with $19.8m (£12.65m), including previews.

Release (Wikipedia)

The Theory of Everything premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2014,^[25] where it opened in the official sidebar section, Special Presentations.^[26][27]
On 10 April 2014, Focus Features acquired the distribution rights to The Theory of Everything in the United States, with the plan of a 2014 limited theatrical release.^[28] Shortly after, Entertainment One Films picked up the Canadian distribution rights.^[29] The first trailer of the film was released on 7 August 2014.^[30][31] On 8 October 2013, Universal Pictures International had acquired the rights to distribute the film internationally.^[13]
The film had a limited release in the United States on 7 November 2014,^[32] expanded in successive weeks to Taiwan, Austria, and Germany,^[33] ahead of a United Kingdom release on 1 January 2015, before being released throughout Europe.^[34]

FILM INDUSTRY ESSAY:TIPS

REMINDER about essay technique for the film industry question:
1. Highlight the key terms on your question paper.
2. Your first sentence: "I have studied the film industry".Then define the key terms.
3. Stop and think about how to express the topic sentence that starts each paragraph. If you get that right, the paragraph will write itself.
4. The topic sentence is likely to have one or more of those key terms in it. The successful answer is the RELEVANT answer.
5. Embed your own experience as you go. What trends are emerging?
6. Cover the Hollywood film industry (Disney), the UK film industry (Working Title) and microbudget / crowd sourced films (TIL, Web 2.0).
7. Think about global, international, national and niche audiences.
8. Conception > Production > Distribution > Exhibition
9. Conception means asking: what kind of films get developed? How does that depend on the size of the production company?
10. Production means asking: what are their production values?
11. Distribution means asking: in what ways did the film get marketed & distributed / reach audience's attention before release?
12. Exhibition means asking: on what platforms can audiences see the film? 
13. Terms like synergy, convergence, digitization, exchange will be used. For example, how is Disney a good example of a megafranchise that uses synergy? How has digitization changed how audiences can get information about films pre-release? Do audiences always want to consume films on mobiles or laptops, even though convergence means that they can visit film websites, watch trailers online, download /stream, buy the musical soundtrack online? Why are certain types of films being released on IMAX (the opposite of a small screen experience)?

TV DRAMA: PRIMEVAL (GENDER)

We analyse the June 2010 exam extract Primeval with the focus on gender.
Open the link to view the extract.

We revise the terminology to which the examiners refer in their mark scheme.

We look at the examiner's report.

FILM INDUSTRY: MEDIA OWNERSHIP

      INSTITUTIONS & AUDIENCES (FILM INDUSTRY)

Section B question: What impact does media ownership have on the range of products available to audiences in the media area that you have studied? (January 2013)

• State your area of debate: I have studied the film industry
• State what you understand by media ownership and by audiences in the film industry: By ownership, I understand the various institutions that make and distribute film, such as the 'big six' Hollywood mega-franchises targeted at mainstream global as well as international audiences, the UK film industry with its different, smaller scale and national / US target audiences and independent film producers, often with national / niche audiences. I will illustrate these industries using Disney (Holllywood mega-franchise), Working Title (UK film industry) and small independents, niche films (TIL, A Day In The Life and vloggers like Casey Neistat).
• State what 'range of products' could include: I interpret 'range of products' to refer to the formats in which films are produced for a range of platforms, such as for cinema exhibition,i n DVD and BluRay for home cinema, for downloading and streaming on the internet (such as Netflix offers) using portable platforms, for YouTube audiences and for IMAX screens. 
• These products include the range of distribution products used by distributors to attract and address target audiences, such as TV and in-cinema trailers, film websites with interactive features, Instagram and Twitter feeds to satisfy audience's hunger for pre-release information.
• I will also explain the way in which the mega-franchises like Disney can offer audiences a range of related products that create a synergy of cross-media ownership, through horizontal and vertical integration of products, such as theme parks, merchandise, TV shows, musical sound tracks, clothing, toys, comics and numerous sequels. 
• Disney owns a group of companies that produce different products catering for different audiences: Pixar Animation Studios make animated movies for family audiences, Touchstone make darker movies geared towards adults, Marvel make comic- inspired superhero movies for teens and young adults, and Lucas Films make the blockbusters like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently the highest grossing film franchise and Star Wars the fifth highest. 
• Whilst it may seem that the mega-franchises have the upper hand, I will provide examples that web 2.0 has been a game changer, allowing audiences to be both producers and consumers. Equally, I will argue that UK cinema looks to serve national audiences who do not necessarily demand a wide range of merchandise or theme parks, as long as they have a choice of platforms / formats.
• Cover your debate through a range of contrasting case studies.
• Remember the words "what impact" means the question invites evaluation.
• Refer to your own film viewing experience to support your case studies.
• Include an understanding of what trends are developing.

THE FILM INDUSTRY Working Title Films

We look at how WT serves UK audiences, the genre of films it offers, the reasons for its success and individual films such as The Theory of Everything and The Cornetto Trilogy. We look at its upcoming films.

You should be able to write about the marketing and distribution strategy for
The Theory of Everything.

Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London owned by Universal Studios. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions.

1. The Theory of Everything (2015)
2. Everest (2014)
3. Trash (2014)
4. The Two Faces of January (2014)
5. Mary Queen of Scots (2014)
6. Rush (2013)
7. Closed Circuit (2013)
8. The World's End (2013)
9. About Time (2013)
10. I Give It a Year (2013)

THE FILM INDUSTRY Why 'Frozen' exemplifies Disney's success

Case study facts:

Disney Frozen 

Disney's tour brand Adventures by Disney introduced a Norway itinerary for 2014.

Disney picked up free advertising from fan videos of Frozen which Disney did not remove from YouTube.

Disney invited Demi Lovato to record 'Let It Go', reasoning that this version would be more mainstream than Idina Mendel, the Broadway star, and therefore get radio airtime.

1.

Take essential facts and figures from this website. 











2.

Take essential facts and figures from this website. 
Singalonga screenings prolong box office sales and promote DVD and BluRay sales.









3.

Summarize Disney's marketing strategy for Frozen using this site. Note the trailers and the box office revenue. Disney issued a stream of teaser trailers and trailers starting mid June before the Thanksgiving 2013 cinema release.










4.

We also noted two other Disney products: Guardians of the Galaxy and Malificent.
GG's marketing strategy employed saturation coverage, or 'blitzing' the public, such as the release of P & A and 5 character videos on one day.

TV DRAMA: Dr WHO (GENDER)

Today we do exam practice using the January 2009 paper, analysing the representation of gender. Hand in for marking.

TV DRAMA: MERLIN (CLASS AND STATUS)

Today we do a mini-mock exam practice using the June 2011 paper, analysing the representation of class and status. Hand in for marking.

TV DRAMA: SPOOKS (GENDER) & THE HISTORY BOYS (REGIONAL IDENTITY)

Today we do exam practice using the TV series Spooks, analysing the representation of gender and The History Boys (regional identity).

FILM INDUSTRY

Today we revise for the exam by examining the impact of media ownership on the film industry. We work through each of the 7 bullet points on the Specification.

FILM INDUSTRY

Today we revise for the exam by examining cross-media convergence and synergy in the film industry. 

We also work on the exam question examining digital technology in the film industry. 

You write the essay and hand it in for marking.