Tuesday 7 February 2017

2014 EXAM ESSAY ON THE FILM INDUSTRY

PLEASE COMPLETE EVALUATION QUESTIONS 2, 3 & 6 by the end of half term and POST ON YOUR RELEVANT PAGE. If your name appears below, look and see why your work is incomplete! We have been over and over each of these. Copy the correct question in full at the top of your answer, then look at your answer to see if you have actually directly addressed the question asked. At least one of you has copied the question wrongly or not copied it at all. If you haven't copied the question asked, then it is an incomplete answer.

Work not completed as required / posted:

2  Josie, Cesca,Alexandra, Alfie, Calum GB
Alexandra, Josie, Alastair, Cesca, Megan
6  Alfie, Matthew, Josie, Cesca, Alexandra, Callum D, Alastair, Megan, Calum GB, Ollie

June 2014 exam paper© OCR 2014 

Section B: Institutions and Audiences

Answer the question below, making detailed reference to examples from your case study material to support the points made in your answer.     

The increase in hardware and content in media industries has been significant in recent years.Discuss the effect this has had on institutions and audiences in the media area you have studied. 

Candidates must focus one of the following media areas. You may also refer to other media in your answer.
• Film
[50 marks]
 

ESSAY FRAMEWORK
I have studied the film industry. By 'hardware', I understand the platforms on which films can be consumed, so I intend to discuss IMAX, cinema exhibition, digitisation, computer / handheld devices, interactivity and platforms such as Netflix, in particular, the impact of the proliferation of platforms on consumer choice. By 'content', I understand the congested marketplace, so I intend to look at the impact of this on Hollywood and independent cinema, using case studies from Disney and independent U.K. and US cinema. I will draw on my personal experience and comment on current trends.

In a congested marketplace, there is great competition in bringing films to audiences. At the conception stage, the impact on the film studios concerns the type of film that is made, as box office returns must justify initial outlays. For Dalecki, this means that the Big Six in Hollywood favour the '4 S' model, which refers to story, spectacle, sequels and synergy. For instance, Disney has favoured sequels as they command a ready made audience, such as for Joss Whedon's 2012 The Avengers. It is a good example of a successful Hollywood franchise as it relies on spectacle and story rather than character development (as UK indies tend to do) and is a sequel. High production values in The Avengers include the privileging of digital technology such as VFX ... (students: see my post on your blog by putting in 'digital' into the search engine, then trawl the post and flesh out this case study).

Another example of a sequel that exemplifies Hollywood practices such as synergy is the distribution methods employed in the marketing of Jurassic World. The Big Six employ horizontal distribution practices, whereby a company is part of a synergetic network of cross-promotion,maximising its exposure to audiences and its box office success. Gareth Lowrie, senior marketing director of Universal, showed me in a presentation how Universal took over Waterloo in the run up to Jurassic World's cinematic release, with a huge variety of tactics such as turning Waterloo into a theme park by wrapping turnstiles, installing animatronics, broadcasting trailers and tv interviews,and offering interactive selfie opportunities to take advantage of viral marketing. 

When I pick films to see, I am likely to make choices based on (complete...). Most of my information comes from watching trailers, such as when I went to the cinema to watch... I also saw trailers for... I go online to look for information about films and tend to watch films on... I may choose to see certain films in 3D or in an IMAX, trends that are here to stay with more film makers producing 3D and IMAX versions, especially where spectacle is important to me. For example,  I chose to see Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them at my local multiplex with my friends as I wanted  a big screen experience, Dolby surround sound and a social experience. However, I mostly watch films online such as using Netflix, which ... I know that the BBC plan a similar service which...This reflects audience's preferences for watching online with lower costs on smaller platforms. 

However, for Rob Kenny, director of development at Curzon, cinematic exhibition is still competing even in a crowded marketplace. During my study day at the BFI, he told us that Curzon plans to open 50 more screens in the next five years.

By contrast with Hollywood, many U.K. Indie films struggle to compete with The Big Six budgets and are eager to turn to BFI funding opportunitiessuch as the P&A fund that enabled a crowd-sourced film with a micro budget to come to the marketplace: Tortoise in Love was unique in that.. (students, look up the BFI case study PDF of this film and explain how the P&A fund operated, and the outcome). 

I would also mention the following case studies: Sunset Song, 71, and those that we learned about on our BFI study day.